Multiple choice questions are used to test knowledge on both the Level I and II exams, but there is a significant difference in the formats of the two exams. The Level I exam is an onslaught of multiple choice questions grouped by subject, but not tied to another question in any way. Level II, on the other hand, groups questions in "item sets". This difference in exam format changes the way candidates need to prepare for the exam.
"How should I study for the CFA exams?"
-Anonymous
In my previous article, “When Should I Start Studying for the CFA® Exam?”, I outlined how a candidate should prepare for the CFA Level I, II, or III exams in June and the CFA Level I exam in December.
The most important point I raised in Part I is that you should have finished reading the curriculum readings and/or your prep provider’s materials by April 15th if studying for the June exam and October 15th if studying for the December exam.
This second article will help you understand what you should be doing from April 15th until the June exam day or from October 15th until the December exam day. If you have completed the CFAI curriculum readings or the prep provider’s materials by April 15th or October 15th, it is not time to kick back and relax. In my opinion, you have only completed 50% of the work if you are a Level I candidate, 40% of the work if you are a Level II candidate, and only 30% of the work if you are a Level III candidate that is needed to be prepared for the exam.
No matter how prepared we are, we all tend to be nervous and worry a lot as the CFA exam day gets closer and closer. I remember a week before the exam; I was so stressed out from thinking that I didn’t have enough time to review all the material and about all the other things that could go wrong on exam day that I ended up getting sick. Being sick is never good and especially then, because that was the time I needed my energy and focus the most.
Even though I tried to go to bed early the night before the exam, somehow I couldn’t sleep. I slept about five hours and woke up at 5:30 a.m. That morning I did some exercise, stretched my body, and had a nutritious breakfast which helped me feel fresher after a night of little sleep. Many candidates I talked to had the same sort of experience. I think it's just because we worried too much about the exam.
In retrospect, my CFA experience was one I wouldn’t have any other way. If asked while submerged for months in studying I certainly would have had a different answer. I experienced diverse circumstances for each of the exams; grasping Level I while a senior in college, scraping by Level II while working full time, and concentrating on Level III while unemployed. I was charged with having to overcome many challenges throughout the program which never allowed me to settle for a study routine that I found comfortable. However, I was compelled to make it all worthwhile, and passed all three exams on the first attempt. I consider this a product of rigorous study habits, motivation and some luck when it came to the actual material on each exam. I was relieved to find questions about the topics I knew well which, for many, can be the difference between success and failure.
Articles of 2011 spanned the gamut of topics, from banking and current affairs, to behavioral finance and worldview. But, the most viewed articles centered around the same topic: the CFA® designation. Below are the top five articles of 2011, from least to most viewed.
I think that pursuing a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation requires commitment from the candidate along with support and understanding from their family, friends, employers, and colleagues. As a Level I CFA candidate, I started to study for the exam at the beginning of August 2011 by enrolling in the CFA preparation course offered by New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA). I find the course helpful and interesting because my instructor was very knowledgeable and has a great sense of humor. Three and a half hours each Monday fly by. I know that all of us candidates worry, and may be nervous ahead of the exam. There are many strategies available, and a large part of them have been covered previously, but here are a few of the study strategies that I am using to get through the CFA® exams.
If you stay focused and composed, you will maximize your performance on the CFA exam. It’s hard to argue with that! Follow this game plan to minimize stress and increase your chances of success on exam day.
Continue reading "Maximize Your Performance on the CFA Exam" »
You’ve studied diligently for the last several months, plowing through endless pages of material, answering countless practice questions, and meeting weekly with your study group. Now what? With less than a month to go before exam day, what is the best use of your time?
Continue reading "Studying for the CFA Exam: The Final Countdown" »
Curious about what the CFA exam has in store for you? Learn more from a charterholder's perspective. Martin Rosenburgh, CFA, Esq. discusses what sets CFA curriculum apart from other coursework and programs.
When should I start studying for the CFA® exam?
- Anonymous
This is a timeless question and I can’t think of any class I taught where this has not been asked. It is also not level specific. I have heard it from Level I, II, and III candidates. As we have covered in the past, studying for any CFA® exam is not to be taken lightly.
Continue reading "When Should I Start Studying for the CFA Exam?" »
It is an innocent and common mistake for Level III candidates. Most will not even know it can be so costly. Listen to Nathan Ronen give key advice to CFA Level III candidates here.
