Path to the CFA (Part 2)

What are the requirements to enter the CFA Program? According the information disclosed in the website of the CFA Institute, the entrance requirements are as follows:
- Have a bachelor's (or equivalent) degree (a) or be in final year of the bachelor's degree program (b) or have 4 years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related)
- Understand the professional conduct requirements
- Be prepared to the exams in English
- Have a valid international travel passport 
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/process/Pages/index.aspx 


Whereby the exam formats are as follows:
- Level I exam is composed of item set questions (Multiple Choice Questions) and is offered in June and December
- Level II is composed of item set questions (Multiple Choice Questions) and is offered in June only
- Level III consists of item set and essay and is offered in June only
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/index.aspx 


As I always receive feedbacks from readers that how long the period did I take to complete the CFA program, and hence I would like to show my timeline of completing the CFA program below. 


Assuming the candidates register the Level I exam on December 2012 at the last deadline on September 2012, and passed all the 3 exams in one attempt and receive the result of Level III exam on August 2014, then you just complete the program as little as 24 months. However, according to the statistic of the CFA Institute, on average the program takes about 4 years to complete the program. And for your information, there is no specified time frame to complete the exams and there is no limitation on the number of times to take an exam. http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/process/enter/Pages/completing_the_cfa_program.aspx 


Whereby I myself registered to sit for the Level I exam on February 2008. However I was very busy in travelling to overseas for company's projects and thus I did not study the CFA program since the registration until I left from the company in July 2008 and I also spent 3 weeks in travelling and watching the Beijing Olympic Game in August 2008. 


I only seriously started to study in September 2008, from that moment it was about 3 months (or 90 days) from the CFA exams in December. I received 6 CFA curriculum books and the books consist of 3,200 pages. The next 2 levels will contain the similar volume of reading close to or more than 3,000 pages. If I need to finish the 3,000 pages, I was required to read close to 35 pages everyday before the exams. And I also planned to finish reading those books for 2 rounds in order to prepare myself for the sample and mock CFA exams which are available on the CFA website 1 week before the real time test. So I spent 10 to 12 hours everyday in studying, that include Saturday and Sunday. 


In addition, before I registered for the Level I exam, I read the outline of Level I and I noticed that those topics covered in CFA Level I are basically equivalent to what I have studied in the bachelor degree (major in accounting and finance). So I decided to self-study for Level I. However, I was unable to understand certain topics and there was no one I can refer to ask for guidance, from there I realised the difficulties of self-studying. So later when I proceed to take Level II and Level III, I took up additional tuition class for the CFA program. 


Another famous question related to the CFA program that I always encounter is how much did I spend on the CFA program. If I am not mistaken, I spent around USD1,500 (estimates to be RM4,500 or no more than RM5,000) for the registration of all the 3 CFA exams, and these fees are for those who passed all the 3 exams in one attempt. The more frequent the candidates re-sit for the exams, then each exams will cost them additional USD300 to USD400. But when I checked the CFA website recently, I noticed the cost of registration is now USD450, looks like the CFA Institute has increased the registration fees. http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/process/fees/Pages/index.aspx 


In addition, as I mentioned I did enrolled myself for extra tuition classes for Level II and III, so each level I spent another RM4,000++. I took the tuition classes in Kasturi college at Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the college will rebate students up to RM1,000 if the students fulfill certain requirements such as attending more than 70% of the class, passed one of the three sample exams hold by the college, passed the CFA exam. So the cost of taking each of the tuition classes in Kasturi college was only RM3,000++ as I had fulfilled all the above mentioned requirements. Too bad I could not pass all the topics of the exam with distinciton (>70%) otherwise the remaining tuition of RM3,000 will be waived by the college. So my effective cost of taking the CFA program was about RM11,000 to RM12,000. 


Initially, I planned to start looking for a financial job again after passing the CFA level I. However, the world economy was in bad shape when I passed the CFA level I in end of January 2009. So I told myself I should continue study to pass the remaining 2 levels in one attempt if I committed in studying full time, and when the time I complete the CFA program which would be at end-2010, the world economy should be recovering and I would be able to look for a banking job more easier.


(to be continued)

Path to the CFA (Part 1)

(Note: As requested by some of the readers who PM me recently regarding the CFA program, I think it's for me to write something to share my experience in studying the CFA program. As I completed the CFA program quite some time ago, I need to recall my memory on the study. Maybe I can finish writting the story few days later) 

10 years ago while I was studying at the New Era college, that was the first time I got to know about the CFA program from my economic lectuer. He told the class that the CFA program is one of the most rigorous professional program. At that moment, the CFA program was something very far to achieve, indeed I was struggling to catch up the study in the college. 

When I started to work in an investment bank 2 years later as my first job, it was the second time I heard about the CFA program from a senior who is a CFA Charterholder. He recommended me to sit for the CFA program if I intend to start a career in the investment/finance sector and he could be one of my sponsors for the application of the CFA Charter titles if I can complete the CFA program. However, I was confused what would be my ultimate career path and thus I did not take his advice. After staying 20 months in the bank, I switched my career to work as an application engineer, and I was busily travelling abroad whenever I was assigned to work on oversea projects. 

I like numbers and I think logically, and both IT programming and finance do consist the elements I am looking for. However, things do not go into the way I was expecting as I realised that I should just stick into working at the financial related job. I did a lot of investment research and slowly built up my own investment portfolio even after I was left the bank, and this is where I finally noticed it could be my passion lay in. 

It could be a flip-flop, but I decided to make the call instead of getting myself too far and wasting my limited life of working. I left my second job in July 2008 and planned to take a 6-month break to study level I of the CFA program, and it happened before the outburst of the financial crisis in September 2008. So coincidence that I was seem like making a right call this time as if I would have stayed on in the job, I would not have had any bonus and salary increment for the next years, according to the source of my ex-colleague. 

Why I took the CFA program? What are the reasons trigger me to pursue the CFA program? These drill down to my passion on investment and for career enhancement purpose. As I mentioned that I did a lot of investment research not only for my own passion but I also rely on investment research to generate more passive income, so by studying CFA will further enhance my knowledge and subsequently it will turn my investment portfolio to generate better return. In addition, if I would like to switch back from the IT line to the financial sector, with CFA certification will equip me with a better skillset that is in demand in the financial sector. 

(to be continued)