Ask me about the CFA program

[kevkev60614]

Questions have come up in several threads recently but it appears that few 2+2ers are actually candidates or charterholders themselves. The best source of data is of course their website, but I'm willing to answer questions about my own experiences if there's any interst.

[petp_the_greek]

did u pass all 3 levels on the first try?

what do u honestly think of a test that you dont know what the passing grade is until AFTER youve taken it? (thats my biggest pet peeve about the CFA)

[kevkev60614]

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did u pass all 3 levels on the first try?

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No. I registered for the first exam my senior year of college, but then accepted a job as an options trader on the CBOE. I was then presented with the option of studying for the exam on top of my regular studies and passing an exam I wasn't sure I'd ever be interested in or enjoying my senior year. I studied probably around 20 hours total. It didn't go well. I passed the next time I took it, several years later when I'd studied properly. I then failed the second exam the first time I took it. I'd had a 103 fever the day before but the truth was I spent all my study time with glossy eyes, thinking I could breeze through the material unfocused and still pass. I didn't make that mistake again and passed the 2nd and 3rd exams the following two years.

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what do u honestly think of a test that you dont know what the passing grade is until AFTER youve taken it? (thats my biggest pet peeve about the CFA)

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In actuality you never find out the passing grade, you just find out whether you passed or not. It's graded on a curve. I believe the cutoff point is something like 0.7 * the average score of the top percentile of test takers. Some subjectivity still exists, though. I know, for instance, that the cutoff score is reviewed if too many candidates pass. To answer your question, knowing the cutoff point wouldn't have really effected me. There's no way I could walk out and say "I'm pretty sure I got a 65 or better."

I probably should've stated in the OP that I'm not yet a CFA charterholder. I passed the third exam in June and am dependant on the CFA Institute's approval of my required work experience. I expect to receive my charter late this year.

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I'm one year out of college and just accepted a job as a hedge fund analyst. I'm considering taking the June Level I Exam, but I'm not sure if it will interfere with my job. The job itself is going to be very demanding/stressful. Would you suggest holding off taking the CFA at this point in my career and focus on my work or can I do both?

[kevkev60614]

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I'm one year out of college and just accepted a job as a hedge fund analyst. I'm considering taking the June Level I Exam, but I'm not sure if it will interfere with my job. The job itself is going to be very demanding/stressful. Would you suggest holding off taking the CFA at this point in my career and focus on my work or can I do both?

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Congrats on the job! This is really a question that you have to answer for yourself. But here are some things to think about:

1) Are you pretty confident that you'll be on this career path five years from now? The CFA program is very time intensive and it sounds like your free time will already be short. It'd be a shame to spend a great deal of time studying only to realize that you'd rather be a botanist. Furthermore after passing more than one of the exams you'll be kind of trapped by your salary. Typically as you progress through the exams your market value increases as an analyst and it'll get harder and harder for you to accept a job making less money doing something else. If you're not sure whether investment analysis is for you, it might be better to wait a year and figure it out. An MBA is respected in nearly every field, but a CFA charter is often not as highly regarded outside the investment profession.

2) The majority of people who take the exam are working full time, and many in this industry work overtime. So you can clearly do both if you want to.

3) How important is it to your company that you take the exams?

4) Are you at a point in your life where you can give up a significant amount of free time? You'll be giving up time with family, friends, poker, sports, reading anything unrelated to your studies, etc.

5) One more thing not everyone immediately realizes: working through the CFA program will very likely make you better at your job. It can help you jump the learning curve as you branch out in your company.

[stinkypete]

how helpful is having passed level I in finding a good job out of school? what about level II?

[thing85]

This question is really unrelated to the CFA certification, but nevertheless, maybe you or someone here has an answer. I'll be a CPA shortly, but I was curious about the difficulty/value of getting a CFP certification. Any thoughts?

[petp_the_greek]

which of the 3 levels is the hardest? do they get progressively harder, easier, or the same?

[kevkev60614]

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which of the 3 levels is the hardest? do they get progressively harder, easier, or the same?

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It's sort of difficult to say because each of the three exams is different in content, format, and pass rates.

The first exam focuses more on analytical tools, the second on a deeper understanding of asset classes (including financial statement analysis), and the third most on portfolio management. If you're no good at quantitative analysis and heavy math, for instance, you might struggle more with the first exam.

The first exam is multiple choice, the second is item sets and the third item sets and essay. I know a lot of candidates who spoke English as a second language were worried about the essay portion of the third exam.

Pass rates in 2007 were 40/40/50% for the three exams. But when you factor in the fact that during the second exam you're no longer competing against those who failed to pass the first exam, and by the third exam you're really competing agains the cream of the crop, those pass rates are pretty skewed.

I had the hardest time with the second exam because I detest accounting, and financial statement analysis makes up a big chunk of the second exam. I think if the CFA Institute put it to a vote, most charterholders would vote the 2nd exam as the hardest.

Man, having to pick up those books and start over from scratch after failing the 2nd exam was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I was like "I spent five months of my free time and gave it my all, and now I have to do it again from scratch." Of course, it really wasn't from scratch nor had I really given it my all (lack of focus mostly), but I'm allowed to self-pity. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Foghatlive]

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I had the hardest time with the second exam because I detest accounting...



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I took the HR Block Tax Preparer course. I remember constantly thinking, "How could anyone do this full time?"