The Chartered Financial Analyst Institution (CFAI) is a globally recognized finance institute. It provides different types of certifications, but the most prominent one is CFA, an exam that consists of three exams (Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3) and relevant work experience. I will cover how you can navigate your way through the level 1 exam and also clear it (because I did). Also, I will cover the mistakes I made, which you can avoid.
First of all, get this fact embedded in your brain: the motive of the CFA Institute is to test your concepts. And you will study each topic like the exam will cover this topic. Now below are the points you need to follow.
1. Take Your Time: It doesn't matter whether you take 2/6/12 months to study the curriculum. It is preferred that you take at least 6–9 months for exam preparation. Keep in mind that the last 1–1.5 months will be left for mock exams, revisions, and mock exams.
2. Questions: Questions, questions, and questions. After covering a reading (chapter), do not proceed to the next reading before attempting enough questions. CFA reading End of Chapter Questions > CFAI candidate resources questions > other vendors (like U World Finance) The above order is the best method to follow.
3. Difficult Topics: This point is subjective and depends from student to student. The best tip to follow is that whenever you are not able to overcome a topic or concept, use CFAI curriculum examples. If enough time is left, you can do all the examples given in order; otherwise, you can skip them. One other way to tackle complex concepts is to use ChatGpt and type the prompt "Explain Payer Swaption to a 5-year-old".
4. Notes And Revision: I am assuming that you will be creating notes for each reading. Here you will follow an active revision strategy which means rather than cramping up your notes you will just go through the notes and spend more time on questions and if any are wrongly answered, you will jump back to notes, core write up, and examples for assistance to cement that concept. The process has to be followed multiple times back and forth for all readings.
5. Mock Exams: The most important point of all the above. Start taking mock exams at least 30-45 days(or even earlier if possible) before the exam date no matter how much syllabus you covered. Now it may seem that mocks must be kept for the last 10 days but that's not the case with CFAI exams. You can't afford to lose your confidence in the last few days of the exam. You will make mistakes in mock exams and some of them will be silly. It's better to have enough time on your side so you can work through the weaker concepts. If possible try to imitate the exam environment while taking mocks.
Now to conclude all of the above I will cover the mistakes I made during my Level 1 journey.
1. Not taking enough mocks. I just took 3–4 mock exams. You should try giving at least 6-8 mock exams till you are confident.
2. Losing the idea that concept is the foundation of clearing any CFA level. Always focus on the concept, getting the correct answer is the by-product.
3. Not referring to the core write-up. When in doubt about a formula, concept, or any other query about a topic, always refer to the core.
So that's all I can summarize for CFA Level 1. If you have any doubts or need any kind of assistance, you can drop a comment or email me at 16arjungupta@gmail.com
Helpful
Very helpful.