Study Session 3

Ok, so on to Study Session 3. I have to admit that it's been a rough few days. I've been putting in more hours to play catch up because I have a big meeting next week. And I just came from a big week of meetings. It's hard to study when you're tired, and it doesn't help when the subject matter gets a little tedious like this week with the probabilities. Not that they're uninteresting, just tedious to the point that I don't want to do practice problems. But the thing is, you do practice problems and they reveal where you are the weakest. So DO PRACTICE problems. Also, I omitted in an earlier entry to mention that I'm making flash cards. Well I made like a hundred of them, and lo and behold, my hundred or so cards fit on the first page of the cheat sheet Schweser provides. So if you're going to make flash cards, DONT worry about getting every little thing down - just the important ones, the ones you want to remember, or the ones that make you feel smarter. Definitely don't let notetaking or flash cards slow you down, because ultimately, you will learn the formulas one way or another. It's hard, especially these new few sections, but later on, it'll get more practical and fun. So hang in there!

Lessons:
Do do practice problem (so agonizing, yet so rewarding)!
Do NOT worry about going crazy with flash cards - they are in the cheat sheet. Just get down what is memorable.
Hang in there, champ!

Study Session 2 - Flexibility

Well Study Session 2 has been a lesson in adaptation, unpredictability, and flexibility. I had a very busy week at work this week (despite a short weekend!) and I just could not find any time in the morning, during lunch, or at night to study. I tried to study very very late and I found myself doing a little bit at a time but skipping sample problems. I thought I could catch up on the weekend.
Well it's the weekend now, and I have tried to catch up but it's not nearly as effective as hammering away a few hours each day. The topics are not quite gelling in my head, and I find myself wanting to read on/ catch up rather than doing problems.
The good news is that if I keep going at it just a little longer today, I'll be "caught up". But it's hard - I definitely need to listen to my body and learn not to be a slave to the schedule. It's hard for me though. The Bank Discout Yield stuff is stupid, makes no sense, and is useless. But if you try to tie in BDY to HPY to rmm and finally to EYY (thankfully there was that 2nd to last concept checker) it all ties in nicely (basically, BDY is stupid and misses compounding, being an actual yield, and uses a short 360 day calendar- all the rest help get it "caught up"). Also nice for the concept checker was the illustration of how time-weighted returns resist bias, and money-weighted returns skew the return.
Anyways, I've been partially able to get back in by reminding myself what my goals are, and how I'm going to accomplish them, so that has helped.
Oh, and it is PAINFUL to have to do just practice problems. So either do them while reading a study section, or do them with them. But never do them alone (so, so, so freaking painful).

Takeaways:
-Agh! Watch out for unexpected events to derail your studying.
-Be sure to study a little bit each day to make it more manageable.
-Fight the urge to panic because you're off schedule.
-Pair study sessions and pratice problems!

Study Session 2 TMV

It seems like after the nice, easy start with ethics, I am getting frustrated already with Time Value of Money (TMV). The concepts are not hard, I just am not going as fast.

I'm going to take a few brakes, keep pushing through it, and try not to get too frustrated since a.) these will come up later and I'll get better and b.) I want to solidify the basics.

The calcs for FV and PV are straightforward, but it's easy to forget to set PV and FV to 0. That will definitely get me if I forget on an exam, since it sometimes feels like you just program in whatever the problem says (PMT, FV, I/Y, N, etc.). So yeah, definitely watch out for that.

Takeaways:
1. Don't get frustrated just because it starts taking longer.
2. Watch out for the 4th variable in FV and PV calculations.

Study Session 1

This is a very straightforward introduction to the CFA's. Pace yourself so that you don't cram. Try and think holistically about what is ethical and what is not. The three major topics are the Code of Ethics, Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) and the fairly lengthy Standards of Professional Conduct. I highly recommend getting index cards and creating flash cards to jot down and help solidify some of the rules. In fact, I would require that you do this (a little GIPS joke "recommend/ require". Also, I just bought the TI BA II Plus in preparation for Study Session 2. I would also recommend getting this calculator ASAP if you haven't already done so to make the next study session meaningful.
One thing that Schweser (and this is nitpicking) doesn't make clear is the GIPS key characteristic that you should "include all actual fee-paying, discretionary portfolios in composites for a minimum of five years or since firm or composite inception. After presenting five years of compliant data, the firm must add annual performance each year going forward up to a minimum of ten years". What I don't get is, what exactly happens at 5 years?
Based on a question I came across, it looks like you must be retroactively compliant for the most recent 5 years, and then can have 5 years of non-compliant data beyond that. But I don't think the rule explains it that well.
Also, I have been bad about keeping up this blog because I like studying at home but don't like blogging at home/ or at work (I'm blogging on a Sunday now).

Takeaways:
1. Be prepared: Notecards, Calculator (TI BA II Plus).
2. Pace yourself
3. Figure out a way to keep blogging on a more regular basis.

Sample Schedule

The material that I have ordered is from Schweser. So far, some things are online but it’s all kind of confusing. There are helpful study guides online to show your schedule, but none are available as of yet. I have a guide from last year, and have tweaked it to this year’s chapters. You can get that here.

Reflection: It seems like having this week by week breakout makes the studying seem a lot more manageable, and the built in break further makes the study material more ready to go.

Also, note that although most of it is in order, it seems like they want you to tackle equity material first than portfolio analysis next. But why are the chapters in a different order?

Introduction.

Welcome to the Beat the CFA web site. This site is for my own personal use, and borrows heavily from the format and concept of the BeattheGMATs web site. My hope is that by keeping a schedule, I will be able to pass the exam and leave some learning for future exam takers. My goal is to create plan, stick to it, make suggestions for more effective ways of studying, and developing as a student, CFA candidate, and financially aware person. I also want to comment on things and reflect because that helps reinforce things.
I should also note that I am in no way associated with the CFA Institute, Schweser, or Texas Instruments. Although I will mention them and use their products, I am not receiving any compensation for the creation or content of this blog.