Hi all, i'm kinwing. 2 years ago (2008), i registered to sit for Level I at february but i was just too busy to work in the computer science engineering field at overseas. But the financial crisis broke out in year 2008 gave me an 'excuse' to resign from the company n did full time studying, cuz i 'predicted' tat my ex-co. might not b doing well n thus no expecting bonus or increment in the coming years.

so i resigned from job at july 2008 n started to prepare for level I exam which was hold at dec 2008. forget to mention tat my academic background is bachelor degree in a/c and fin. and i had 1.5 years working experience in an IB b4 joining the IT firm of which i worked for another 2.5 years.

as im a/c+fin. grad, level I was fine to me n i could handle most of the stuffs except ethics. for my opinion, candidates should score good for ethics which could give u a better chance to pass the exam, it is especially a deal breaker for level I.

so i got to know my level I result during CNY 2009. subsequently i registered for level II n realised the course in level II was much tuffer n my fin. grad knowledge cant handle n oso i had shorter time to prepare, thus i decided to take course at Kasturi College of which the course started at Feb 2009 n i still had another 4 months to prepare for level II exam in june 2009.

according to my experience in Kasturi, i found some of the lecturers r quite good n experience like David Meow n Wong Kah Teck. some other lecturers no good n talk cock sing song n BS in the class, though i try to attend every classes since i oredi paid the course n full-time studying, but sometimes i prefer to read books in home rather going to hear them BS. anyway, i passed level II as well n soon registered for level III in june 2010. i oso took course in kasturi college for level III.

the course in college commenced at around nov/dec 2009. so i had abut 7 to 8 months to prepare for level III. but level III format is different from I & II cuz in the morning session is answered wif short essay writting instead of MCQ. so this time i not only attended the classes in college, i oso joined the study group, which formed by classmates, n engage more discussions interactively n i found the study group really help alot in my level III study. so most of the members in the study group (if not mistaken all of them) pass level III exam which was known last 2 weeks ago.

in conclusion, studying cfa needs lot of commitment n need to read tons n tons of material. cfa institute officially mentioned tat candidates need to study at least 240 hours for each level. for me, 240 hours r not enuf n i spent more than 1k hours for each level (as i did it full time, so i can spend more time to read). n more importantly, i think study group is really helpful (of course it depends on whether ur group members r well prepared for the discussion or not).

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Added on September 5, 2010, 11:50 amit is quite a good site wif lot of studying resources for those CFA candidates who can read mandarin.

http://bbs.cfaspace.com/

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Added on September 5, 2010, 12:03 pmI dun think candidates can register next level if he/she do not know the result of the existing level. just imagine u register n pay for next level but later find out u fail the existing level, then it might b trouble for u to get rebate from cfa institute, so dun think cfa institute will allow u to do so.

yah it's difficult to candidates who plan to sit for dec exam n know the result on jan next year n subsequently those candidates only hav 4 to 5 more months to prepare for the test in jun, i had gone through this situation b4 n know how hard it would b. for my opinion, it's up to how candidates make their planning. if they dun wan to take the program in such a rushing, they can always arrange to take the exam for all levels only at june, so dun take dec exam (so far only level I exam hold twice each year at jun n dec, whereby level II & III's exam only hold once at dec).

however, if u cant make it or fail level I's june exam n need to re-sit for level I same year at dec, then it's too bad for u. thing sometimes just cannot come true as wat u have expected.

This post has been edited by kinwing: Sep 5 2010, 12:03 PM

last time i inquired fkms in kl n the PIC told the college no longer open cfa class. so the only choice i left to chose for having cfa course from kasturi college (of course, there could b some other colleges in kl oso offer cfa course of which im not aware of). so far i think cfa course offered by kasturi is fine, i'd rate it 7.5 to 8 out of 10 marks (assume 10 is the highest quality). if u could meet some classmates during the course n form a study group, then it'd a very good way to learn cfa as well.

of course, u can always self study cfa since it is made as a self-study program. it's all depends on urself whether u r brilliant enuf to learn cfa so when u encounter problems in studying u need to make sure u have the resoures to solve n understand the problem urself, how r u going to arrange ur time if u take course? r u financially well-off to pay RM4.1K extra just take course at kasturi for each level? these r those factors u need to consider to self-study or take course in kasturi.

