An avant-garde approach to CFA exam preparation
Cramming your brain
with hundreds-page-long textbooks is impossible. Let’s discover a more
inspiring way to systematize prep knowledge for CFA exam.
Introduction
Is CFA exam
challenging? Without thorough preparation, yes it is. In fact, all kinds of
exam require a good prep for it. Yet, this task can be overwhelming as there
are so many things to remember. You cannot just read the whole book and expect
to memorize all the concept and formulas magically. Things just don’t work that
way.
Wrapping up each
chapter with bullet points, keywords, formulas is crucial. Again, noting down
all these things is such a daunting task. However, summarizing the lessons can
be more effective and time-saving by mind mapping. This method facilitates a
lot in organizing the chapters systematically. Thus, this piece of writing
provides a walkthrough on how I use this method for my CFA prep study.
First things first
Chartered Financial Analyst
is a professional credential program provided by CFA Institute. This program is
for people heading to be experts in investment and finance. It covers a wide
variety of topics relating to ethics, quantitative methods, economics,
corporate finance, financial report, security analysis, and portfolio
management.
To part take in the
CFA program, you must be holding a university degree, or being a senior at your
university, or having 4-year experience in work relating to investment
decision-making process. There are three levels of the program, and candidates
take one exam per year in 3 years. And this is on the assumption that they pass
on the first attempt.
Also, there are four
major requirements for being a CFA charter.
- 4-year qualified working experience or a combination of working and education experience approved by CFA Institute
- CFA Program completion
- Being a member of CFA Institute and having appliance for local CFA society’s membership
- Adherence to the standards of professional conduct and code of ethics of CFA Institute
What do these things mean?
It’s a long way to go
If things go smooth,
you need three years to become a CFA charter. And in these three years, you
need at least 250 hours of learning each year. In other words, CFA study
requires an enormous investment in time. And after all that time, you may, or
still, may not, get close to being a CFA charterholder.
You need a high commitment to your
study
No pain and no gain
must be the oldest thing in the book to be a piece of advice. Yet it’s true in
this case. Even though you should expect to invest several thousand dollars
every year, the cost of this program is not the only thing that requires your
commitment. In fact, the knowledge of the three levels is presented in a
system. So if you don’t stick to your study, there’s no hope of passing the
test.
Proper preparation is a must
Different people may
have different styles of learning. And I am not having any comment about that.
In fact, I will also share the one that helped me pass. But whatever style you
use, thorough prep study is always critical to your actual performance in the
test.
So you want to be a CFA Charterholder?
Everything comes with
the pros and cons. And being a CFA charterholder is, of course, not an exception. It
requires a significant amount of time, money, and effort. But what it gives you
back worth its weight in gold.
Having the charter
benefits you in many different ways. First, you can boost your reputation as
the charter provides an excellent credential to your CV. Second, it gives you a
lot more prospect in your career. And it’s not only about the increase in your
salary but also the overall promotion and success.
Third, there are so
many fields in which having CFA title will be a considerable plus. Whether
you are a sell-side analyst, buy-side trader, economist, or financial advisor/
planner, being a CFA charterholder will facilitate a lot in your work.
There are a lot more
things to tell beyond this list. But before dreaming of what you can do when
being a CFA charterholder, let’s get back to the reality. You are cracking your brain
trying to put every concept, definition, and formula into your memory.
You can easily search
for “CFA study tips”, they are everywhere on the Internet. But if you want a
real-life story, here is mine. Below is the complete walkthrough from when I
was studying for the level 1.
The story of my prep study
Like many others, I was
once a CFA candidate. The exam date was getting closer and yet I was getting
farther away from memorizing all the chapters. I don’t think the textbook is
hard to understand. In fact, most of the finance books explain the knowledge in
a highly understandable manner.
The common problem for
seemingly all CFA candidates is that it’s frustrating when trying to remember
all chapters at a time. And what is even harder is how to see the relations
among the chapters. It’d be much better if you can see CFA as a whole, have a
big view of it and have a grasp of every single knowledge branch of it.
I spent about two
weeks trying to note down the wrap-ups of every chapter, but I was not
satisfied. This way helped a little bit; I seemed to remember things more
easily. But when it comes to long chapters, the summary was still too long for
me to absorb. There should be something that embraces all sides of the chapter
systematically.
I remembered reading a
book series by Tony Buzan who is famous for his techniques using one's Mind. His books focus on how to
learn effectively with different inspiring methods. And one that is appreciated
the most is mind mapping. I started to look for more information on this method
and learn how to summarize the lessons using mind maps.
How exactly did I use it?
Step 1: Reading
It is evident that you
need to know what the chapter is about before summarizing it. Some people just
jump into doing exercises after each lecture. But I don’t think this way will
work.
Right after the
lecture when the concept of the topic still remains, you can do the exercise
with ease. But there are always some missing holes. Reading the textbooks
yourself is a great way to ensure there is no missing piece.
Step 2: Note down the keywords
Highlight the key
concepts and formulas in the chapter, and make sure you arrange them in order.
Which concepts and formulas are under which headlines? I always answer this
question when grouping the keywords together.
Step 3: Make a mind map
When I short down the
hundred-page-long topic, I will create a mind map for it. I always start with
the name of the topic at the central of the map. Then, I will go for the
headings, sub-headings, concepts, definition, and formulas. I keep writing and
drawing some illustrations until the topic is fully presented in the paper.
