Hi Guys,
Count me in the group. I will also taking CFA level 1 in the jun 06(mostly). I am a master's student in finance in U.S. Do let me know your preparation style and all.
Arjun.
Hi CTD, Shalabh and Arjun. This is turning out to be a great thread. Lots of info being provided. I am looking out to pursue the level 1 exam in June '06. i have some questions which have not been answered as yet.
1. In how many years can you pursue the work ex. as in after how many years after your third level exams are you eligible for the 4 yrs work ex?
2. In aggregate how do you have to shell out for the books and the registration fees?
3. Shalabh even i am from BMS. Currently in T.Y. Want to appear for CAt in '06. If i get through, can i appear for the CFA level II and III after doing MBA?
It would be of great help if any of you could help me find clues about these questions. Wanting to register before 15 Feb.......
Thanks for all the help. 
okay so far we have 5 ppl in this thread for level 1 june 2006: myself, shalabh, arjun, archbishop, and ankit3k. i think we should coordinate and share info so that our lives become easier.
archbishop...i`ll try and answer what i know:
1. i dont think there should be any restriction on that, but i`m not sure. check the website of the cfa institute.
2. Exam expenses:
Rs.16,875 (Membership fee--once only) + Rs.19,800 (Exam fee) = Rs.36,675 (total)
Total for three levels = Rs.36,675 * 3 = Rs.1,10,025
You can save Rs.6,000 if u register in the early deadlines for the other 2 levels.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/feeschedule.html
Books and Material:
this completely depends on what material u use and where u get it from. the CFA reccomends some standard textbooks, which are quite expensive...but the indian editions are relatively cheaper. you could pool in money with friends and buy stuff together by sharing costs, you could buy second hand material, xerox notes, etc etc. total cost for study material can be anywhere between 6,000 to 30,000 depending on where u buy from and what u buy.
3. there is no restriction as to when you should take your level II and III exams. you can take the level 1 now and take level 2 after 5 years, level 3 after 10 years...anytime u want. if you take level 1 and go for MBA, u will find your mba syllabus pretty easy to cope with and ur academic performance will be good. if u do your mba and then cfa, you wont have much trouble clearing cfa exams coz u already are familiar with the concepts. i have personally chosen to follow the first strategy...do cfa first and simplify mba studies.
thanks a lot man. it seems u have been thru a grt deal of research. Well where are u from and where did u get ur books from? i guess u r already registered right?
i am from the finance background only. Do u think the first level is tough?
Thanks for all the help and for starting this thread. TC.
I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?
So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-
(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.
Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.
But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.
I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?
So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-
(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.
ooops, i`m sorry! u are right, i shouldn`t multiply the membership fees by 3. i wrote "one time only" in the brackets and still multiplied it!
Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.
But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.
that was me. 😃 i went thru the "recommended reading list" of the cfa website. i noticed that the topics and the books were ALMOST the same for all three levels and usually the chapters to be studied were different at different levels. as the level advances, the chapters move from the basics to the advanced sections of the books. this is what i observed for most of the topics, but i didn`t really take a very detailed look at ALL the topics and books. im sure there must be some extra books to be referred to in the future levels.
thanks a lot man. it seems u have been thru a grt deal of research. Well where are u from and where did u get ur books from? i guess u r already registered right?
i am from the finance background only. Do u think the first level is tough?
.
yeah...i like to do my research first hand before investing so much into something. sometimes my problem is...i do too much research and take too little action! 😃
i`m from mumbai, andheri west...where u from? i havnt registered yet. as i mentioned in my previous post, i`m gonna spend a month (january) studying and getting a hang of this thing. i`ll see how much time i`m able to devote and what`s the pace of my progress in studies. then based on that, i`ll register. if my progress is too slow or i`m not able to grasp concepts, then i`ll register for dec 2006. if things are going smooth, i`ll go for jun 2006... i personally hope that i`m able to make it this june.
i dont really know if the first level is tough, i have been getting conflicting opinions from different ppl. but one thing everyone has told me: it is possible to clear it provided we put in enuff effort...so i`m gonna give it my best and see how it goes. i`m from an engineering background and i`m going for it...i think being from finance, it should be a piece of cake for ya!!
like i said earlier, there are prep books and there are standard text books. i might be getting the prep material xerox copy from my friend, i`m not sure, havnt got it yet. but i also feel the textbooks are a good investment coz they can be used for all three levels and for an MBA in the future.
i bought 2 recommended textbooks this weekend from a bookstore near IIT powai:
1. Investment analysis and portfolio management--Reilly and Brown
2. The use and analysis of financial statements --White, sondhi, and fried
i started reading the second chapter of the first book last night...seems pretty good. didn`t face much difficulty understanding concepts....it was an introductory chapter and was pretty staright forward. i think things will get complex in the forthcoming chapters...lets see how it goes.
