With the CFA Exam approaching for some (May!), make sure that you’re focusing on the right stuff. In today’s post we have a few tips on what we’ve seen work in the past.
CFA Institute (CFAI) Practice Questions
Priority number one is the CFAI. When looking for practice questions to study, start with the CFAI. Where better to get your practice questions than the exam source?
Although 2021 is the first year that the CFAI is transitioning to new CFA computer-based exams, the topics haven’t change much. Therefore, the types of questions are likely to be similar, and the CFAI has rolled out a massive set of questions on their website for CFA Level 1. Many come from their text book, but many more appear to be new.
With around 3,000 questions to choose from, there is plenty to keep you busy. Historically, questions from the CFAI seemed likely to be fairly representative of the type of questions (difficulty-wise) that you could see on the real exam. These questions are an excellent place to focus your attention.
Note: If you run through these questions two or three times, or start memorizing the answers, consider Schweser’s QBank for additional resources.
Highly Weighted Sections
Whether you’re taking CFA Level 1, CFA Level 2, or CFA Level 3, it always makes the most sense to start your studying with the sections of the exam that carry the most weight.
In other words, for CFA Level 1 and 2 the FR&A section is quite important. For CFA Level 3, portfolio management is far and away the most crucial. Although this may seem like common sense, many don’t realize how important it is to start early on these sections. The sooner you start tackling the “big stuff”, the more times you’ll see it before the exam. Thus, the more familiar you’ll be with it.
Memory Work
The dreaded. The unavoidable. The most overlooked.
Of the thousands of students that we’ve seen at Professional Exam Tutoring, very few start their memorization work early on. Unfortunately, this is often a mistake. Saving your memory work for the end almost by definition requires “cramming.” There are too many definitions, formulas, and concepts to squeeze into the last week of studying.
Consider starting flash cards, or a study sheet early on. Populate them with items that you consistently forget, get wrong, or only half-remember. You should periodically (we recommend once a month, or every other month) purge your study sheet. Keep it manageable and only inclusive of things that you still don’t recall with ease.
All in all, there is plenty of study material competing for your attention during your studying. Avoid a failed CFA exam. Often keeping it simple works best. Try the above for starters, and if you need more help a CFA tutor doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
Good luck!