yah, kasturi got some kind of rebate scheme for those who have the determination to pass the exam. if not mistaken, u can claim back abut RM600 if u attended more than 70% of the classes (can claim back RM100), pass 1 of the 3 mock tests hold by the college (can claim back RM100), past CFA exam (can claim back RM400). u can get the whole course fees of RM3.5K back from kasturi if u past cfa exam wif distinction (means u score all sections more than 70%). so if u can make such achievements as mention above, u basicly just attend cfa course in kasturi for free...

as i mentioned i was studying cfa full time n just known the level III result 2 weeks ago, so im now seeking jobs n not sure wif cfa quali. does help in career or not. for my opinion, cfa quali. does open some doors for interview but dun rely it too much, i think experience is indeed more material. as i started apply jobs last week n so far not much prompt reply, it could b due my related experience not good enuf for the applied jobs or mb i need to lower my expectation. anyway replies from singaporean recruiters r not encouraging but i got 1 interview in kl soon, mb i need to wait for another next few weeks or months to c wat i could get then.

This post has been edited by kinwing: Sep 5 2010, 01:03 PM

as i hav never view wat's the syllabus of CFP looks like, so i duno if it applicable for those who intend to work as an analyst or in CF of an IB. but the name of CFP does give u some hints tat it's suitable for those who wanna develop their career in financial planning field instead of becoming an analyst or investment banker.

anyway i think it depends on which IB bank tat u r working/planning to work at. who knows there might b some IB would require u to take CFP instead of CFA . according to my experience working in an IB, i was encouraged to take CFA, not CFP. i believe the other IBs would b the same.

ur questions abut study material is too general, duno wat's the point u would like to find out? anyway, if u registered as cfa candidate, when u registered online n make payment of abut US$900 to US$1,000, this fee not only includes the exam registration but oso the 6 studying material books (the so-called curriculum books printed by cfa institute), so nowadays u dun need to find study material by urself instead cfa oredi provided for u.

for those ppl who think reading the curriculum books r not enuf or too much to read or either way, they might seek further materials from non-cfa institute such as schweser or stalla or any other sources for more reference. for my opinion, materials from cfa institute r more than enuf 4 u to read so u dun have to spend extra $ for other non-cfa institute materials. please take note tat those real cfa exam questions r solely tested based on the 6 cfa curriculum books.

This post has been edited by kinwing: Sep 5 2010, 09:44 PM

Yah after working 2.5 years in IT field, I realised IT knowledge keeps changing and update rapidly (I worked in SAP/Oracle/PROIV/VB.net proejcts, if anyone of you work in IT you might know why I say so) and it is not the field that I want to go on further. Since I didn't see good prospect in IT during the financial crisis in '08 and considered to make job switch back to financial field, and also because I got some savings and no other commitments, I decided to full time study. CFA is the choice that I want take long ago and hoped i could complete it within 2 to 2.5 years.

In fact, before I made up my mind, I was hesitating as no work means no income and I must be thrift while full time studying and what would be the situation if I fail the exam. Although I tried to stick on working while studying CFA, but later I was assigned to work on overseas projects and need to travel frequently, so studying CFA became a very difficult task. Some more I have come through a lot of cases that friends who studied CFA part time took very long time to pass Level I & II and many of them stuck at Level III for several trials and keep failing the last level. Some of them gave up subsequently. As I know I'm not as smart as my friends and it would be tough for me to do CFA part time, finally I decided to take this risk and swear to myself that I need to commit and put in effort, if fail once it would be a gone case .

This post has been edited by kinwing: Sep 6 2010, 12:28 PM

since i was studying cfa full-time, i can spend 7 to 8 hours each day to read books, doing questions from the books or attending courses at kasturi college, so just treating the studying process like duty in working. so just assume everyday we studied 7 hours, so total 1,000 hours divided by 7 hours, roughly we need to spend around 150 days in studying.

when i started level I, i did it in self-study n not attending any courses. though i registered to sit for level I dec exam at feb 2008, i only seriously started to study the materials in august after resigned from the job, so i was then left another 150 days to study from aug to dec. everyday i spent 9 to 10 hours (even in weekend i was reading) to read the books from scratch, word by word, line by line. as im a slow learner, even wif degree background in finance, the 6 books still cost me almost 120 to 130 days to complete. i remembered after finish reading the materials, i only had 2 remaining weeks to do the mock/sample questions from CFA website b4 the exam.

though i passed level I wif only 2 sections <70%, i realised tat i might not b capable to handle level II myself, n some more i could only register for level II June exam at late Jan 2009 becuz the level I result was only announced at late Jan. so i decided to take course. as the time arrangement of the course in kasturi college was indeed quite squeeze since we had only short time frame from feb to june. the class normally being arranged at weekend, sat n sun, from 10am to 5pm. sometimes the class might b arranged at weekday from 6pm to 9pm.

