Do People Care About Actually Learning the Curriclum?

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Gouman

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Here is what I want to know:

1. Do you care about learning the material, as opposed to memorizing it for months and then regurgitating it for six hours in one day for three consecutive years.

2. What is your motivation for putting yourself through the program: money, "the challange", prestige, " I want to be a PM ".

3. If you had a inside man at CFAI who could guarantee your passing each level--would you even bother studying.

Here is why I want to know:

I keep reading posts about CFAI books and whether or not they are necessary reading, what is the minimal study time, etc.

I get the sense that a lot of folks don't really care about getting the in depth understanding that CFAI expects candidates to have. I understand CFAI books are long, convoluted and boring. I also understand that many smart people can scrape by using just notes or less. Lastly, I understand people have lives and therefore may not be able to read every single page of CFAI texts, study for 300 hours etc.

Nevertheless, I get the feeling that a lot of folks in general could give a rats ass about learning the material at all, they just want the damn charter and the prestige/money/job ops that comes with it. In order to get that they will read whatever they have to but take no real pride in learning the mastering the material, just pass the exams and give my charter so I can go be a PM or Analyst or whatever and make bookoo bucks.

I for one love reading about anything financial and have virtually no life. I plan on reading every goddamn page of each CFAI book while working full time. I plan to do by starting in depth study of CFAI readings in August 07 in prep for June 08 in conjuction with Scwescher study notes which I will use for review in between LOS.

I've heard it's a waste of time. How?

I'll turn it over to you.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 27, 2007 at 09:12PM by Gouman.
 
Yes! I am interested in earning the CFA designation because of what it means - a well-respected acknowledgement of having mastered a specified curriculum.

I was a floor trader in 86-87, spent several years in the private equity/VC world, and am now a retail broker (with some institutional/hedge fund biz). I've spent a lot of years trading stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. There's a lot I think I know in L1, but much that I don't know (tearing apart a balance sheet for example). I'm only using the CFAI materials because I figure it's part of the structure and, therefore, what I need to learn. I also assume that L2 will build on L1 and the better I master the source material, the easier it will be going forward.
 
But would you bother studying if the CEO of CFAI guaranteed you a pass even if you randomly bubbled answers?

I would. I just realized, maybe because I've played sports to this day since I was a kid, or inadequacy or something else but a competitive instinct consumes me. Thats the draw for undertaking things like CFA. It's not about not failing, it's about being better than the competition and of course not failing is a part of that.
 
What's a waste of time.....watching the Schweser video series of the Level 1 material....yikes....the Stalla video series is much better (Peter Olinto knows the material inside and out). Schweser might have the upperhand with product offering and the study notes are good. I say study the CFAI texts....and use Schweser and Stalla to gauge your understanding of the core concepts. If you're having problems with Schweser and Stalla you're going to have problems on the exam....the vendors only touch the key concepts. The real deal is the CFAI material.

WarrenB1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 27, 2007 at 09:35PM by WarrenB1.
 
For me it's simple: passing just to pass isn't important. Just putting CFA behind my name gets me nothing. I have a CFP and am half-way thru the CMT. I want the CFA because I *know* the material. It's more a personal quest than anything.
 
I see. Cool.

Just curious. So what are you going to do with all those different certifications--- be a PWM?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 27, 2007 at 10:03PM by Gouman.
 
It's basically what I do now: hi-net-worth management with a value-add that is education oriented. To most of my clients the certs mean little compared to my floor experience and trading, knowing how wall street works (i.e. badly/corrupt) and knowing some smart people with good ideas.
 
Nice. Keep it up.

Shoot me an idea or two--I'm not that smart.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 27, 2007 at 10:05PM by Gouman.
 
I love to read anything financial - but I am a senior Finance major at a well-known public university, so I pretty much have learned the entire curriculum once. I just need to review. And by the way, Schweser notes are nothing more than a summarized version of the official books.

I have both, but I intend to focus on the Schweser notes and reference the official books if needed. The bottom line is if you can actually earn the charter, then there's a good chance you've mastered the material. It's not an easy test.

And no, I would not accept any such deal in your hypothetical.

You can't pass the exam without learning the material - there's just no way around it.
 
I graduated from a Top 10 MBA program 16 years ago with a Finance degree. Unfortunately at that time there was no emphasis on finance majors taking the exam. I knw of a handful of my classmates who eventually sat for the exams. I worked for several years as a financial analyst, consultant and later as an ERP software analyst. Along the way I started an import/export business (doing it full time for past 5 years). I got into investing right after starting my business.

However, the itch to learn more about investment management was always there, but I had too many other things keeping me occupied and busy in life. As the guy who played sports said, the competitive side of me is pushing me to get this done. I am focused like I have never been before.
 
Nobody makes it through the program without learning the material, so I wouldn't worry about those who you consider to have impure intentions in obtaining a CFA designation.

Many topics in the CFAI curriculum are poorly written or not summarized well. So if you're just interested in learning finance without concern for the designation, why not go to your local library instead of registering? You will get better, more complete information, and it will be cheaper.
 
spartanag07 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> You can't pass the exam without learning the
> material - there's just no way around it.


There is some of truth to this statement. My point was that some people were able to scrape by just by cramming. Just because you can solve problems does not mean you understand what the hell your doing or why your doing it or could apply it in the real world. Not to say CFA alone will give you those skills either. However, the more you undertstand the CFA concepts the better off one would likely be in the real world.

Agreed?

P.S. I know some brave soul will admit he would take the hypothetical offer. Whos it gonna be.
 
I'm not sure about peoples intentions. Thats why I posted. I only suspect there has to be some of them out there with bad intentions.

For example, this guy at my work was complaining to one of his buddies on the phone about how he was preparing for the "stupid CFA exam" and how studying was a pain in the ass. The latter may be true for most but if you think something is stupid why do it. That guy is one who I suspect but am not sure may doing this thing for the wrong reasons.
 
"For example, this guy at my work was complaining to one of his buddies on the phone about how he was preparing for the "stupid CFA exam" and how studying was a pain in the ass. "

Perhaps it is a condition of his employment...e.g. he is being forced by his boss to take it?

I wouldn't call the exam stupid. The material you learn is gold. Imagine using it for yourself and your own investments.
 
Gouman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not sure about peoples intentions. Thats why I
> posted. I only suspect there has to be some of
> them out there with bad intentions.
>


can you please elaborate?

people willing to sacrifice a huge chunk of their lives to study for a CFA cant possibly have bad intentions can they?
 
I don't mean bad as in malicious. I didn't mean bad at all. spartanag07 wrote impure intentions which I improperly re-stated it as bad.


Nevertheless, I think it's clear what I'm interested in. This is not a slackers are bad people thread. I'm just curious why they would persue CFA. There must be many of them out there considering the failure rate, and low completion rate.
 
No!! I was quoting your words to point out my poor reinterpretation.
 
No!! I was quoting your words to point out my poor reinterpretation. Impure<>Bad however I treated the same in one sentence earlier. My bad.
 
The challenge of the program is definitely alluring.

When I first heard of CFA and CPA I thought it was a huge gimmick, thinking to myself that I would never do it. But after reviewing the LOS' and seeing the volume of information that one needs to master, I felt like this would be my first Everast to concur after graduating this past May. An Everast it has been too - I'm up to my ear in stats and now hate Quant more than ever!
 
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