Have you made up your mind to attempt the CFA exam? If the answer is yes, then you must be looking for the right platform to augnent your preparation. You can now begin your training with the help of suitable study materials and video lessons online. You can easily study CFA level 1 online. With the exhaustive study tools coupled with targeted assignments and multiple practice tests, you can ace the exam and have the glorious career in finance and investment that you have always dreamed of. All you need to do is find the right platform that meets all your requirements and caters to your learning speed. When all these needs are met, there is no stopping you from passing the exam.
How to choose the right digital platform for your CFA prep
Since the CFA is an immensely popular designation, one that is held in high regard in the world of finance, you would find a sprawling. There are a lot of books and offline courses available in the market that could be confusing to candidates. You would also come across many online courses too. In this sea of CFA courses, it is important to not get overwhelmed and pick the right one that suits your study style and learning expectations. One should choose the CFA level 1 classes keeping these things in mind.
Understanding the level 1 exam
The CFA level 1 exam consists of a wide variety of topics. The topics to be covered with their respective weightage are:
- Ethical and Professional Standards (15-20%),
- Quantitative Methods (8-12%),
- Economics (8-12%),
- Financial Statement Analysis (13-17%),
- Corporate Issuers (8-12%),
- Portfolio Management (5-8%),
- Equity Investments (10-12%),
- Fixed Income (10-12%),
- Derivatives (5-8%),
- Alternative Investments (5-8%)
- Video explainers: The varying topics mentioned above require putting a lot of effort. Going for conventional study techniques by reading huge books from start to scratch is not a good idea. It is important to sift through a whole range of topics by taking notes wherever needed. This method is very time consuming and one that is certainly not suitable for working professionals. In this case, it would save you a lot of time and effort if the same topics are presented in video lessons. Look for online courses that have all the topics covered in small videos explained concisely.
- Visuals and animation : When you study CFA level 1 online, you would come across some dense topics that may require special attention. An animated video could help clear hard topics in a simple and effective manner. It keeps the candidate engaged and completely immersed in the toughest of subjects. Visual retention is much better and rewarding than plain reading. You are bound to remember what you have studied for a longer time as compared to studying over a reading session. Some studies have shown that one remembers more than 90% of what one learns through a video compared to 10% of what one learns from reading. Moreover, you are much more likely to forget what you’ve read if you don’t revise the subject matter regularly.With the right digital platform, you will realize that CFA preparation becomes much easier when the theoretical topics related to economy, forex and finance are explained with the help of cool visual effects and animations. You will take genuine interest in the subject and study will not feel like work at all.
- Practice Tests: The CFA exam requires taking rigorous practice tests following proper time management practices. A candidate would get an average of 90 seconds per question. While some questions would be theoretical in nature that can be done quickly, there are others like the numerical questions that take up substantial time and effort. By practicing regular mock tests and timing yourself during the process, you form a good idea about the examination pattern.
- Systematic progression: When you begin your preparation with a good online course, it guides you appropriately, at your own learning speed, completing the curriculum step-by-step along the way. Your preparation thus moves along in a systematic way and you keep track of your progress. This builds your confidence and elimiinates any pre-exam jitters.
Key Takeaway
The title of CFA is a prestigious one and the candidates have to go through a rigorous schedule to clear the exam. There are multiple topics to study and several arithmetic problems to solve. Candidates should enroll in CFA level 1 classes to start their preparation in a systematic manner. You should go through the video lessons comprehensively, at least thrice to remember the necessary facts and formulas. You should invest in good online courses that cover the curriculum holistically. The video lessons should have subject matter experts explaining the concepts in a clear and concise fashion. It is an added benefit if the lessons are interspersed with cool visuals and animations. After the candidates finish their studies covering the entire curriculum, they should attempt practice tests to understand their strengths and weaknesses apart from checking their progress.