Learn more about NYSSA's CFA® exam instructors, or register for CFA® Exam prep here.
“I am studying for the CFA Level II examination again because I did not pass it the first time. I bought all the curriculum readings and I have last year’s prep provider’s study notes. Can I use these materials again or do I need to buy everything a second time?”
-Anonymous
Continue reading "Can I Reuse Study Materials for the CFA Exam?" »
There are several benefits to preparing for the CFA exams in groups, including confidence building. Louise A. Howard, CFA, CAIA, Senior Investment Analyst for the YMCA Retirement Fund, explains here.
“Excellent, valuable, amazing, unique, extremely helpful”—words that are not easily spoken when referencing the CFA exam. That is, unless you experience CFA exam prep Nathan Ronen–style.
The popular instructor and CFA charterholder will return to the New York Society of Security Analysts in January 2012 as CFA® Lead Instructor to teach CFA exam prep courses for Levels II and III of the June 2012 exam. Ronen’s track record is impressive. He has been teaching CFA Levels I, II and III for over 16 years and has helped over 20,000 candidates pass the CFA exams. Part of his success is attributed to his background. He understands the pressure that candidates face, having earned a CFA charter while working in finance. “I don’t believe in merely reciting the CFA curriculum back to students. That’s not teaching the material. Candidates who have had me for Level I or Level II know that my ability to hone in on essential points and take the most difficult concepts and break them down to a simpler form is what helps them pass on exam day,” says Ronen regarding his teaching style.
Of course, Ronen’s strong knowledge of the financial markets, from years of working in the financial sector, is another valuable resource in his teaching style. He served as a supervisory analyst training government regulators, an accounting analyst, and a corporate finance analyst. His professional experience encompasses well-known organizations such as New York Life, NASD, and Salomon Brothers.
In addition to teaching CFA exam preparatory courses for NYSSA, he has taught for the Washington Society of Security Analysts and the Study Seminar for Financial Analysts (SSFA). Ronen has also taught in-house CFA seminars at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and many other major financial institutions.
Click here for more information on NYSSA CFA Exam Prep Courses.
In order to pass the CFA exams, you must show you’ve mastered the material. Unfortunately many candidates follow a study strategy that severely hurts their chances of passing the exams.
TYPICAL CANDIDATE EXAM STUDY STRATEGY
Continue reading "Are Your CFA Study Strategies Working against You?" »
The answer for many of you, especially CFA charterholders, will unequivocally be yes. Yes, it’s a grueling process; those who don’t have academic skill couldn’t do it. Yes, many don’t pass the first time around; (remember, the 10-year average pass rates for Level I, II, and III are 39%, 44%, and 59%) those without persistence, skill, and some degree of intelligence wouldn’t make it. Yes, many professors of finance and related fields have CFAs, so CFAs are clearly represented in the academic field. But, does that really mean that having your CFA is a demonstration of your academic ability?
Continue reading "Debate: Does Having your CFA Demonstrate Academic Ability?" »
If I told you I was going to run up the block and back to my house every day for a year and when I was done, I would be ready to run a marathon, do you think I would be successful? Of course not! But many candidates take the same approach to preparing for the CFA exams.
If your study approach resembles my marathon training scenario, you probably do problems in little chunks of time topic by topic—perhaps during commercial breaks during your favorite TV shows. I’ll agree that over a week’s or month’s time you may have actually completed a full exam. But that’s not the same as sitting down for two 3-hour exam blocks. The outcome looks to be the same but it isn’t. That’s because you are training for a sprint when you should be training for a marathon.
Continue reading "To Pass the CFA Exam—Train for a Marathon!" »
If done right, participating in a study group is one of the best ways to prepare for the CFA exams. An informal survey of candidates in study groups shows that successful study groups are:
Committed. Study groups only work if people attend consistently and contribute regularly. Meet once a week at a set time and place. So show up to each and every meeting! Agree on an attendance policy and hold members accountable.
Reliable. Come prepared to discuss that week’s topic. All group members should read the curriculum, do associated problems and/or construct practice questions beforehand.
In the final part of William A. Trent's speech, he provides candidates with detailed test-taking tips for the day of the exam.
