CFA Level 1 questions

[aram1000]

Just wondering if any members are currently enrolled in the CFA program and how much study time candidates have put in (ie hours/week) type thing, also have any guys on here used the Schewaser's study guides and if so how good they are, I am writing in December in Calgary and have started studying already, but am still curious on what approach other candidates have taken

Thanks

[Canmorite]

Haven't written, but some friends have. They used Schewaser's notes and passed. They said they studied about 150-200 hours.

Some guys studied 500+ for Level III :nut:

[The_Rural_Juror]

Those notes are outstanding.

[civicHB]

I'm writing in December too!! I've been studying about an hour and a half per day for the past two months and the Financial Analysis book seem to be the most intense so far. I keep hearing about Schewaser's notes but have not used them, and if I fail this time then i'll probably use the notes on the next go around.

[aram1000]

Originally posted by civicHB
I'm writing in December too!! I've been studying about an hour and a half per day for the past two months and the Financial Analysis book seem to be the most intense so far. I keep hearing about Schewaser's notes but have not used them, and if I fail this time then i'll probably use the notes on the next go around.

damn, i just started studying about 2 weeks ago lol, how long did it take you to get through the first book? also did you do all the questions after, i have and they sure can take a while

[civicHB]

First book was alright, it probly took about a month of relaxed studying. The quantitative part was easy for me as I have a Statistics background. I think you should jump to the third book after the first one if you don't have a finance background. Just keep pluggin away!!

[Pacman]

My wife is writing in December. She has been casually studying and using some flashcards that she bought from Kaplan.

[CLiVE]

Originally posted by aram1000
also have any guys on here used the Schewaser's study guides

Thanks

Schweser Order the study guides. Only way to go IMO.

[Sadboy]

Hey, I just used Schweser and passed for level 1.
Just make sure you leave a month to do practice questions.
And make sure you do all the practice exams the institute sells, they are very representative of what will be on the actual exam.

Good luck!

[psi_klops]

Anybody willing to share their notes to save me some $$??:dunno:
I could spend a "rental fee"

[civicHB]

Originally posted by psi_klops
Anybody willing to share their notes to save me some $$??:dunno:
I could spend a "rental fee"

Are you talking about personal summary notes or the actual books?
Unless you are familiar with the materail I dont think someone elses' notes would help you. There is so much material that I didnt write down that will definately be questioned.

[CLiVE]

Originally posted by psi_klops
Anybody willing to share their notes to save me some $$??:dunno:
I could spend a "rental fee"

I have the notes from 2002....not sure if it has changed at all?

[aram1000]

i've been looking on ebay and am finding some from people who wrote in june, just need to bid on time/bid higher, lol, i need to get my hands on that soon, i find it taking so long to go through the cfa books, though its all review so far, stuff is dry

[aram1000]

I picked up some Schewsers notes on Ebay yesterday, there are guys selling sets, saved a bit vs buying new from schewesers

[Pacman]

They are all uploaded on Demonoid.com for free if you know how to use torrents and get them.

I have no idea how to do it, so if anyone is able to get them, could I get a copy please?

[TunerBaby]

Download all three level on Demonoid.

[Canmorite]

Thanks for the heads up on the Demonoid torrent. :thumbsup:

[aram1000]

good call, i found the torrents to be iffy, got a couple but was getting errors when trying to extract the files

[civicHB]

Originally posted by Canmorite
Thanks for the heads up on the Demonoid torrent. :thumbsup:

how did you register for Demonoid? It says you need a referral to register

[300rwhp]

yeah if anyone could send me the tracker file or the actual files i would appreciate it.

[sk8r3124]

I just looked at the first book of notes. Its more pages than the actual book itself (ethics)

[The_Rural_Juror]

lol @ studying CFA ethics off of pirated torrents.

[Gainsbarre]

Originally posted by The_Rural_Juror
lol @ studying CFA ethics off of pirated torrents.

No mention of making illegal downloads off of the internet in the CFA ethics readings so I think to them it's OK. :)

[The_Rural_Juror]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre


No mention of making illegal downloads off of the internet in the CFA ethics readings so I think to them it's OK. :)

One could make an argument that it would fall under that Knowledge of the Law (or whatever they call it) subsection. :rofl:

[kaput]

.

[sk8r3124]

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on the calculator you can bring in for the exam?

[Pacman]

Originally posted by sk8r3124
Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on the calculator you can bring in for the exam?