I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?
So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-
(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.
Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.
But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.
aww damn, i just typed a really long reply and pressed submit reply button and got an error. pressed the back button and the whole thing i typed was gone...so much for the first post of the new year ha!
anyways, i`ll post later in the day when i`m free.
ps: your calculation is correct...i did a mistake my multiplying the membership fee by 3.
Hi dude even i m from goregaon. Pretty close to you. Even i had the same thing in mind ya.......... to go thru the books and then register. lets see a couple of my friends also seem to be interested. i think even they can pool in.
archbishop SaysHi dude even i m from goregaon. Pretty close to you. Even i had the same thing in mind ya.......... to go thru the books and then register. lets see a couple of my friends also seem to be interested. i think even they can pool in.
cool...goregaon is right next door! ignore my last post...i got an error message and thot my post didn`t go thru, but when i logged back in, both my posts were there! must be some problem from PG server.
anyways, so i wen thru the recommended reading list and here`s a list of books that were frequently recommended. (the percentages in brackets is the weightage given to the topic...i`m not sure if it is accurate, ignore the percentages):
CFA LEVEL I
Financial statement analysis (20%)
The analysis and use of financial statements (3rd edition) - White, Sondhi, and Fried
Financial Accounting (8th edition) - Needles and Powers
Ethical and professional standards (15%)
Standards of Practice Handbook (9th edition) - CFA institute, 2005
Quantitative methods (12%)
Quantitative methods for investment analysis (2nd edition) - Richard A. DeFusco, Dennis W. McLeavey, Jerald E. Pinto, and David E. Runkle
Economics (10%)
Economics: Private and Public choice (10th edition) - Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and Mcpherson
Analysis of equity investments (10%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) - Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown
Analysis of fixed income investments (10%)
Fixed income analysis for the CFA program (2nd edition) -- Frank J. Fabozzi
Corporate finance (8%)
Fundamentals of financial management (8th edition) -- Eugene F. Bringham and Joel F. Houston
Derivatives (5%)
Analysis of derivatives for the CFA program -- Don Chance
Portfolio management (5%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) - Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown
Alternative investments (5%)
International investments (5th edition) - Bruno Solnik and Dennis Mcleavey
As i said, i`ve already bought two of the books from this list. If things go well, i aim to buy at least 50% of all the books on this list. please add to this list if u know more.
cool...goregaon is right next door! ignore my last post...i got an error message and thot my post didn`t go thru, but when i logged back in, both my posts were there! must be some problem from PG server.
anyways, so i wen thru the recommended reading list and here`s a list of books that were frequently recommended. (the percentages in brackets is the weightage given to the topic...i`m not sure if it is accurate, ignore the percentages):
CFA LEVEL I
Financial statement analysis (20%)
The analysis and use of financial statements (3rd edition) - White, Sondhi, and Fried
Financial Accounting (8th edition) - Needles and Powers
Ethical and professional standards (15%)
Standards of Practice Handbook (9th edition) - CFA institute, 2005
Quantitative methods (12%)
Quantitative methods for investment analysis (2nd edition) - Richard A. DeFusco, Dennis W. McLeavey, Jerald E. Pinto, and David E. Runkle
Economics (10%)
Economics: Private and Public choice (10th edition) - Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and Mcpherson
Analysis of equity investments (10%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) - Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown
Analysis of fixed income investments (10%)
Fixed income analysis for the CFA program (2nd edition) -- Frank J. Fabozzi
Corporate finance (8%)
Fundamentals of financial management (8th edition) -- Eugene F. Bringham and Joel F. Houston
Derivatives (5%)
Analysis of derivatives for the CFA program -- Don Chance
Portfolio management (5%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) - Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown
Alternative investments (5%)
International investments (5th edition) - Bruno Solnik and Dennis Mcleavey
As i said, i`ve already bought two of the books from this list. If things go well, i aim to buy at least 50% of all the books on this list. please add to this list if u know more.
Can u PM me ur email id? I will add u in my hotmail chat.
1. By the way how much did u spend in getting those two books. Did u get them at the rate mention on the site?
2. What is stalla? Is it a publishing house?
3. Are most people out here doing CFA also working? Coz i m in the third year and would prefer to work after my MBA.
Did u get my PM? i had sent u one this morning.
Can u PM me ur email id? I will add u in my hotmail chat.