Earning the CFA charter is a notoriously difficult process, one which requires hundreds of hours of hard work and study over many years, not to mention the thousands of dollars it costs in exam fees and test prep. While holding the charter is often seen as a career booster, many potential candidates wonder exactly how much more they will earn with a CFA charter than with, say, an MBA. Ultimately it boils down to whether or not there is there a way to put an intrinsic value on either designation, and, if there is such a value, what is it?
Continue reading "Putting a Dollar Value on a CFA Charter vs an MBA" »
In the second part of William A. Trent's speech on CFA exam strategies, he outlines some of the simple missteps that can trip up candidates.
At NYSSA's CFA Level I Orientation, William A. Trent, director of the exam development division at the CFA Institute, offered up his multipart strategy for passing the CFA Exam. In the first part of his speech he advises candidates to practice often and avail themselves of the materials on the CFA Institute website.
ONE: CONSTRUCT YOUR OWN MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
What? Why should I construct my own questions when there are plenty of study banks and practice exams out there? Here’s why. Constructing your own multiple choice questions:
Continue reading "Two Ways to Take Studying for the CFA Exam to the Next Level " »
Preparing for the CFA exam is a daunting process: not only do experts suggest that candidates put in hundreds of hours of study time for each level of the exam, but also the numbers show that even if you put in that kind of time there is no guarantee that you’ll pass. The good news, however, is that you don’t have to go it alone. The old adage claims that two heads are better than one, but don’t just trust the old wives—there’s scientific evidence to back it up.
Some readers thought I was being a little harsh when I advised candidates that they shouldn't expect to pass the CFA exam the first time around. But, sadly, it's a fact that most candidates will fail the Level I exam. The numbers improve slightly as candidates progress, with nearly half of test takers passing Level II, and slightly more than half passing Level III. It can be a real blow to discover you failed, but heading into the exams knowing that you might have to take them more than once will make it easier for you to bounce back.
If you’ve ever visited finance or analyst forums, you will probably immediately recognize the debate: which is better, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation or a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA)? Some argue the MBA is a waste of time and money unless it comes from one of the top-ranked MBA programs. Others claim MBA graduates have a flimsy grasp on finance compared with those with a CFA charter. MBA enthusiasts counter that CFAs have a deep knowledge of asset management principles but lack context about the broader aspects of business. Underlying these arguments is the answer: no one program is right for everyone.
Continue reading "What’s In Your Portfolio? Investment in CFA vs. MBA for Finance Professionals" »
There's nothing worse than walking into an exam unprepared. You've been studying for months and you know the material cold, but how will you be tested on it? Check out our CFA Prep Podcast for a look at the format of the CFA Exam Levels I, II, and III.
If you want to hear the webcast of this entire event or any other NYSSA program, visit NYSSA's On-Demand website.
For those who took the CFA exam two weeks ago, the hardest part is over—or is it? Waiting for the results can be an excruciating process. After having poured months of effort into preparation (or years, if you’re taking Level II or III), candidates now have to wait 60 to 90 days to discover whether they’ve passed an exam with a notoriously high fail rate.
Over the past few decades, psychologists have discovered that our perception of time can be affected by a number of factors that can either mitigate or exacerbate our anxiety about waiting. Here are some simple suggestions to help ease the pain of waiting for the results of your CFA exam.
Continue reading "Three Tips to Make Waiting for CFA Exam Results More Bearable" »
The CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, announced today that 144,900 candidates from 162 countries have registered for the CFA exam in June 2011. That's a four percent increase of the number of candidates that registered last June.
The CFA says the increase reinforces "the strong commitment among finance professionals to high standards of ethics, education and professional excellence, which the CFA Program demands."
Overall, there were 209,945 registrations for CFA exams in fiscal year 2011 which includes December 2010 and June 2011, an increase of five percent on fiscal year 2010.
Continue reading "144,900 Candidates Register for June 2011 CFA Exams" »
From an analysis for a client, to a decision about when to buy that stock you’ve been watching, your job tests you every day. If you’re taking the June exam to become a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) the test is not just a figure of speech: it’s an impending reality. Even if you have figured out how to manage a portfolio, the prospect of three six-hour-long exams is understandably daunting. Are you nervous about taking tests? Are you wondering how you can turn test-taking stress into test-passing confidence? Our look at recent scientific research on test-taking and anxiety will help you manage your stress and get the test results you need.
