CFA Exams...???

T

TheSorcerer

Is this exam really hard to pass? Level I, II & III

Why do people say it is a very hard exam??

I mean, I don't even know a thing about it but, why do people say it is hard? What did you think was hard on it?
 
1 is not that bad. 2 is a real bitch, and 3 you better be able to write forever. Working on a desk, I never took them, but I worked with lots of people who did. Most passed the 1st test, but lots had to take the 2nd and 3rd more than once. And these were pretty smart people.
 
I passed all three levels and got the Charter. It's a real pain in the arse - don't kid yourself. The tests are designed for failure. If you want to know what sort of materials can make for a hard test, I encourage you to pick up any of the Fabozzi books on valuing fixed income securities. Yes, it can be that tough.
 
Not only do you have to pass the exam itself, then you need to have 4 years of work experience as an investment advisor??

I don't think I'll make it that far.
 
Do you need sponsorship to take it (like the series 7), and how long does it take? Someone told me it has to be spread out over a few years....is that true?
 
Quote from Div_Arb:

I passed all three levels and got the Charter. It's a real pain in the arse - don't kid yourself. The tests are designed for failure. If you want to know what sort of materials can make for a hard test, I encourage you to pick up any of the Fabozzi books on valuing fixed income securities. Yes, it can be that tough.
More...

did you have an Econ degree before taking the CFA? im currently 4th year BSC Econ looking to CFA afterwards, apparently thats one of the best setups...?
 
Level 1 is offered twice a year (June and December), Levels 2 & 3 are offered once a year in June. i have two professors who passed level 2 and 3. In order to get your charter you must have 3 years of relevant work experience (so you should get that while taking the exams). Also to actually get the charter, you need a CFA member to sponsor you. By then you should have joined the Institute as an affiliate member and gotten to know people and attend some local society events.

I am signed up for December and have only put in 100 hours of studying. I have a friend who passed level one this summer right after graduation, he studied a lot and was very academically gifted already. No one should kid themselves, this is not a fun exam.

I have also heard the same, most people who pass level one get destroyed on level 2 because of a confidence and therefore reason not to study as much. Level three is a lot of writing. i know investopedia.com has a good breakdown of what each exam consists of. From what I know, most finance majors take the exam but level one has a large focus on Financial Statements, something you can only get from taking intermediate accounting 1 & 2. Many Finance programs do not require these classes putting students at a disadvantage. If you get this down, you have 1/4 of the exam beat. Good luck to any one who signs up. They say the recommended amount of study time for level 1 is 250+ hours.
 
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