CFA® Level I preparation strategy - Aspire Now Global

 Since the CFA level I passing rate has dropped from 42-44% to 26% in Aug 2021, many candidates are worried about their prospects for clearing the exam. ANG, being one of the premier institutes for CFA prep classes has also seen a drop in the success rate of its candidates from 80% to 50%, so as a team we start deliberating on what strategy should we advise to candidates so that they clear the exam at the first go.

Here are a few tips for candidates appearing for CFA Level I exam:

# For subjects like FRA, Corporate issuer, Ethics, Economics, Alternative Investments, Portfolio Management, and Equity you can rely on Schweser material.

# For Quantitative Methods, Derivatives, and Fixed income we advise candidates to rely on our notes

# Once a particular reading is over candidates are advised to solve chapter end questions from Schweser, CFA curriculum notes, and Schweser Q bank

# Once the candidate is done with a particular subject then they should appear for a subject-wise assessment test and try to figure out their grey areas and start working on the same

# Candidates should cover the entire syllabus in the following order

1. Quantitative methods

2. Equity

3. Derivatives 

4.  Portfolio Management

5. Corporate issuer

6. Financial reporting & analysis

7. Fixed income

8. Alternative investments

9. Economics

10. Ethics 

Try out these techniques for your preparation, as recommended by our mentors: -

# Ethics should be covered two months before the exam date and after covering, ethics candidates need to ensure that they practice at least 10 questions of ethics on daily basis.

# Candidates are advised not to get too hung up with economics and try not to focus too much on graphs and charts especially for candidates who are not from an economics or commerce background. Candidates are advised to focus on the application of economics concepts.

# The entire syllabus should be covered 2 months before the exam

# After covering the entire syllabus once and after completing all subject-wise assessment tests candidates should devote one complete month for revision through Schweser material, ANG notes, and CFA curriculum end of chapter summary along with a few questions of every reading.

# Daily after whatever you have revised make sure that before going to bed at night, try and recall in 

# Candidates are advised to start taking mock exams one month before the exam

# Ideally, a candidate should attempt 6 full-length mock exam.no mock exams should be attempted 7 days before the exam date

# After every mock candidate should try and figure out their grey areas in every subject and revisit all those concepts

# It is advisable to keep a gap of 3 days between two mock exams

# One week before the exam date you should focus more on revision and practicing a few questions

# On the day before the exam date you should try to ensure that you are relaxed, don’t try to learn new concepts rather just have look at the entire syllabus once or you can just have a look at the CFA curriculum end of chapter summary

# The more you relax a day before the exam, the higher are the chances that you will be calm and relaxed on exam day

Hope this article will help thousands of candidates who are planning to appear for the CFA level 1 exam