You can only take in a couple of models....check the CFA website for details.

[acura_el]

Don't waste your time with the official CFAI textbooks. Get the Schweser ones, TRUST me. If you're worried about the price, go to the website below. They're posted on there and you can get them FREE. They're much better written, shorter, and they cover everything the official books do. Also the Schweser practice exams are a pretty accurate representation of what the actual exam will be like despite what Schweser repeatedly tells you.

I put in 300+ hours and the best thing I can say is setup a study schedule and stick to it. The books are well laid out with study sessions, so planning shouldn't be too difficult. When the CFAI tells you that "Consistency and self-discipline are the hallmarks of a good study program," they're not kidding. It's a lot of work and takes a huge commitment so whatever you do, don't underestimate it.

Practice is key. You can read as much as you want, but if you're not doing problems you won't pass. I did 6 practice exams before I wrote so try and get your hands on as many practice tests as you can and go through them about 1 month before the exam as if you were writing the actual exam - see website below. Of the last 3 weeks, the first 2 should be spent reviewing things you messed up on in practice exams and the final week should be spent either resting or memorizing the handbook.

DO NOT overlook ethics. You pretty much need to memorize the entire Standards of Practice handbook - yes, that's all 6 items in the Code of Ethics and all 7 standards and substandards. Also, as I'm sure you're aware there's no formula sheets allowed, so memorize each formula at the end of all of the Schweser books.

For those looking for torrents, go to this website instead:

www.elitebook.net

Its got every Schweser book, along with practice exams for every level and some of the Stalla ones as well.

Calculators: get the Texas Instruments BAII if you still have to buy one. The HP12C sucks.

Good luck!:thumbsup:

[WRX64]

Originally posted by acura_el
Don't waste your time with the official CFAI textbooks. Get the Schweser ones, TRUST me. If you're worried about the price, go to the website below. They're posted on there and you can get them FREE. They're much better written, shorter, and they cover everything the official books do. Also the Schweser practice exams are a pretty accurate representation of what the actual exam will be like despite what Schweser repeatedly tells you.

I put in 300+ hours and the best thing I can say is setup a study schedule and stick to it. The books are well laid out with study sessions, so planning shouldn't be too difficult. When the CFAI tells you that "Consistency and self-discipline are the hallmarks of a good study program," they're not kidding. It's a lot of work and takes a huge commitment so whatever you do, don't underestimate it.

Practice is key. You can read as much as you want, but if you're not doing problems you won't pass. I did 6 practice exams before I wrote so try and get your hands on as many practice tests as you can and go through them about 1 month before the exam as if you were writing the actual exam - see website below. Of the last 3 weeks, the first 2 should be spent reviewing things you messed up on in practice exams and the final week should be spent either resting or memorizing the handbook.

DO NOT overlook ethics. You pretty much need to memorize the entire Standards of Practice handbook - yes, that's all 6 items in the Code of Ethics and all 7 standards and substandards. Also, as I'm sure you're aware there's no formula sheets allowed, so memorize each formula at the end of all of the Schweser books.

For those looking for torrents, go to this website instead:

www.elitebook.net

Its got every Schweser book, along with practice exams for every level and some of the Stalla ones as well.

Calculators: get the Texas Instruments BAII if you still have to buy one. The HP12C sucks.

Good luck!:thumbsup:

Standards of Practice handbook 2005...is it the lasted edition ?

[acura_el]

Originally posted by WRX64


Standards of Practice handbook 2005...is it the lasted edition ?

Yes, I believe that's the one. I don't know if it's on elitebook, but in either case if you don't have a copy, you can download one from the CFAI website.

http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2005.n3.4000

Summary that can be used on exam day:
http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2005.n8.4568

[WRX64]

Originally posted by acura_el


Yes, I believe that's the one. I don't know if it's on elitebook, but in either case if you don't have a copy, you can download one from the CFAI website.

http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2005.n3.4000

Summary that can be used on exam day:
http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2005.n8.4568

thanks so much brother

[acura_el]

Originally posted by WRX64


thanks so much brother

No worries.:thumbsup:

[sk8r3124]

Anyone feeling a little stressed out as of late, 15 days away

[aram1000]

ya, doing practice tests now, man did I suck at first, getting better, but so much to remember

[sk8r3124]

I think first time through I scored a 38%. I still have a lot of work to do. I grabbed 3 different sample exams. So I think I have good idea of what mix of questions will be on tested on.

