So, I'm interested in getting my CFA designation and I don't want to spend much $$ outside of registering for the exam. A patent friend of mine took and passed Level 1 (investment tools) -- Level 2 (Asset Valuation) and then Level 3 (Portfolio Management). In doing some research I came across:
- CFA Institute, CFA Program Curriculum Overview (link);
- Wall Street Mojo, CFA, Level 1 (link).
My friend provided the following feedback:
- I studied the material that is provided by the CFA Institute, i.e., no extra classes or materials beyond registering for the exam.
- Although the subject matter is completely different, I found it to be like the Patent Bar with the amount of studying involved. The MBA helped, but there is a lot more depth and detail that required a lot of study time.
- If you do sign up for it, one thing I would recommend is to take a lot of the mock exams to get familiar with the topics that are actually tested. I did that later in my studies and would have preferred to do that sooner.
I am going to try to study the material provided by the CFA Institute in the Study Support (link) and do the provided practices exams. I'm hoping the knowledge obtain in my MBA in Finance will provide some background.
Right now I know I will bump-up against the official designation, but taking/passing the Level exams should be doable.
Fingers crossed and feel free to comment.