A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Prepare for Your CFA

AreyouplanningtoappearintheCFAexaminations?

IfyouarestudyingfortheCFAexam,youmustunderstandthatthe coursedemandsastructuredstudyplanandseriouscommitment.You mustinvestmorethan350hoursofstudywhilepreparingfortheLevel 1exam.Ifyouracademicbackgrounddoesn’tcoversubjectspresentin theCFAcurriculum,youwillneedmoretime.

TheCFALevel1examisprettytoughtocrack.However,donotfeel tenseorapprehensiveifyouhaveregisteredfortheexam.Checkoutour simplestep-by-stepguide,whichwillhelpyourCFApreparations.You canalsocheckoutourblog:HowHardistheCFAExam,togetmore clarityontheexam’sstandards.

How to Prepare for CFA Level 1: A Step-By-Step Guide

Inthisstep-by-stepguide,wewillcoveralltheimportantaspectswhich willhelpyouclearCFALevel1exams.

1. Concentrate on the curriculum and identify the topic weights of the CFA Level 1 exam

ThefirststepinpreparingfortheCFALevel1examinationis understandingthecoursecurriculum.TheLevel1curriculumcovers 10 topics,andeachtopichasaspecificweightage.Moreover,the curriculumundergoesannualupdates.Althoughthecoretopicareas remainthesameinallthreelevelsoftheexam,thetopicweightsvary witheachlevel.

Letuslookatthe10topicscoveredintheCFALevel1examalongwith theirweight:

• Ethical and Professional Standards:15-20%

• Quantitative Methods:8-12%

• Economics: 8-12%

• Financial Statement Analysis:13-17%

• Corporate Issuers:8-12%

• Equity Investments:10-12%

• Fixed Income:10-12%

• Derivatives:5-8%

• Alternative Investments:8%

• Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning:5-8%

Ifyouwanttosucceedinthisexam,ensurethatyouthoroughlyknow thetopicsmentionedabove.Concentrateonthetopicswhichcarrymore weight,like‘EthicalandProfessionalStandards’,‘FinancialStatement Analysis’,‘EquityInvestments’,‘FixedIncome’,etc.Allocatetimetothe topicsdependingonwhetheritisyourstrongorweakarea. Weaker areas need more time and attention.