1. By the way how much did u spend in getting those two books. Did u get them at the rate mention on the site?
2. What is stalla? Is it a publishing house?
3. Are most people out here doing CFA also working? Coz i m in the third year and would prefer to work after my MBA.
1. The actual price of these books is some $100+ The price of the indian edition of the books is 750. if u bargain a little, u can get a 10% discount and get them for 675. so two books cost me 1350. i further bargained a little and got the two for 1300...that`s 650 per book. not bad, considering that they cost around $100 and will be useful to me over the next 5 years!
2. there are 2 major prep material companies. one is called stalla and the other is schwieser. most ppl who buy prep material buy it from one of the two. now i dont know which of the two is better, there is a lot of debate...u can google a little and read the reviews of the two prep materials. also, the CFA institute has released it`s own set of prep material this year. so u have the choice of 3 prep materials: stalla, schweiser, and official cfa stuff. visit stalla.com for more detials...i think the stalla package costs around 22K!!
3. most of the ppl taking the cfa exams are working ppl...but what difference does that make to you? unless u have work experience in finance, there isn`t much difference. in fact, being a student, u have an advantage coz u have the time to study and u still have the aptitude for studies. becoz of my job, i am not able to devote so much time to studying...i get tired from work....come back late etc etc. u have the advantage of being a student, exploit it. i wish i had started on this course when i was in college!
i didn`t get any pm from u...when did u send it??
Great dude. you got them real cheap. I calc the actual cost of the books and it comes to around $ 180 thats almost 8k. Saved a lot indeed. i have a friend who got the 22k set from AIMR. I thnk i'll compare the two.
1. Where exactly is this book store? Do u get them anywhere else also?
2. Is it that the Indian editions are exactly similar to the recommended ones ?
3. Are the Indian editions of all the recommended books available?
4. You were saying that along with the books even the preparatory material helps. Where can v lay our hands on them?
5. Can i contact you? PM me if you can.
Thanks for being so elaborate while replying.
Great dude. you got them real cheap. I calc the actual cost of the books and it comes to around $ 180 thats almost 8k. Saved a lot indeed. i have a friend who got the 22k set from AIMR. I thnk i'll compare the two.
1. Where exactly is this book store? Do u get them anywhere else also?
2. Is it that the Indian editions are exactly similar to the recommended ones ?
3. Are the Indian editions of all the recommended books available?
4. You were saying that along with the books even the preparatory material helps. Where can v lay our hands on them?
5. Can i contact you? PM me if you can.
Thanks for being so elaborate while replying.
i`ll just answer ur questions randomly....
yeah, many of these expensive foreign books have indian/asian editions which come at a fraction of the price of american editions. it always makes sense to search for indian editions rather than order them from US or from foreign websites.
yes, these books are exactly the same as the recommended books. these are cheap because they are not imported from US, but are re-printed locally by regional distributors. sometimes, these books are not printed on the high quality bond paper as in US, but are printed on thin paper and are in black and white...but what difference does that make to us?!
my friend was asking me if i wanted to chip in to buy the CFA set, i`m quite interested, but am not able to find sufficient number of ppl to pool in. if u wanna pool in, or if your friend is willing to share costs with us and let us take xerox, then we can do that.
this bookstore is called Jai Ambe book store, it is opposite to the main gate of IIT powai. just cross the road from the gate and ask anyone. number: 56078534...call first and check if the books u want are availbale. tell him i referred you to him...he`ll be happy and give me a discount next time!
no, not all the recommended books have indian editions...only a few, and for those too, u have to search a lot. some of the books are CFA institute`s in house publications, so i guess u`ll have to order them from there only. they`re pretty expensive, but once you register for the exams, cfa institute gives u really cool discounts and u can buy from their online bookstore.
you already have the prep material from your friend..i guess that`s where we can get it from
. i`m still headhunting for ppl who`re willing to pool in money and buy prep material in collaboration. if u`re interested, or u know someone who is interested, or if ur buddy wants to share the costs, let me know. i`m not intentionally elaborate...i just type really fast, so i can put in more words in the same given time!
i`ve sent you a PM with my mail id and number.
Here i am again! i`ll use this thread as a place to record my personal progress throughout my studies for level 1. others are also encouraged to do so!
