FSA

September 26, 2010 - Sunday

Started the FSA

Readings from 29 to 43 making a total of 15 readings - At 2 hours each, this should take 30 hours. But realistically it takes about 3 hours each, making it 45 hours

Reading 29:

• I finished the reading 29 video in 1 hour (half hour video took 1 hour with breaks and pauses)
• Studied the book in 1.5 hours
• At the same rate, I would not be able to complete the entire syllabus
• So I reassessed my strategy now

New Strategy

• Watch the video
• Read schweser notes
• Take tests from Analyst notes as well as Schweser for this section
• Review the answers
• Go to the book and read it once - This is put on hold, till I make some progress with the videos and the schweser notes

My journey to CFA L1

I come from a software background with minimal exposure to finance per se, except for some academic courses that I did back in graduation and community colleges. Clearing CFA is not a cake walk for me, but I am up for the challenge.

This blog is to document my journey towards CFA L1.

I believe that

1. Success is never an accident, but a result of a perfect design and implementation. So I'll post my plan in my next few posts

2. You learn the most when there is a genuine sense of responsibility that you take for your action - So I try learning by becoming passionate and emotional about finance. I try to put myself in the shoes of an investor and understand the concepts

3. Success in any exam is based on how much you revise the topics - My plan is to complete the topics soon and revise them as much as possible

Rationale that I am following is the following:

1. Give myself the best chance to clear the exam

2. Cover as many topics as possible before the exam

3. Come across as many questions as possible before the exam

4. Not to get bogged down by the topics that I do not understand or the test scores. Have a calm and peaceful mind, all through the preparation

Given these constraints and the time frame, I have come up with some decisions:

1. Not spend more than 10-12 hours per study session

2. Use the schweser video, which covers a session in about 3 hours

3. Use the secret sauce, which covers the study session in a few pages

4. Use the schweser question bank and the questions from the book to practice as many questions as possible on the study session

5. Review the book at least once per topic

6. Use flash cards - but do not waste time in creating them in a detailed way

Study Plan

I am starting with the Volume 3, which is Financial statement analysis. This is a no-brainer as this section has 20% marks in the exam

• Week 1: FSA
• FSA is worth 20% - for 15 readings
• Week 2: Fixed income and equities
• Fixed Income and Equity Combined is worth 22% - for 15 readings
• Week 3: Corporate Finance and Portfolio Mangement
• Volume 4 consists of Corporate Finance and Portfolio Mangement and is very short and is worth 13% - for 8 readings
• Week 4: Ethics
• Ethics - 15% for 4 reading

This completes 70% of the marks required. Then comes Quant and Economics.

My preparation towards this topic, was to do an accounting 1A course from the community college. The target is to complete this book in a week. So by Friday, October 1, 2010, I should be done with the Financial Statement Analysis