[Pacman]

Where are you guys getting the practice exams from?

Would you mind email me them, or perhaps I could meet you and copy them?

Thanks
James

[psi_klops]

I tried to downloand the schweser notes, but no luck. Does anyone have a soft copy they could send me?
I am sure there are a few of us who could use it!!
thanks!

[aram1000]

just a few more days, crunch time now

[Pacman]

Originally posted by psi_klops
I tried to downloand the schweser notes, but no luck. Does anyone have a soft copy they could send me?
I am sure there are a few of us who could use it!!
thanks!

I've got a copy of the notes I can give to you, but they are 50 megs in size so I can't email them.

Do you have some type of server that I can upload them to? or you can come over to my place and get them.

[sk8r3124]

I wouldn't worry about the notes, I got them to him on monday night. It was a pain. I had to use yousendit.com

Its nice to know everyone is looking out

[7thgenvic]

Im pumped for CFA...Should be another fun couple months of studying :)

[sk8r3124]

Unless you are writing this Saturday like the rest of us, at this point it is no fun at all.

[7thgenvic]

Originally posted by sk8r3124
Unless you are writing this Saturday like the rest of us, at this point it is no fun at all.

Is your undergrad in FNCE?

[sk8r3124]

I received my ECON Degree years ago

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by Pacman
My wife is writing in December. She has been casually studying and using some flashcards that she bought from Kaplan.

Is said wife in Avatar? :poosie:


kidding! lol, But good luck to everyone this week!

[aram1000]

thanks urbannomad, much appreciated, ya studying for this has been no fun, especailly this last month, but oh well, it will be worth it

[Pacman]

Originally posted by urbannomad


Is said wife in Avatar? :poosie:


kidding! lol, But good luck to everyone this week!

hehe, nope. That's just some random internet slut.

[yellowsnow]

just wondering what kind of jobs can u get with a CFA designation. do you work at banks, o/g companies, investment companies?

how do u get your foot in the door?

[Celica TVS3]

^ You don't really 'get a job' with the CFA designation. To actually get the designation you actually have to have 4 years of approved work experience.

A lot of CFA charter-holders work in Corporate Finance, Equity Research, Institutional equity sales (ie Investment Banking). Others work in business development or other finance rolls at corporations. Many charter-holders work in investment management (ie Portfolio Manager, retail investment advisor...)

It's a tough field to be in right now, and there are not many opportunities at the moment. I happen to work on the sell-side in equity research. If you search my past posts i think i have a description of my daily routine and some background as to how I ended up there.

To those who write tomorrow, Good Luck.

[civicHB]

How did everyone find the exam?
the first session was Ok.....second session was a monumental FAIL!!!

[Pacman]

Originally posted by civicHB
How did everyone find the exam?
the first session was Ok.....second session was a monumental FAIL!!!

Exactly the same way my wife feels. Thinks she passed the morning and failed the afternoon.

[The_Rural_Juror]

There was a hot engineer chick in section C. :poosie:

[Pacman]

Sweet....did you get any pics with your cell phone?


Originally posted by The_Rural_Juror
There was a hot engineer chick in section C. :poosie:

[The_Rural_Juror]

No, but I have a good memory for such things. :drool: :love:

[aram1000]

that was a long test, i thought the second one was going better for me but it turned out to be harder, hard test, think i'm on the fringe, there was some talent in the room which is always a pleasant surprise

[fortissimo]

Which section were you guys in? I was in section C. Many of the spots were empty. The second half was much more difficult than the first.

[The_Rural_Juror]

Oh snap. I was checking out Pacman's wife. Sorry dude, didn't mean to perv on your wife. :rofl:

[aram1000]

I was in section D, i was the only one at my table, which was a good thing

[sk8r3124]

I was in section E
I talked to one of the "vests" at the sign-in before the second exam, and apparently only 40% of the scheduled candidates showed up. What a waste of their money, pay hundreds for an exam, and don't even show up.... Yes, you are an expert in the financial role..... then I am pretty sure you know what a sunk cost is!!!

[sk8r3124]

Does anyone have any idea when we will be able to check out our exam results?

[The_Rural_Juror]

The word on the street is Jan 29.

[gcycheun]

anybody know where i can find 2009 CFA KAPLAN Study notes

[Tripen]

Hey gcy,

I've got a torrent with the 2009 CFA Level 1 notes. PM me if you still need it.