I studied 2 topics in 2 days...it`s going better than i thought.
according to my calculations, i should spend about 2-3 hours per day to reach a solid preparation by june. i`ve managed 5 hours in the last 2 days, so things are on track. 2-3 hours seems pretty managable for now. i magically woke up at 6.30 last morning and at 5am today...wonder what`s wrong with me! i`ve started with the "study session 18" i.e., "portfolio management". it`s quite interesting, and for the first time i`m taking some interest in studies.
the first reading assignment, "the asset allocation decision," was pretty elementary. it was more of an introduction, with some basic concepts explained. sat thru it for a few hours and underlined whatever i felt was important. it`s really important to underline when u read such massive books coz it makes it easier to look up important points later on. if u dont underline, and u need to look up one small concept later on and if u cant remember where it is, it`ll be like searching a needle in a haystack! the recommended reading list states the "learning outcomes," which are nothing but the topics and concepts that you should be familiar with by the time u finish reading the chapter. interestingly, the "learning outcomes" appear as exact subheadings in the textbook! good. the chapter was a breeze, just one or two concepts were explained for 20 pages...i guess u have to tolerate that much redundancy when u`re reading from a 2000 page book!
i did the second reading assignment this morning...it`s called "introduction to portfolio management". this one was tough...seems like the real stuff has arrived (or was this one also supposed to be simple?!). lesson learnt: if you wanna grasp this stuff, u HAVE TO be comfortable with math. the text was full of stuff like covariance, standard deviation, coefficient of correlation, variance, mean, distribution, probability, etc etc...that explains the number of engineers in finance. i didn`t find so much difficulty in grasping the concepts, but i seriously doubt if i can retain all the info. plus, i havnt solved any numericals...and i remember the golden rule of quant, which i learnt the hard way in school and college: u can browse through tonnes of pages of math and "read" all the steps and derivations...but the real learning happens only when u put pen to paper. i`ve gone thru all those numbers and formulae, but am yet to solve any full fledged problems...the reality of the situation will hit me when i actually solve a risk-return problem...for now, it doesn`t seem so tough.
my faith in this course (CFA) is getting stronger. while studying this morning i realized that eeven if i fail, i will go to b school with at least 50% of the syllabus already in my head. that cant be bad. ppl doing this course after their mba will find it pretty easy too. so both the groups--the pre-mba and the post-mba group are at a great standing. in the meantime, it feels nice to drop fancy terms like risk-return profile, markowitz investors, optimal portfolio, capital asset pricing model, portfolio diversification, utility curves etc. Will keep posting...watch this space!
any peepz in b'lore pursuing CFA ?...i need to get the books/notes xeroxed so tht i get the hang of it....i still havent decided if i'll take the level 1 exam in dec or june......
@insane_genius- ur location says b'lore...any chance tht u r still in b'lore or visit it some time soon?
Huh..never heard of this CFA before....
I took CAT
this time but didnt get any calls...now i feel like taking the Level I
before the CAT2006...actually was planning to do NCFM modules...thanx to pagalguy...discovered this one here...
Hey gurus ...thanx a lot for posting a lot of info....
Myself...Btech from IIT madras...
currently working for an IT firm...
:grab: i did 4 courses in financial management during my 4 yrs of Btech...
1)Principles of Management
2)Accounting for Managerial Control
3)Financial Analysis for Managerial Decisions
4)Portfolio Analysis and Investment Mgt.
though i dont remem much...
....am from Hyd...if there is anyone from Hyd pls pm me...mebbe share the material...and also..for motivation...
hey ctd
me sorry i cud not answer your questions as i was travelling and not getting time to check pg...thanks for defending my pursuit of knowledge and compliments.
hehehehhe
though i really would say that i am doing it for one solid reason and thats a high paying international job. i am sorry if i sound like a dumbf*** running after money.
i guess most of us are seeking better opportunities. one correction i have not cleared cfa level one, have appeared for the exam.
CA is a 5 year course so 18+5 (at 18 i enrolled)
i am not an mba (finance) , i am studying and rite now in first year.so ocean i hope i have cleared ur doubts abt my qualifications.
For ctd : i guess your plan sounds very nice. Money on books never gets wasted. And i summarize from your posts that you are enjoying the sibjects so might as well buy the books. Thesebooks are worth the investment. If you don want to buy them try getting membership to a good library which has access to these books. (one name which comes to my mind is british library)
will write a more detailed post later... really short on time.
take care
best of luk
Hey,
i got so much info here. im a complete newbie to Finance acoounting etc.. im still in my 11 th grade andf want 2 persue something related to CA. i want to do it abroad(in UK, Australia,Or the US). Can u plz help me what exams i have 2 give. what Bachelors Degree i should follow and where is the best place 2 do it... any help would be great.as i am yet gathering info on all this thanx so much
Hi guys. Got Schweser '06 notes yesterday. I guess there is some difference in the 2005 and 2006 notes. And my seniors told me that the difference may just be 15-20% but it gets a lot of attention in the exams. For eg. if the 20% changed portion occupies about 70% of the stuff in the papers...you had it.
And i think the people at the CFA institute are definitely motivated to do so since they want to sell off the new books. What say guys?
I thought when you are investing 35-40k in registration...why not invest some more in notes?
I am prepared to share the notes with anyone. PM me if you are interested.