Anybody over 50 years old candidate for CFA ?

L

LadySnowflake

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
I am 58 years old woman, candidate for 2013 Level 1 CFA exam. When I talk to people around me about my goal to get the full CFA certification, they sort of look strangely at me. This learning process is sort of natural for me since I always loved to learn more about investments in my free time.
Anybody else over 50 years old with the same challenge ? I feel lonely since most candidates in this forum seem to be young adults between 23 and 35 years old. So, this places me in the far end of the normal distribution.
I have a health science degree and health administration (master degree) background. Worked in the field for approximately 25 years. Then, turned to real estate brokerage for 4 years (which was the toughest job I had). Then, took a sabbatical to prepare for Level 1 exam.
When I received almost 3000 pages of notes from CFA, I really felt overwhelmed with the scope of the material. It is not really difficult but there is a lot to go through.
So, I decided to take it bit by bit and enjoy it. Up until now, I’ve put around 300 hours on ethics, quantitative methods, economics, equity and fixed income. Did all EOC questions of CFA and Schweser more than one time. Or until my understanding is pretty good. FRA and Corporate Finance are the next ones.
[link removed by admin]
I wish good luck to all of you, young guys and young girls.
LadySnowflake from Quebec, Canada
 
Good luck to you too!
I wish I could afford to take out a year to study for this full time - I really enjoy the topics but time forces me to focus on “getting through”…
All the best!
 
I just can’t imagine how hard it is on ”getting through” with a job and kids. Everything happens that lets you lose control on the best study plans.
I rushed all my life with a job, a family and part-time studies. So, I really appreciate my actual situation.
If needed, just pospone the exam date to reduce your stress and increase your time for more comfortable studying (if you can).
Best of lucks !
LadySnowflake from Quebec, Canada
 
Thank you, Lady, for the positivity. I too am a late bloomer at 38. Always interested in learning more on how to live a more balanced lifestyle. The books on your blog look interesting. And remember, don’t feel lonely since age is not absolute but relative. Good luck to you!
 
Hi lady Snowflake,
For what it’s worth, I’m forty, mother of 5, including a new born and two teens, and I will sit for Level 1 in June so help me God.
I already covered Ethics, quants, Economics, and almost done with FRA as well.
Last year I got my FRM certification, and immediately registered for CFA exam (though pregnant).
I get the same reactions you described, people think I’m crazy, others think I’m pushing myself too hard.
I’m only going to try my best, no super work intended, I learned to estimate my abilitites realistically and work with them.
Age poses health issues, aside from family commitments, prolonged sitting for studying gave me back deseases, and the weight problem of course :/
But hopefully, it won’t be a waste of time.
Good luck to you
 
Hi Henda,
You are a real model of energy and motivation for all those who wonder how they will or if they should make it.
Just reading your story makes me feel a lot more comfortable and lucky.
The worst time consumers are kids and teens because they present so many inexpected events unlike a job where sitting time is at least predictable.
I wish you real success for the exam. It will be interesting to follow you story.
Please post from time to time to give all these young candidates a motivational kick for the exam.
Best regards,
LadySnowflake from Quebec, Canada
 
Hi Hank Moody,
I’m impressed and have a few questions :
Was it hard to go through all levels ? How much time did you put in ?
Did you see many persons over 50 at the exams ?
Do you work in the field ? Is it up to your expectations ?
Thanks !
Lady Snowflake
 
When I took Level 2 there was an old woman in a sari. She must have been like 75 years old.
 
When i took L1 in what seems like ages ago now, i was seated next to a 50ish man. I saw him again for L2, he was lying on his back in one of those large storage rooms that were reserved for bags,rucksacks and coats, with notes lifted above his face and an intense glare behind the spectacles, i really hope he made it…it was humbling somehow to see people twice my age inflicting the torture of education upon themselves
 
I wouldn’t say it was easy going through the program, but I would say it felt very long even though I never had to repeat a level. I think that being older allowed me to bring a certain level of maturity that made it easier to keep my focus and avoid being sidetracked. I don’t remember how much time I put in for L1, but for L2 and L3 it was probably 500-600 hours, each. I do work in the field and it has met my expectations. You must realize (as I have) that the benefits of being a charterholder are largely personal. The skies don’t suddenly open up and change color – life is still the same as it was before. That said, it is a hugely satisfying accomplishment!
LadySnowflake wrote:
Hi Hank Moody,
I’m impressed and have a few questions :
Was it hard to go through all levels ? How much time did you put in ?
Did you see many persons over 50 at the exams ?
Do you work in the field ? Is it up to your expectations ?
Thanks !
Lady Snowflake
Click to expand...
 
There’s a gentleman in my Level I review class that must be in his mid-sixties from my estimates. I have a lot of admiration for him, and I hope that I will be just as willing and curious to pursue knowledge as he is when I reach his age!
 
Best of luck with your study!
i am over 35. I hope i will still have the thirst for knowledge when i reach your age. You are really inspiring
 
Thank you to all of you who found this thread inspiring.
For those who think that age is a barrier, you will see that your brain will remain very efficient and very active as time pass. Your thirst for knowledge will never stop to grow.
The only barrier is that the hard drive (in your brain) becomes full with life experiences and is a bit slower to sort all the accumulated data.
As I study for the CFA exam, I had to find some new storage places in my brain. And to my own surprise, it seems illimited.
I am up to the point where I really dislike to rush and I will take the exam when I really feel ready and confident to pass.
LadySnowflake from Québec, Canada
 
LadySnowflake,
Very inspiring story for us young people.
I wish you the best this upcomming June.
I think you are in a more favorable position that most of us. At your stage in life you are probably more sure of what you want/dont want and use that as bigger motivator.
Good luck!
Santiago, Panamá
 