when i studied level II n III, i didn't read the 6 books word by word, cuz i realised after going to attend the course, i dun hav the time to do such a mass reading as wat i did in level I. some more i had taken note the important points from the course, i just pick to read those topics tat related to the LOS. of course doing those questions from the books is a must must. please take note tat reading important topics according to LOS doesnt mean we skip/pick chapters n speculate which part wont b tested, otherwise i just cant understand y we spend so much effort to sit for the exam n end up we skip to learn alot of the knowledge?

btw, i was able to read through the 6 cfa books for level II and III at least 2 rounds as i more well absorbed the books' knowledge after attending the class. i remembered the Level III books become tore apart after i was reading the books so many round. yah i did do more revision on those part tat i cant understand.

please check the cfa website below for detail information
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/pro...ages/index.aspx

It looks like Noesis does offer CFA course in its Penang branch.
http://www.noesis.com.my/?page_id=19

There is no CFA Level 1 pas year question because the CFA Institute does not allow anyone to disclose the exam questions. And it is not ethical for candidates to discuss the exam questions.

Nevertheless, I can suggest few CFA Forums to you to find out more information as stated below

http://bbs.cfaspace.com/index.asp

www.analystforum.com

I graduated with a commerce degree major in accounting and finance and worked 2 years in Corporate Finance field, but I still spent 1,000 hours for each level and go for tuition classes for level II and III but I was only able to pass marginally:sweat:

Anyway, it still rely on how resourceful and how smart you are, so the conclusion is it depends on individual's capability.

It's never too late to start learn something new.

The basic entrance requierments are stated below

"Have a bachelor's (or equivalent) degree

or be in the final year of your bachelor's degree program at the time of registration

or have four years of qualified, professional work experience

or have a combination of work and college experience that totals at least four years (Note: Summer, part-time, and internship positions do not qualify)

If you initially enroll/register as a final year undergraduate student with a degree in progress, you may not register for the Level II exam until you have earned your degree, or obtained work experience that meets the program’s entrance requirements. At the time your degree is awarded, you may update your account education information to certify that your degree has been received."

http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/pro...ages/index.aspx

So for your case, you either need to prove your experience in "IT sales, bank, direct sales and the last 6 years im running my own cybercafe business" are professinal work with your SPM education, or you need to attend to get a college cert with 4 year working experience (irregard if the 4 year working experience is financial or professional related).

Good luck to you then. Mathemathic is quite important for quantitative and valuation subjects, whereby accounting is important to master financial report analysis sessions of which are 'dealbreakers' for Level I and II.

The CFA Institute does not hold any course or tuition class for candidates, as the exam is programmed as self-study. I have attended CFA tuition class for Level II and III in Kasturi college at Petaling Street in KL.

The tuition classes in Kasturi normally arrange during every weekend from monring 10am to 5pm. Sometimes, the tutor cant make it on certain weekend morning, then it could be re-arranged in normal working day after working hour from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

Good luck then, you have another 250 days to go.

Option Pricing => Level 2 (Valuation of Derivatives)

Portfolio Management => Level 3 (Asset Allocation and Portfolio Management)

Foreign Currency Securities => Level 2 (Econ - topics in relation interest rate, inflation and monetary & fiscal policy) and Level 2 (Financial Statement Analysis - foregin currency translation treatment) and Level 3 (Option Strategies related Currency Swap)

If you did those topics, then you don't have to sit for the CFA program lah, it's repeating .

Check this for CFA registration. You need to create an online account first in CFA's website before you can register. You don't need any sponsor for registering into CFA exams, you just need to pay online.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/pro...ages/index.aspx

To become CFA member, you need 2 sponsors, and one of the sponsors must be a CFA Charteredholder, another sponsor can be either a CFA Charteredholder or your boss.

But you need to pay fees to maintain your membership, so I suggest you only start to apply for CFA membership after you passed all the CFA exams and close to accumulate the 4-year relevant working experience.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/mycfa/candidat...ages/index.aspx

You do not need a CFA qualification to work in product development or risk management. The name of CFA can tell, it is an analyst-oriented certification.

Get 2 sponsors and apply for CFA Institute membership, then accumulate 4-year relevant working experience to upgrade to CFA Chartered.

http://www.cfainstitute.org/mycfa/candidat...ages/index.aspx

This post has been edited by kinwing: Aug 22 2011, 04:51 PM