In another week it’ll be another year. With 2021, comes a new CFA exam. Have you dove into your study material yet? Will the February exam, or the May exam even happen for that matter?
Both relevant questions.
Below is a quick look at how to approach the new CFA exam for Level 1 offered in 2021.
New CFA Exam 2021
If you’re considering the CFA exam for 2021 you should know that it’s a whole new ball game. For example, CFA Level 1 will now be offered four times per year (Feb, May, Aug, and Nov), rather than twice a year (Jun/Dec).
That’s certainly a plus, but another change is that the new exams for 2021 are computer-based. No more exam days in massive convention centers or gymnasiums. In fact the new exam is also shorter. How much shorter, you ask?
What’s in the New CFA Exam?
The exam will be broken up into two sessions, similar to years past. However, it’s slightly shorter at 180 questions, down from 240. Here is the breakdown:
1st Session (135 minutes): 90 multiple choice questions
- Ethics and Professional Standards
- Quantitative Methods
- Economics
- FR&A
2nd Session (135 minutes): 90 multiple choice questions
- Corporate Finance
- Equity
- Fixed Income
- Derivatives
- Alternative Investments
- Portfolio Management
You can take a break between sessions if you’d like. However, those of you that are just looking to get it over with can do so without a break.
At Professional Exam Tutoring we don’t recommend the latter approach. Attention spans fade even among the most skilled exam takers. Give yourself a quick reset. Go outside, grab a quick bite to eat, or go do some jumping-jacks to reset.
Learn How You Learn
The CFA exam difficulty level is quite high, and what years of tutoring has taught us is that every person’s way of learning is so unique that it’s hard to make general statements.
That said, the one general statement that IS applicable for every student is that you should make significant effort to really understand how you best concentrate, study, and learn.
Figure out what works best for you with some careful introspection. Pay attention to what you do to get definitions to stick, and formulas to solidify in your mind. We can certainly help you with various study strategies if you need it.
If you can also accurately assess what type of exam approach you need (considering test anxiety, procrastination habits in studying, attention deficit issues, etc.), or what worked best for you in the past, then you’ll be much better off.
What to Prioritize?
When it comes to prioritizing what to study for with new CFA exam approaching, we have some advice. Start with the highest weighted categories that cause you the most headache. For most people that’s FR&A and Quantitative Methods. Below is a breakdown of the CFA Exam Level 1 weights as published by the CFA Institute.
| Topic | Exam Weight |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 15-20% |
| Quantitative Methods | 8-12% |
| Economics | 8-12% |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis | 13-17% |
| Corporate finance | 8-12% |
| Equity Investments | 10-12% |
| Fixed Income | 10-12% |
| Derivatives | 5-8% |
| Alternative Investments | 5-8% |
| Portfolio Management | 5-8% |
Source: CFA Institute
From the above you can see that FR&A and Ethics alone could make up almost 40% of the exam. As a result, one thing that we also recommend is to always be studying Ethics. It’s a fairly easy topic to review. Set aside 30 minutes two or three times a week for the whole time that you’re studying. This will ensure that it’s always fresh. And, by the time the exam rolls around aim to be scoring over 80%.
Overall, 2021 brings with it a new year and a new CFA exam. In a lot of ways, the CFAI has made it better than years past. Nevertheless there will still be a lot of work to be done in order to pass. If you need a CFA tutor, you know where to fine us! Good luck, and happy new year!