CFA CFAs, share some tips plz.

[Hend Abuenein]

I will
I think it's very impressive the short time you needed to cover all CFA I, II and CAIA I and pass first sit .

My expectation is that you won't have any trouble passing FRM I+II on the same day, provided you're not studying anything else on the side

Good luck with all of it.
Thanks.

 

[Jsmith887]

Thanks. Feel free to shoot me any questions you have about the CAIA or CFA.

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Thanks James I just might do that in the coming few months...hoping to see you around often on BT forums

 

[Ashwin FRM]

What are the advantages of pursuing CFA? What type of jobs become open to you? How is this compared to MBA?

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Hi @mathlessFRM,

You can read here http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/benefits/Pages/index.aspx

And here : http://www.newcfa.org/#/professions
Also go through some of the testimonials by Charter holders on the same site.

Regards

 

[Ashwin FRM]

@Hend, That is awesome. Thanks.

 

[vt2012]

BTW, CFA is an adjective, not a noun...

 

[Hend Abuenein]

So I can't say that "David is a CFA" to mean he's a Chartered Financial Analyst?

 

[vt2012]

So I can't say that "David is a CFA" to mean he's a Chartered Financial Analyst?

If you are not CFA Charterholder/candidate you can do whatever you want.
If you are you can not. This is violation of the Standards of Professional Conduct. See CFA Institute site for appr. policy.

Best,
vt2012, CFA

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Thanks. Feel free to shoot me any questions you have about the CAIA or CFA.[/quote
.

Hi James,
How are you? I hope your studies are all going well.

I took your advice and ordered Schweser notes and their secret sauce, and will use only them to study.
I've been studying for 3 weeks now, and wanted to ask you something:

First: How representative of the real exam are the questions at the end of the study sessions and chapters?
I'm scoring between 92-100% on these questions, and they seem to be very easy. I doubt that they could be anything like the real thing.
Second: What was your revision plan?
I figured I'm scoring high on these questions because I just memorized all the formulas, but a few months ahead I will have forgotten most of them. I also noticed that the "key concepts" pages at the end of every chapter don't really have all that must be remembered, so I can't rely on them for revision. I started adding notes to them. But maybe you have a better plan?

Thanks a lot

 

[Aleksander Hansen]

If you are not CFA Charterholder/candidate you can do whatever you want.
If you are you can not. This is violation of the Standards of Professional Conduct. See CFA Institute site for appr. policy.

Best,
vt2012, CFA

Just some trivia...:
You can call yourself a Professor in Physics or a Professor in Finance as well ... Professor is not a 'protected' title. You can't call yourself a Physics PhD or Finance PhD though.

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Hi Aleks,
I haven't registered with CFAI yet, nor read their professional conduct policy either, but I did get this tip previously from a friend on FB who is a member of CFAI.
I think they have their own set of rules about how to use their designation.
"Prestige" is the word here, I think

 

[vt2012]

Just some trivia...:
You can call yourself a Professor in Physics or a Professor in Finance as well ... Professor is not a 'protected' title. You can't call yourself a Physics PhD or Finance PhD though.

http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2010.n2.1

Standards of Practice Handbook, Tenth edition, 2010


"Exhibit 4. Correct and Incorrect Use of the Chartered Financial Analyst and CFA Marks


Correct:
He is one of two CFA charterholdersin the company.
He earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Incorrect:
He is one of two CFAs in the company.
He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Principle:
The CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst designations must always be used as adjectives, never as nouns or common names."

 

[djh2121]

Hi Hend,

I passed the CFA level one in June with high marks, and I would be happy to share my thoughts on exam preparation.

First, to answer your question, the end of chapter questions in the Kaplan books are not similar to the actual exam questions, and imo will not prepare you for the exam on their own. I believe their main purpose is a basic reading comprehension check.

