Daren Miller believes that there are no short-cuts to CFA success. Earning the right to use the coveted CFA designation is a tough and emotional process, no matter how well educated or how much work experience you might have.
- Focus on the official CFA curriculum. The CFA Institute Council of Examiners (CoE) develops exam questions from the curriculum, so exam questions ought to have similar structure and style as the official reading assignments and end-of-chapter problems.
- Be over-prepared for exam day. It’s impossible to guess what will and what won’t be on the CFA exam. That’s why it is important to cover every topic through self-study. You must also exhaust all possible study sources, such as end-of-chapter problems and CFA sample and mock exams. Wouldn’t you rather be over-prepared to deal with an unexpected question rather than have to return in the next year for a resit?
- Bring the curriculum to life with worked examples. In order to understand a concept, candidates need to see how it can be applied, not just in an examination context but also in a practical way.
- Keep class sizes small. Small class sizes enables interaction between the instructor and among other candidates, enhancing a collective and collaborative learning process.
- Foster time management skills at the outset. It is not enough to pass the CFA exam by knowing the material; transferring the knowledge from your head to the grading paper requires ongoing training under simulated exam time pressure.
- Provide minimal handouts. Each level of the CFA Program contains over 2,000 pages of reading across 18 study sessions. This is enough paper (or eBook) to keep candidates busy for months. Powerpoint slides are kept to the optimal number (zero).
- Respect different cultures. The CFA Program is the same in every country where it is available, which is almost everywhere. It is truly a global passport in finance, and in a shrinking world, getting to know and respect others quite different from ourselves is crucial in today’s business world.
- Maintain communication between classes. While the classroom experience helps to maintain interest and motivation, it can be lonely with self-study between sessions. It is important to keep in touch outside of class so that learning obstacles can be overcome.
- Failing can be an enlightening experience. For most candidates, failing the CFA exam is the first formal educational set back in their entire lives. It is a time to reflect on why the failure occurred and to take corrective action. Life does not always work out as planned, and rebounding from CFA failure can strengthen character.