[Wanted] Study partner for CFA Level 1

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Hi all,

My next personal objective is to pass the first CFA exam next year. From my experience at university, it is much easier to have someone to study with. It is a great way to keep the motivation intact by mutually supporting each other, answering questions, challenging the comprehension of the topics (and waking up on Saturday morning to go to the library! :-D). The target would be to pass the exam in May or August 2021.

EDIT: Would someone be interested to tackle this challenge with me?

I hope this message will resonate in someone’s ear! :slight_smile:

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How do you plan to do it? Are there some online courses available? How much effort do you think will be needed?

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It is estimated to require around 300 hours of work. If the studying period ranges from mid-September to end of April, it would give us 7.5 months => 40 h/month => 10 hours/week. That would be 8 hours per week-end (Saturday and/or Sunday) and one studying session of 2 hours during the week.

While the course curriculum is provided after paying the registration fee, there are plenty of preparation courses recommended by the CFA institute. The two I’ve heard the most from are from Kaplan and Wiley.

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This certification is kind of useless and expensive. It’s a lot better to learn to code.
Why would you like pass this certification ?

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Thank you for your open-mindedness… :wink:
First, I’m interested in deepening my knowledge in financial analysis. Second it is a personal challenge. And (bonus) third, I work as engineer and already know how to code.

That being said, my post does not aim at discussing the usefulness of the CFA, but rather to find a motivated studying partner.

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Hey Ru3edi, I’m studying for level 2, aiming for May too.
my take away from level 1 was: huge pain to go through but helpful knowledge if you work in finance.
I studied with Kaplan and never read the PDF from the institute and passed in the top 10%. When i got sick of reading i watched videos (markmeldrum i can recommend, a canadian professor/trader that has videos and also sells per chapter).

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Thanks for your feedback! :slight_smile:

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Just put a comment in your introduction thread, but I assume this thread here is the better place.

CFA is phantastic but hard work. If you pull this off, and you look for new jobs, this will open you many doors. Have few CFA’ler in my teams and they are all excellent and their salary is good (around CHF 180-200k).

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Thanks for the feedback and suggestion. I added a link to this thread in my introduction post.

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Do you need professional experience in finance for the CFA? I’m asking since you are an engineer.

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If you want to become a chartered financial analyst, yes. You have to pass the three exams and have 3 years of relevant work experience. I work in IT for banks but I do not think this experience would qualify me.

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May I ask what exactly your field of work is? :slight_smile: 180-200k of salary is director level in a bank or insurance company which are already known to pay well.

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I’m a consultant specialized in banking-related IT (core systems, process automation, etc.). But my goal is not to transition to banking/insurance at the moment. I want to pass the exam out of personal interest.

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I’m really tempted… the CFA is one of the hundred things I want to do, but I’m sure it doesn’t fit a life with an intense full time work, a kid, and a blog… but I’m tempted!

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Admirable!
I’m sure it would set you up for making better investment decisions, particularly if you wish to analyze individual companies (as you seem you would enjoy it).

Have you or anyone else perhaps identified some not-so-serious courses that can be taken online to get more familiar with the matter of FA?

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May I ask you, how exactly the CFA certification would help you to make better decisions in ETFs / stocks market?

I am also an Engineer with MBA studies and a lot of certifications already. not challenging your thread, just looking to understand better your thinking behind, because I am also always tempted for continous learning on new things.

For instance have you maybe looked after other alternatives, online courses etc… with better results / lower effort?

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You should seize the opportunity when it’s in front of you! :smiley:
Maybe if you discuss it beforehand with your partner and explain that it is only for a few months you could free up some time? Also, if we are two to take up the challenge, it should be a bit easier.

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Let’s do this: I just started my new job yesterday… give me a month to understand my new “life balance”, then I’ll come back to you (or you ping me).

In in the meantime you find someone else, please seize the opportunity and don’t wait for me :smiley:

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I could find a few on the internet (on coursera for example) but none of them offer a comprehensive curriculum and/or provide a global view of the matter. If someone knows about such a course, I’m all ears!

I do not invest that much in ETFs, I mostly do stock picking. It would help me to understand the financial health of the companies I target, define the value of their stock to evaluate if they are over/under valued. It would also provide me with a better understanding of the market in general and to define my portfolio strategy.

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Sounds good to me, good luck with the new job!