[sk8r3124]

Exam results out today.
June Exam here I come
:banghead:

[aram1000]

i'm in the same boat, 35% pass rate and another 4 months to study, though the second crack should be better

[sk8r3124]

Sucky thing is, I was going to do the course at the UofC if I didn't pass. I looked it up, and it has already started and I can't register, so now I am torn on risking it again in June, or waiting till next december and taking the course.

[blah23]

Originally posted by Tripen
Hey gcy,

I've got a torrent with the 2009 CFA Level 1 notes. PM me if you still need it.

Do you still have the torrent?

[Pacman]

My wife just got the results and she passed. She was 99% certain that she had failed it.

[sk8r3124]

Originally posted by Pacman
My wife just got the results and she passed. She was 99% certain that she had failed it.


Congrats to your wife, I decided to wait until next december to write again, I would rather guarantee a pass and take the prep course. Plus I will have my life back for a couple of months here.

[aram1000]

Congrats to your wife Pacman, my friend also passed, he didn't study any of the schwasers stuff or any of the CFA material, he just did one of those weekend prep seminars and just studied that material, thats what I am going to do as well, i am gonna enroll for the June exam, i wanna get level one done with so i got a full year of prep for level 2

[Pacman]

Does anyone have (or know of a website for a free download) of the:

CFA - 2009 - Level 2 - Secret Sauce?

If you have one, could I please get a copy of it....or does anyone know of any websites where I can download it for free?

Elitebook.net doesn't have it for free.....

THanks
pac

[acura_el]

Originally posted by Pacman
Does anyone have (or know of a website for a free download) of the:

CFA - 2009 - Level 2 - Secret Sauce?

If you have one, could I please get a copy of it....or does anyone know of any websites where I can download it for free?

Elitebook.net doesn't have it for free.....

THanks
pac

I've been looking for one too but can't seem to find it anywhere. As a last resort, I've been using the 2008 version from Elitebook with a bit of caution since some of the material has changed and a lot of new material was introduced. I figured at the very least, the bulk of it would be covered.

One week left...8 months of studying and it all comes down to this! Can't wait to be done so I can finally go back to living normally!:nut:

[davidI]

Good luck! I'm looking at signing up for the December exams tomorrow. Time to say good-bye to my life!

[acura_el]

^Thanks, and congratulations on taking the first step toward signing your life away to the CFA!:thumbsup:

Join the club:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2211857194

[Pacman]

I found it!

The file is 19 megs in size.....so it's too big to email.

Any ideas?




Originally posted by acura_el


I've been looking for one too but can't seem to find it anywhere. As a last resort, I've been using the 2008 version from Elitebook with a bit of caution since some of the material has changed and a lot of new material was introduced. I figured at the very least, the bulk of it would be covered.

One week left...8 months of studying and it all comes down to this! Can't wait to be done so I can finally go back to living normally!:nut:

[acura_el]

Originally posted by Pacman
I found it!

The file is 19 megs in size.....so it's too big to email.

Any ideas?



Did you download it? If not, let me see if I can find a site for webhosting.

[Pacman]

I did download it.....but it took me 2 hours to find it and I can't seem to find it again in my browser history.

It was from a "rapid share" site......

Any idea how big the SHAW webspace is?



Originally posted by acura_el


Did you download it? If not, let me see if I can find a site for webhosting.

[acura_el]

I have no idea. I was actually just checking rapidshare and you can upload up to 200MB free for 90 days.

Would you be able to upload it here and then send me the download link?

http://www.rapidshare.com/

I just tried it with one of my pdf files and it worked. You don't have to register or anything either.


Thanks in advance!!:thumbsup:

[davidI]

If anyone has any of the Level 1 Schweser or anything please let me know. I'd love a copy of the DVDs for video instruction as that's how I learn best.

[acura_el]

So who wrote and how did it end up going?

I wrote L2. Morning session was a bit tough, but afternoon one went a lot better. I honestly feel like it's going to be a borderline toss up. Just hope to pass because I get the impression they're going to be adding a lot of new material in light of current economic conditions, particularly dealing with MBS and fixed income. I could even see them revamping the entire ethics section thanks to people like Bernie Madoff.:thumbsdow

Hopefully doesn't happen though.

[Pacman]

Originally posted by acura_el
So who wrote and how did it end up going?

