Open sesame with three more letters
I apologize in advance if I occasionally disappear in the next 15 weeks.
My study guide for a professional exam in financial analysis arrived last Friday. I spent most of this weekend studying as I need to squeeze in 300 hours of studying time between now and the exam in June. Topics of the exam range from professional standards to investment analysis to asset management.
This is a major commitment as 300 hours in 3 months is no joke. Fortunately, I am familiar with a majority of the material. Unfortunately, most of the details I have forgotten already as level 1 of this exam covers the very basic. For example, I haven’t heard terms like price elasticity and marginal cost in 10 years.
The quant section, at least, I am finding it to be a breeze as I finished skimming through the 400 pages of material in a few hours and realized that I don’t need to spend anymore time on statistics or technical analysis to answer the practice questions.
Having said that, I do not take this exam lightly and will have to put most other work on hold. This is a difficult decision because having spent hours and hours in the past few months over our trading system, it is coming to shape. In fact, I just tape-out a major component of it last Friday.
Studying with this curriculum would provide me with a big picture perspective of financial analysis. Still, I would rather spend the time to study pertinent works like Security Analysis by Graham and Dodd
Better yet, I want to finish my trading system prototype as soon as possible because I’ve learned so much in bringing these systems (having gone through several incarnations already) to life than anything else I have done previously. However, it is also because of my desire to do this for the long term that I need to take the time to garner some industry recognition.
As superfluous as doing an exam might seem for my outside-of-the-box approach to the market (mostly out of necessity as I have neither the bank roll nor brain cells to directly compete with the sharks), the fact is, to be successful in this industry, I need experience, skills, and credibility. The latter of which is something I lack. Neither Graham, Hamilton, nor Adelson can provide me with credibility that these three letters can — CFA.
No related posts.
good luck, Paul!
Wikipedia states:
“To obtain the charter, however, a candidate must have completed a university degree (or equivalent) and four years of qualified, professional work experience, in addition to passing the three exams that test the academic portion of the CFA program ”
You’re working as an engineer, right? Does that qualify? It appears that they need one to be working in the investment industry. Am I wrong?
Wikipedia also states:
“Study materials for the CFA Exams are available from numerous learning providers.”
I’d be interested in knowing what materials you have and would you recommend them.
Richard
PS. I wish you good luck.
Thanks, Horacio and Richard!
Richard, I’m using the Schweser studying guides. The two big names are Schweser and Stalla in CFA study guides. So take your pick.
My engineering work definitely wouldn’t count. However, I’ll be incorporating an investment business soon and taking my work to the next step, so that should do it.
Paul,
Thanks for your reply. I’m an engineer too and find it interesting that you’ll be taking the CFA exam. You’ve got considering the same. However , I do not work in the investment business.
You wrote:
“I’ll be incorporating an investment business soon and taking my work to the next step, so that should do it.”
Would you mind outlining what you’re planning for your business model?
Richard
Good luck Paul, I myself is in my final year chemical engineering while studying statistics and quant for my trading. I don’t have a full time job so it aint that much to handle.
Good luck again hope you pass!
Did I just say “I myself is” LOL!
Meant “I myself am”
Thanks, Franco! Good luck with your study too!