If you don't have the Schweser QBank already, then I would highly recommend acquiring it. The number of questions in the QBank is simply enormous, and contains questions at, and well above, exam-level difficulty. It proved to be the linchpin of my exam preparations.

I spent quite a bit of time working my way through the readings, and doing the end of chapted questions, only to discover, about two months before the exam, that I didn't yet have a very good grasp of the material. I spent the next five weeks working my way through every QBank questions, and then the last three weeks completing customized quizes from the QBank as well as Kaplan and CFA mock exams.

If I were to do it all over again I'd read a few chapters from the notes, and then work my way through questions in the QBank that corresponded to the relevant LOSs. None of the concepts on the CFA are particularly difficult, but you will need to be able to recall them instantly to do well on the exam. Repetition of exam style questions is therefore, imo, key.

I hope this helps.

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Thanks DJH,
That was very helpful.

 

[Aleksander Hansen]

http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2010.n2.1

Standards of Practice Handbook, Tenth edition, 2010


"Exhibit 4. Correct and Incorrect Use of the Chartered Financial Analyst and CFA Marks


Correct:
He is one of two CFA charterholdersin the company.
He earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Incorrect:
He is one of two CFAs in the company.
He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Principle:
The CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst designations must always be used as adjectives, never as nouns or common names."

I have to say that CFA Institute is being rather supercilious with this title stuff. Who cares if it's CFAs or CFA charterholders? Not sure why they settled on anything with, "Charter" in it anyway, as that may only be used in the UK if it is decreed by the Sovereign.

 

[vt2012]

Hm, and this is just the top of the iceberg... There is a lot of similar or worse "stuff".
But what is funny, GARP (FRM Program at least) is the only (imho) entity who is trying to follow (mimic ?) each and every aspect of the CFAI policy (with varying degree of success) as close as possible!

 

[Jsmith887]

Hi James,
How are you? I hope your studies are all going well.

I took your advice and ordered Schweser notes and their secret sauce, and will use only them to study.
I've been studying for 3 weeks now, and wanted to ask you something:

First: How representative of the real exam are the questions at the end of the study sessions and chapters?
I'm scoring between 92-100% on these questions, and they seem to be very easy. I doubt that they could be anything like the real thing.
Second: What was your revision plan?
I figured I'm scoring high on these questions because I just memorized all the formulas, but a few months ahead I will have forgotten most of them. I also noticed that the "key concepts" pages at the end of every chapter don't really have all that must be remembered, so I can't rely on them for revision. I started adding notes to them. But maybe you have a better plan?

Thanks a lot

Hi Hend,

Sorry for being inactive - I have been super busy at work.

The Schweser questions are representative of the actual test. However, I would use the CFAI books (blue box example questions and end of reading questions) as a supplement. Also, for Ethics, you want to make sure you read the CFAI material.

The good thing about the Schweser question bank is that you can create quizzes and focus on your weakness - definitely use those tools.

For revision - try to have a mini quiz (use Schweser QBank) at least weekly or every two weeks. Then, 4 weeks before the exam, start your review. Practice practice practice questions! Also, for Ethics - very important, because if you fail ethics I believe you fail the exam - reread the CFAI material at least weekly for the last 4 weeks (flashcards can also help). Last two weeks, I would start with the mocks. Then review answers - focus on weaknesses; rinse and repeat.

It is normal to forget - I have experienced this in all the tests I have taken. Just revisit them once in a while (best way is through the QBank quizzes).

Hope it helps - let me know if you have any other questions! Sorry for the delay! Good luck.

 

[Jsmith887]

Also as a follow-up, this is my study plan:

1. Read notes
2. Video lecture / additional notes
3. Examples / EOC questions
4. Occasional review quiz every 2 weeks

The key to understanding the material is doing as many practice questions as possible.

 

[Hend Abuenein]

Thanks a lot James,

That was helpful indeed.
I'm going to start doing short practice exams every other weekend from now on.

Thanks a lot.