Continue reading "Three Stress-Reduction Tips For Acing the CFA Exam" »
Being a Chartered Financial Analyst may bring honor and recognition from your colleagues and clients, but getting the “CFA” after your name is a long-term endeavor. Certification requires that you pass three six-hour exams that take years to complete and less than half of the candidates last year passed their tests.
If you’ve already signed up to take the test this June, you’ve probably already been studying. Lots of companies offer services to help you pass the test, and even more websites dole out advice on how to study. Much of what passes for wisdom in test taking, however, is wrong. Your high school teacher may have encouraged you to find a quiet, uncluttered place to study. According to decades-old research, your high school teacher was wrong. What seems intuitive might actually create more frustration for you on test day.
Continue reading "Six Counterintuitive Study Tips to Help You Pass the CFA Exam" »
It's been one year since NYSSA launched the FPP, and the readers have spoken: hot topics include career development, landing a job (not surprising!), behavioral finance, emerging markets, and quantitative methods. Here are the ten most popular articles from the previous year in case you missed them the first time around. If you would like to suggest new topics for the FPP to cover, please take a minute to fill out our reader survey. (Everyone who completes the survey is automatically entered in a drawing to win an Amazon Kindle and a selection of e-books from the FT Press.)
1. Five Things NOT to Do if You Want to Pass the CFA Exam
With pass rates lower than 50%, the CFA exams are daunting for even the most seasoned financial professionals. Approach the process strategically and avoid these common mistakes.
Continue reading "Anniversary Special: Top Ten Articles from the FPP" »
For those of you slogging your way through the CFA study materials, here's an uplifting reminder of what all of your hard work is for. Anna Nemeth, vice president and senior portfolio manager at TD Waterhouse Private Investment Counsel, talks about the elation she felt when passing the exam and the advantages of becoming a CFA charterholder. This audio slideshow is part of an excellent series of charterholder profiles recently compiled by the CFA institute.
Last week the CFA Institute posted results from the December 2010 Level I exams. Of the 46,644 candidates who took the exam worldwide, only 36% passed. Whether you passed or failed, candidates will probably appreciate the humor in this commercial from South Africa.
As companies like Prudential Financial and John Hancock market new 401(k) hybrids that feature an annuity option or different sorts of income guarantees, financial services firms increasingly seek individuals who can tie together capital markets know-how with underwriting expertise. An ideal candidate: someone with both a Certified Life Underwriting certification together with a CFA.
Click here to read the full article.
NYSSA is pleased to announce the winners of the June 2011 CFA Exam Scholarship Program. Recipients were selected based on experience and/or interest in the investment profession, ethical standards, and commitment to NYSSA and CFA Institute. All scholarship winners receive a free weekly review course from NYSSA and a credit allowance for additional learning materials from Schweser. In addition, CFA Institute will refund the CFA examination and registration fees (less a $225 exam registration administrative fee). NYSSA offers up to five scholarships in both the fall and spring to New York area CFA candidates of all levels.
Continue reading "NYSSA Announces June 2011 CFA Scholarship Winners" »
Some of the most popular articles on the Finance Professionals' Post are those that address the relative value of professional designations, particularly the CFA designation—and understandably so. Before investing the requisite time and money to meet the rigorous demands set by the sponsoring organization, you want to know what the benefits are.
The CFA Institute recently produced an excellent series of testimonials from CFA charterholders around the globe. In this segment, Saurav Mishra—a CFA charterholder and Senior Treasury Manager, HDFC Bank, Mumbai, India—explains that earning his designation helped him to feel like a member of "a coveted circle of finance professionals."
Professional designations not only offer prestige and new opportunities to network but also can have a significant impact on your salary. They do require significant investments in time and money, though. For example, the CFA Program—“a gold standard” for the financial services industry—can take as little as 18 months, but on average takes about four years to complete. The following chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the major designations available to financial professionals and links to further resources.
With the December 2010 CFA exam fast approaching, it may seem like the perfect time to panic. However, you can put your mind at ease by listening to several recordings of experts from the CFA Institute and NYSSA explaining the CFA testing process.
The clip provided below is from the CFA Exam Orientation. William A. Trent, director of the exam development division at the CFA Institute, outlines the different requirements for CFA Level I, II, and III as well as how some questions (particularly essay questions) are graded.
If you want to watch the webcast of this entire event or any other NYSSA program, visit NYSSA's On-Demand website.