I wrote L2. Morning session was a bit tough, but afternoon one went a lot better. I honestly feel like it's going to be a borderline toss up. Just hope to pass because I get the impression they're going to be adding a lot of new material in light of current economic conditions, particularly dealing with MBS and fixed income. I could even see them revamping the entire ethics section thanks to people like Bernie Madoff.:thumbsdow

Hopefully doesn't happen though.

My wife feels the exact same way. She wrote Level 2 and felt the afternoon went better than the morning session. She only studied for 2 months, so she went in a bit unprepared.

[Mckenzie]

OK so a couple questions here:

What is this prep course everyone is speaking of? Is it at U of C?

What is the best study material? Schweizer seems to be the one of choice.

Thanks. :)

[aram1000]

There are different prep courses, I did a 3 day one from Schwesers in San Fransisco, it was a huge help, as for the best study material, thats up for debate, the majority of candidates i've met use Schwesers, there's also stuff by Stalla, i don't know anyone who's used their material. I like Schwesers, i find they present the material pretty well. Either way though, be prepared to invest a lot of study time

[sk8r3124]

I am registered for the UofC prep course. I am a little alarmed by it though, because looking in the past it consisted of 10+ sessions spread out every couple of weeks. I was hoping for that again to give me a better grasp on a timeline and where I should be in my readings. This time, its only 4 8 hour sessions spread out over 4 months. My planning backfired. Oh well. Better read ahead just in case.

[Mckenzie]

Thanks for the insight guys.

Rigorous studying I'm not a stranger too, but would like to do as little as possible obviously. I'm going to look into the u of c course next week.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Mckenzie
Thanks for the insight guys.

Rigorous studying I'm not a stranger too, but would like to do as little as possible obviously. I'm going to look into the u of c course next week.

You writing in December? I've been studying for the last month but probably won't have a chance to really ramp it up until October / November. I plan to spend a month lying in a hammock on Koh Tao in Thailand reading the material and then writing in KL.

Any interest in the Schweser CD Video Lectures? It's 16 discs...40 hours of lecture. I've found them really good so far. I'll read the study session then watch the lecture and it really pulls together / simplifies some of the text for me. I've copied them to my HD for traveling so am willing to sell for ~$250 or so ($500 US new).

[acura_el]

I failed Level 2 :(

Did anyone else write?

[Mckenzie]

Originally posted by davidI


You writing in December? I've been studying for the last month but probably won't have a chance to really ramp it up until October / November. I plan to spend a month lying in a hammock on Koh Tao in Thailand reading the material and then writing in KL.

Any interest in the Schweser CD Video Lectures? It's 16 discs...40 hours of lecture. I've found them really good so far. I'll read the study session then watch the lecture and it really pulls together / simplifies some of the text for me. I've copied them to my HD for traveling so am willing to sell for ~$250 or so ($500 US new).

Yah going to register this week for December and slowly start reviewing everything. I've probably got a bit of a head start on the accounting with my CA background but will need to brush up on the crumby finance theory. I think a friend is going to sell me his schweiser notes so I'll go with that for now thanks...if I have time towards the end I may look into a video set.

[superboyazn]

Hey are the CDs off Elitebook for Schweser actually legit/good?

[aram1000]

I passed the June Level 1 exam and am getting ready to get cracking on the Level 2. I hear its the most challenging one yet. As for the Video CD's, i definately recommend them. I didn't use them when I wrote the Level 1 exam for the first time. On the second go around, I used the CD's quite a bit and found they made a difference, as stated before, really tie the material together. I think if you are from a finance or business background you may not need them, however for me they helped as my undergrad isn't in business/finance. The biggest thing i learned on my second go around for the level 1 exam is have a good study plan and strategy and stick to it, stay disciplined. For me, that was the key between passing and failing, also, taking a review seminar about a month before the exam isn't a bad idea. For me, I was able to spot my weaknesses, and develop a good study strategy for the last month of the exam. Also if you can, take a week off from work before the test, again, makes a difference, well it did for me.

[psi_klops]

Edited:
Does anybody have the Level 1 Audio CD's they could lend/ sell me??
Or know where I can get them?
Thanks!!:thumbsup:

[urban.one]

https://www.cfainstitute.org/centre/codes/ethics/



Originally posted by psi_klops
Does anybody have the Level 1 Audio CD's they could burn me??
Or know where I can get them?
Thanks!!:thumbsup:

[The_Rural_Juror]

Anyone want to buy my old level 1 schweser notes/textbooks?