This step takes a lot
of your time. And an excellent alternative for this is to download the premade CFA Mind Maps. These mind maps are like treasures to me. I
have the full collection of them for my prep study for CFA exam level 1 and 2.
CFA Mind Map - Discounted Cash Flow
The creators of these
mind maps are those who have passed all CFA Exam Levels with high scores, so there should be no worry about its quality.
All the keys of all topics are comprehensively included. These maps are the
one-time investment for all-time return on investment.
Step 4: Do the exercises
You cannot just learn
by heart the theory and expect to be able to solve the problems in the test. My
way of doing exercises is traditional, but I think it helped a lot. Once I
complete the mind map, I will read them all over again. Then, I will start
doing the relating exercises.
I didn’t really try to
do as many exercises as possible. Instead, I’d love to look at the mistakes
after each one, fix them, note them down, and make sure there will be no same
mistake in the next exercises. This method really focuses on the quality of the
study, and it ensures you can "perfection-ize" your performance every
time you solve the practice problems.
Step 5: Revise the maps
When the exam date is
coming closer, I will not spend most of my time doing the exercises. Instead, I
will review the maps thoroughly to make sure I memorize every single aspect of
them. I will still do one or two practice problems, but just to reinforce what
I learned.
Did it help?
Short answer: Yes.
This method is exactly
what I’d always been looking for – a tool that gives a birds-eye view of all
the chapters. What is more amazing is that there is even an app to make things
much easier. There is no need to sweat your hands writing down all the
summaries or spend days typing them.
At first, I was
skeptical about the comprehensiveness of the premade mind maps. I just bought
one mind map for one topic. But I was just overthinking; the mind map is even
more comprehensive that anything I had done before. It covers every single
aspect of the chapter. But if you also want to have a demo first, you can download the samples.
As my first attempt
with CFA Mind Maps was delightful, I went for the full version of level 1 and
level 2. Instead of having splintering mind maps on each topic, you can have
the complete walkthrough of the whole level. Download the full level 1 and
level 2 mind maps for CFA exam here.
What’s the point of using a mind map
for CFA exam preparation?
Comprehensiveness
The mind map is like a
tree. It has the roots (concept), trunk (headings), branches (formulas), and
leaves (definitions). You will look at the mind map like looking at a tree as a
whole or its details. And the best part is that you can see the relations among
the roots, trunks, branches, and leaves. As a result, the knowledge is absorbed
thoroughly.
The whole topic is presented on just one page
Ease of approach
CFA Mind Maps makes
thing much easier. Especially in the last days of revision, this method will be
even more powerful. For the final month before the exam, I spent most of my
time looking at the map. I started from the roots to the leaves to ensure nothing
is missed. Also, when putting the maps together, I can see the explicit
relations among all the concepts.
And if there was
anything seemed vague, it would look it up again in the textbook. I repeated
this process chapter by chapter until the whole level is dealt. It feels like
compressing the entire book in your brain, and everything is in proper order.
Ease of learning
This method inspired
me in many different ways. The CFA Mind Maps eliminates all the frustrating
manual tasks of summarizing. It is a complete DFY tool that gives you the
walkthrough to the whole reading. It makes the prep time an enjoyable
experience and the best part is that it empowers the candidates the full
control of their study.
Proven result
There are no two words
that can be as convincing to prove its effectiveness as “I passed”.
And what about the result? My score was over 70% for all 10 out of 10 topics for Level 1 and 9 out of 10 topics for Level 2.
With the inspiring concept of CFA Mind Maps, I did have a thorough preparation for the exam. After revising each map, I practiced each concept with some typical exercises. And I think there is no better combination than this.
And what about the result? My score was over 70% for all 10 out of 10 topics for Level 1 and 9 out of 10 topics for Level 2.
With the inspiring concept of CFA Mind Maps, I did have a thorough preparation for the exam. After revising each map, I practiced each concept with some typical exercises. And I think there is no better combination than this.
As CFA Mind Maps
systematically organizes the knowledge, retrieving the knowledge when doing the
actual test was super easy. I even knew for sure which roots, trunks, branches,
or leave I should use to solve every problem on the test. I had no difficulty
in both solving the test and passing the test.
Who should use it?
CFA Mind Maps is ideal
for those who are preparing for the CFA exam with low time-budget and high
demand for the performance. As these maps thoroughly cover the topics, they
offer a deep understanding for the learners. Also, the maps are all presented
in a concise manner, making it super easy to understand and remember.
Those who are serious
about taking this exam and want an all-inclusive revision for it should also grab
this tool. Reading the textbooks is never enough. The more important thing is
how many percents of knowledge stay in your brain after reading.
CFA Mind Maps provides
a highly effective way of learning. And here is an amazing fact. If you notice,
the mind maps are like the neuron cells in your brain. As they have a similar
arrangement, reading a mind map helps the brain works more efficiently to
memorize the knowledge.
The bottom line
Mind mapping is a
powerful method of revision for the CFA exam. It offers a thorough approach to
all the topics, which makes the prep works more productive. And to maximize the
effect of mind mapping, CFA Mind Maps is my recommendation. If passing CFA exam with
flying color is what you have always been dreaming of, make your dream come
true with CFA Mind Maps. Grab it now!
