CFA Exam & Material

[tj100]



No need for sponsors for the first test.

IIRC (at least, back in my day, it may have changed) the sponsorship is a requirement of CFAI membership, which really only has to happen after you finish L3.

 

[cropknox]

The last statistic I heard was that 60% of testers do not pass the level 1 on the first attempt. No doubt a large portion of those who fail are busy working professionals who fail to study enough.

 

[Concordia]

Yes--- in Year 1, everyone assumes they know the material, even though they don't know it the way the examiners want. Once you get that part, it's not so bad.

Year 2 gets hard. Quantity and depth of material-- sort of like middle distance running.

Year 3 used to be trivial, but now there's apparently a decent dose of derivative work that goes beyond hand-waving and touting the virtues of diversification.

 

[Hannerhan]



Yes--- in Year 1, everyone assumes they know the material, even though they don't know it the way the examiners want. Once you get that part, it's not so bad.
Year 2 gets hard. Quantity and depth of material-- sort of like middle distance running.
Year 3 used to be trivial, but now there's apparently a decent dose of derivative work that goes beyond hand-waving and touting the virtues of diversification.

Yes I have heard from multiple people that level III has gotten quite a bit tougher over the past few years, to the point where it's about the same as level II now on the difficulty scale.

 

[chogall]

There isn't much positive benefit that I can see, especially if you have a good MBA. Maybe you avoid a negative judgment here and there, or put out a signal if there's some doubt about your interests when someone looks at the rest of your resume. And perhaps the meetings are good for networking. I did once meet an investment firm that required all of their professionals to take it and would fire them if they took too long to pass. But they struck me as a pretty mediocre shop.
One thing to think about, though-- if you're single and without children, it's much easier to take the tests now. Between the evenings for review classes and the massive pre-exam panic around Memorial Day, it's much better if you're not responsible to too many people.

Exactly. I am taking the CFA only because I have a bad bad MBA degree from a no-name school.

 

[tedbearz]

If anyone is in NYC area I have lot of old CFA textbooks for sale. PM for details.