CFA Level 1
Saturday, July 14, 2007
I will be taking the Level 1 exam in the coming December, and I have started studying it. For a person without much of the finance background, the preparation is quite painful.
The Level 1 exam 2007 consists of 18 study sessions. SS 1 is ethics, which I have skipped for the moment. SSs 2 and 3 are quantitative methods, which cover topics like time value to money, probability, basic statistics, hypothesis testing and correlation and regression. SS2 to 3 are relatively easy for me because as a social science student, we do have statistical training in undergraduate studies (of course, social scientist always misuse and abuse statistics, but that's not important for the time being).
SSs 4 to 6 are Economics, which covers microeconomics, macroeconomics, and global economic analysis. So far I have finished SS4, which is relatively easy, as it is not much more advanced than the introductory economic course I have taken in my college. I hope that the remaining 2 SSs in Economics will be not too difficult.
So far the most difficult study sessions for me are the 4 sessions of financial statement analysis (FSA). FSA 1-4 are difficult for people like me, with zero accounting background. But it is very important, not only because it accounts for the largest proportion of questions in the actual CFA Level 1 exam, but also that it is one of the most important things in making sound investment decision, especially if you are believer of fundamental analysis (not technical analysis).
For the remaining sessions, I have really touched on them. They are Corporate finance, Portfolio Management, Equity Analysis, Fixed income, derivatives, and alternative investment. I haven't read them, so I cannot really make any comment at this moment. But I guess they are built on the previous study sessions. So for me, at this moment, would be to master the material in SSs 2 to 11, then I may have a better time in the remaining two books of material.
The Level 1 exam 2007 consists of 18 study sessions. SS 1 is ethics, which I have skipped for the moment. SSs 2 and 3 are quantitative methods, which cover topics like time value to money, probability, basic statistics, hypothesis testing and correlation and regression. SS2 to 3 are relatively easy for me because as a social science student, we do have statistical training in undergraduate studies (of course, social scientist always misuse and abuse statistics, but that's not important for the time being).
SSs 4 to 6 are Economics, which covers microeconomics, macroeconomics, and global economic analysis. So far I have finished SS4, which is relatively easy, as it is not much more advanced than the introductory economic course I have taken in my college. I hope that the remaining 2 SSs in Economics will be not too difficult.
So far the most difficult study sessions for me are the 4 sessions of financial statement analysis (FSA). FSA 1-4 are difficult for people like me, with zero accounting background. But it is very important, not only because it accounts for the largest proportion of questions in the actual CFA Level 1 exam, but also that it is one of the most important things in making sound investment decision, especially if you are believer of fundamental analysis (not technical analysis).
For the remaining sessions, I have really touched on them. They are Corporate finance, Portfolio Management, Equity Analysis, Fixed income, derivatives, and alternative investment. I haven't read them, so I cannot really make any comment at this moment. But I guess they are built on the previous study sessions. So for me, at this moment, would be to master the material in SSs 2 to 11, then I may have a better time in the remaining two books of material.
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