I prepared notes for everyone who answered my posts. That was very kind from all of you. I really feel a lot less lonely. I appreciate your good words of luck and all the informations.
Answer to I-will-pass : I read that you can’t deserve to devote all the time you’d want and have to go trough. Sometimes, it’s a good strategy to stuff all the material for a specific purpose (pass the exam). I did it often through my master degree and it works ! But exhausting ! You will make it.
Anser to stillmanaf : I read that you are a 38 years old late bloomer with a real goal. You are right, age is not an absolute relative. You still have lots of time to enjoy your CFA certification. Some investors love to have a more “mature” counselor. So, you will fit perfectly with them.
Answer to Hank Moody : You had the certification at 55 years old and work actually in the field - up to your expectations. I’m elated regarding your success. Also, you should be extremely good for your personal investing portfolio. All your knowledge and working experiences will serve their purpose even after you retire. And, thanks for all the informations you gave me.
Answer to Henda : I just can’t believe that you have 5 kids, including small baby. I you can make it for the exam, everybody can !!! You are unbelievable and certainly very bright and organized. I REALLY want to have other news from you.
Answer to ohai : She looked like 75 years old ! OH my god ! Are you sure ? So, I am still very young (58).
Answer to TinyBeluga : Did you pass Level II after all ? The torture of education after 60 years old is truly the drive to reach a goal that will serve its purpose on a personal basis (investment and financial knowledge are never lost). When I go to conferences and seminars on investment strategies, I see are a LOT of people around 70 years old (mostly men).
Answer to Cinderella : I also wish you best of luck, a lot of confidence and a passing rate. There are not enough women in the field. In my city - Québec - I happened to see a picture of the 14 passing candidates (Level III). There was only one woman.
Answer to ninini : You are still very young at 35 years old. But, at that age, most of you are in the midst of a career with big family obligations and… perturbations. This passage of life is often very demanding and exhausting.
Answer to santimedinav : Yes I am in a very favorable period of my life - no more kids - and a lot of time on my hands. Its up to the point where I really know what I don’t want : rush and stress. I may not take the exam in June - maybe later when I will be confident to pass. Thanks for your kind encouragement. I also wish your the very best.
LadySnowflake from Quebec, Canada
 
Lady Snowflake, hang in there. Persevere. It’s worth every miserable hour and every head-scratching moment…even the anesthetizing prose of Professor Fabozzi, who never says in ten words what he can say in ten thousand.
I got on the CFA track in my late 50s. I wasn’t a Wall Street guy. Never had been, never wanted to be. I was (and am) a self-employed business appraiser. I analyze and value non-public companies. We all know that analyzing the securities of public companies is no walk in the park. Well, let me tell you: analyzing companies with no audited financials, no pressure to maximize profits, limited disclosures, an shallow gene pool, and no markets for their securities is many magnitudes more difficult. But it’s also the only thing I’ve done in my life that has never bored me…and tha tincludes being the former CFO of one company, and the controller of another. I bore easily. But in this line of work, I’ve not been bored for a single minute in the nearly twenty years I’ve been in it. I’m astonished I get paid to do this. What a great life.
But 2005 wasn’t so great. For the 2005 Level III exam, I invested over 450 hours of preparation. I assembled about 225 pages of handwritten notes indexed to the Learning Outcome Statements. I’ve completed all of my Ph.D. coursework in strategic management. I’m also a CPA. I know how to study, believe me.
But I failed the 2005 L3 exam.
It was a crushing and personal defeat. I felt as if I’d been socked in the stomach. I felt far worse, however, for the lovely woman that I was fortunate enough to marry in 1994. She was then a widow, and I had been single for nearly 20 years. But marrying her is THE best and greatest thing that ever happened to me. She took my failure on L3 as personally and as painfully as I did.
At that point, I was 61 years old. I’d had a successful career. I didn’t need to prove anything to anybody. I was well-known in my field, hainvg published and lectured widely. So, after two weeks of recovering and reflection, I sat down with Dorothy for a conversation about the CFA regimen. I pointed out what I said a couple of lines above and then said to the effect of, “Dear, who needs this kind of aggravation? Why don’t we just call it a day with this CFA thing?”
She said (and I’m quoting here because even my pea brain remember what she said): “Dear, I really hate being a CFA widow. But if you don’t pass that Level 3 next year, I’m probably going to become a real widow!”
Whew.
For Level 3 in 2006, I updated my meticulous notes from 2005 with the new LOS’s and the modifications in the old ones. I studied for fewer than 100 hours…and I passed with flying colors. When we got the news in August of that year, both of us had tears rolling down our faces. It was a team effort. Her name belongs on the charter at least as much as mine because I never could have done it without her.
So, Lady Snowflake, persevere. You’ll get through, believe me. And it’ll be worth every lonely, frustrating, miserable late-night hour. Take that to the bank.
 
LadySnowflake,
At 58 years old you are probably one of the oldest CFA Lvl 1 exam takers this year.
I on the otherhand at 17 (no im not kidding) will probably be one of the youngest.
-unknownub
btw, any other very young CFA 1 exam takers out there?
 
I’m 42 with wife of 12 years and two young kids. I do corporate real estate development for a large well-known retailer and have been doing this for almost 20 years. Always been fascinated with the workings of the financial world and thus decided to take the challenge with the CFA program. Passed Level 1 in Summer of 2011. Failed Level II last year. Totally revamped my study program and started studying back in August for this years test. Have been studying very slowly, and truly absorbing the material this time around along with doing all the CFA EOC’s twice and killing lots of trees with very detailed notes. Feeling much more confident this go round. Not really looking to switch careers but would love to enter academia before I’m 50 by earning a PHd. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it : ).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top