While women have come a long way, we are still underpaid and underrepresented in the quantitative realms of financial services. I am coming to realize that many of the persistent obstacles we face are those that we construct for ourselves.
Continue reading "Women in Quantitive Finance: Redefining Ourselves and Our Potential" »
In this short clip, Jackie Rosner, a CFA charterholder working at UBP Asset Management, talks about the advantages of taking review courses for all three levels of the CFA exam. “It's almost impossible to really get a complete understanding of everything, no matter how motivated you are,” he says. Moreover, Rosner adds, review classes help build confidence.
In this week's CFA Prep Podcast, Nathan Ronen answers the commonly asked question: "What is passing?" Some students believe that they will pass if they answer 70% of the questions correctly, while others say that a minimum of 170 questions must be correct. But, as Ronen explains in this clip, there is no magic number.
In this clip from Nathan Ronen's CFA Level I sample class, he teaches a unique strategy to taking the CFA Level I exam, which he calls the 60-30-10 game. "Sixty percent of the material gets asked over, and over, and over again," he says. Click to listen and find out what are the common topics in the exam.
From green-eyeshade-wearing, slide-rule-toting, underpaid, inconsequential “statisticians,” to highly respected, well-paid, recognized experts on major industries and their most interesting companies—over the last half century the securities analyst has been transformed from peon to potentate. Motivated by the recognition, now universal, that analysts’ judgments move markets, change securities prices, and impact corporate strategies, the evolution of the analyst has been, albeit unevenly, a global phenomenon.
Continue reading "Coming of Age: A Brief History of the Changing Role of the Securities Analyst " »
In this clip, Nathan Ronen, CFA instructor at NYSSA, recommends one of his test taking strategies referred to as the “45-Second Rule.” Ronen advises students not to remain fixed on one question, but to “get as many easy questions as you can, and then move on.” In addition to understanding the material, test-takers should learn tactics and strategies on approaching the exam.
If you want to watch the webcast of this entire event or any other NYSSA program, visit NYSSA's On-Demand website.
In this clip from the CFA Level I Sample Class, instructor Andrew Spieler addresses how the financial reporting transition from US GAAP to IFRS will have a large effect on the CFA Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 exams. “IFRS is now the dominate part of the CFA curriculum,” Spieler notes. CFA students will need to be prepared in order to manage this transition in the exam.
According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the CFA designation is now considered the gold standard among financial professionals worldwide. When established 50 years ago, the CFA was envisioned as a means of transforming equity analysis into “a more ethical, respectful craft, akin to law or medicine,” according to the article’s authors, Rachel Sanderson and Gillian Tett. In the past decade the CFA has undergone exponential growth; it has almost 100,000 members worldwide, and this year twice that number registered to take the exam. Sanderson and Tett report that much of the growth has been fueled by increased interest among finance professionals in the Asia Pacific and the relative cost of earning a CFA to an MBA—approximately $3,600 versus $15,000.
Click here to see how the CFA compares to other professional designations for finance professionals.
NYSSA is pleased to announce the winners of the December 2010 CFA Exam Scholarship Program. Recipients were selected based on experience and/or interest in the investment profession, ethical standards, and commitment to NYSSA and CFA Institute. All scholarship winners receive a free weekly review course from NYSSA and a credit allowance for additional learning materials from Schweser. In addition, CFA Institute will refund the CFA examination and registration fees (less a $225 exam registration administrative fee). NYSSA offers up to five scholarships in both the fall and spring to New York area CFA candidates of all levels.
Continue reading "NYSSA Announces December 2010 CFA Scholarship Winners" »
Suffice to say, considering the relatively low pass rate, getting through the rigors of all three exams to become a CFA charterholder is not an easy task. But there are many ways you can shoot yourself in the foot.
Aside from not putting in the study time—recommended at around 300 hours per level—there are surprisingly common mistakes or assumptions people taking the exam make, which often make the different between a pass and a fail.
Click here to read the full article.
In this clip from the CFA Level I Orientation, instructor Andrew Spieler explains that the key to earning certification is taking a holistic view of the CFA program rather than focusing on each individual exam. He also warns students that passing requires not only knowledge of the material but also the exam structure itself.
Andrew Spieler, PhD, CFA, FRM, teaches CFA prep at NYSSA. He will be teaching a Free Level I Sample Class on August 31, 2010. His Level I Weekly Review Sessions for the December 2010 exam start on September 14, 2010.
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