Study Material

GBiron

Just trying to get an idea of what people have used to study for their exams. I just recently graduated from college with a degree in finance and I'm looking to take the L1 in December. I've seen the products posted on this site so I'm looking to find out if there are certain combinations of these study materials along with other products that seem to work best.

Thanks for the help!
-GB

NickFatseas

GBiron said:

Just trying to get an idea of what people have used to study for their exams. I just recently graduated from college with a degree in finance and I'm looking to take the L1 in December. I've seen the products posted on this site so I'm looking to find out if there are certain combinations of these study materials along with other products that seem to work best.

Thanks for the help!
-GB

I second this request!  There are multiple posts throughout the website regarding various study materials.  Curious which combination of materials is the generally accepted ideal study plan.
Thanks!

artyeasel

I used Schweser as my main provider (i.e. notes, practice exams) and CFA Institute mock exams for all 3 levels. For L1 and L2 I also went with 7city/Fitch revision class.

cdonnellan1

Schweser is what I am planning on using. Artyeasel how do you get the CFA institute mock exams, are they through a paid course? Also how many hours are you all planning on studying? My plan as of right now is 21 hours per week until the final month and then up that to 26-30 for the last four weeks. giving me a total of 433.5 hours. I have completed the IMC1 and IMC2 so I have a good finance background. Anyone any advice on this?? Thanks

221Against

I'm a first timer Dec Lvl 1 so I have nothing proven yet.  Schweser just didn't do it for me when I reviewed their stuff.  Decided to go with Wiley/Elan as a main course because it's nice to have no expiration date and the material looks pretty solid, has live video lectures along with streaming (Plat is 200 off right now, bringing it down to the Gold price; which basically means you get free 11th hour set).  Going to supplement with Analyst Success for a different perspective, quick videos, supplement materials; it's pretty cheap and level 1 includes includes level 2 and 3 right now.  CFAI books for end of chapter questions and to dig deeper into important subjects that are just not sticking.   Mock exams...I guess Ill take em wherever I can get em.  CFAI of course, supplemental from Schweser perhaps...

hairyfairy

@221Against I switched to Schweser for Level 3 from Elan - the approach is quite different although L3 also varies quite widely from L1 and L2. We'll see in August if Schweser worked out for me...

googs1484

For lvl 1 Schweser is all you need, period.

gehan_harbi

I have one question....
to get the CFA certificate we should pass the three levels???
or when i pass level 1 or 2 i can get certificate with the level i passed?

PaulAdaptPrep

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far_w

Am a first timer, June Level 1. For the CFA training have opted for BloombergPREP after comparing across the various providers. Each chapter is well articulated as nuggets of information that can be very readily absorbed in trying to understand the various concepts. They also offer a trial 2 week period and I would highly recommend to try the same in trying to decide between providers. Also, the tool provides an easy user interface with nice features that help keep track of progress made, % of curriculum covered, success rate and also the average time spent on each question - features that help in preparation. Good luck!

TXHOKIE

I am sitting for L1 in June and am also using the BloombergPREP software. I chose this route after some research because after taking a few other similar-ish industry exams (Series 7, 66, CFP) I found that I study and prepare best with summarized reading and heavy amounts of practice questions. I enjoy the reading available and have spent more time in the books than I originally planned to but being someone who is admittedly poor with time-management I get too caught up in the details to a fault. BP provides concise summaries of sections with good follow up questions that make moving through the curriculum without forfeiting important concepts quick and organized. The progress tracking and data analytics for performance scores on different sections and chapters is really cool and fits with my study style well. One set back is that you can't necessarily choose which chapters you want to do in which order, there is a path that you need to follow (unless I just didn't find a way around this). I originally wanted to alternate the bigger sections of Econ, QM, and FRA with some topics I was most familiar with Equities, Fixed Income, PM, but it doesn't give you that flexibility if you don't "unlock" sections in succession. I may still be purchasing the Kaplan Q-Bank for a little bit of diversity in question style/concepts but overall I have been happy with my decisions to use Bloomberg as my primary study material.

TXHOKIE

TXHOKIE said:

One set back is that you can't necessarily choose which chapters you want to do in which order, there is a path that you need to follow (unless I just didn't find a way around this). I originally wanted to alternate the bigger sections of Econ, QM, and FRA with some topics I was most familiar with Equities, Fixed Income, PM, but it doesn't give you that flexibility if you don't "unlock" sections in succession.

Thought about this a little more and you can "quiz out" to jump ahead into different sections so if you really wanted to move ahead you can you just have to show some proficiency at the skipped topics.

policedog

For L1, Schweser or Wiley is fine. Bloomberg is unproven for L3, but otherwise fine for L1 and L2.

Spend more on premium packages if you think you need more support. I used the basic Schweser + practice supplements and it was fine.