[archbishop]

Hi CTD, Shalabh and Arjun. This is turning out to be a great thread. Lots of info being provided. I am looking out to pursue the level 1 exam in June '06. i have some questions which have not been answered as yet.

1. In how many years can you pursue the work ex. as in after how many years after your third level exams are you eligible for the 4 yrs work ex?

2. In aggregate how do you have to shell out for the books and the registration fees?

3. Shalabh even i am from BMS. Currently in T.Y. Want to appear for CAt in '06. If i get through, can i appear for the CFA level II and III after doing MBA?

It would be of great help if any of you could help me find clues about these questions. Wanting to register before 15 Feb.......

Thanks for all the help.

[Crash_test_dummy]

okay so far we have 5 ppl in this thread for level 1 june 2006: myself, shalabh, arjun, archbishop, and ankit3k. i think we should coordinate and share info so that our lives become easier.

archbishop...i`ll try and answer what i know:

1. i dont think there should be any restriction on that, but i`m not sure. check the website of the cfa institute.

2. Exam expenses:
Rs.16,875 (Membership fee--once only) + Rs.19,800 (Exam fee) = Rs.36,675 (total)
Total for three levels = Rs.36,675 * 3 = Rs.1,10,025
You can save Rs.6,000 if u register in the early deadlines for the other 2 levels.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/feeschedule.html

Books and Material:

this completely depends on what material u use and where u get it from. the CFA reccomends some standard textbooks, which are quite expensive...but the indian editions are relatively cheaper. you could pool in money with friends and buy stuff together by sharing costs, you could buy second hand material, xerox notes, etc etc. total cost for study material can be anywhere between 6,000 to 30,000 depending on where u buy from and what u buy.


3. there is no restriction as to when you should take your level II and III exams. you can take the level 1 now and take level 2 after 5 years, level 3 after 10 years...anytime u want. if you take level 1 and go for MBA, u will find your mba syllabus pretty easy to cope with and ur academic performance will be good. if u do your mba and then cfa, you wont have much trouble clearing cfa exams coz u already are familiar with the concepts. i have personally chosen to follow the first strategy...do cfa first and simplify mba studies.

[archbishop]

thanks a lot man. it seems u have been thru a grt deal of research. Well where are u from and where did u get ur books from? i guess u r already registered right?

i am from the finance background only. Do u think the first level is tough?

Thanks for all the help and for starting this thread. TC.

[archbishop]

I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?

So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-

(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.
Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.

But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.

[Crash_test_dummy]

Originally Posted by archbishop

I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?

So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-

(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.

ooops, i`m sorry! u are right, i shouldn`t multiply the membership fees by 3. i wrote "one time only" in the brackets and still multiplied it!

Originally Posted by archbishop

Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.
But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.

that was me. i went thru the "recommended reading list" of the cfa website. i noticed that the topics and the books were ALMOST the same for all three levels and usually the chapters to be studied were different at different levels. as the level advances, the chapters move from the basics to the advanced sections of the books. this is what i observed for most of the topics, but i didn`t really take a very detailed look at ALL the topics and books. im sure there must be some extra books to be referred to in the future levels.

Originally Posted by archbishop

thanks a lot man. it seems u have been thru a grt deal of research. Well where are u from and where did u get ur books from? i guess u r already registered right?

i am from the finance background only. Do u think the first level is tough?
.

yeah...i like to do my research first hand before investing so much into something. sometimes my problem is...i do too much research and take too little action!


i`m from mumbai, andheri west...where u from? i havnt registered yet. as i mentioned in my previous post, i`m gonna spend a month (january) studying and getting a hang of this thing. i`ll see how much time i`m able to devote and what`s the pace of my progress in studies. then based on that, i`ll register. if my progress is too slow or i`m not able to grasp concepts, then i`ll register for dec 2006. if things are going smooth, i`ll go for jun 2006... i personally hope that i`m able to make it this june.

i dont really know if the first level is tough, i have been getting conflicting opinions from different ppl. but one thing everyone has told me: it is possible to clear it provided we put in enuff effort...so i`m gonna give it my best and see how it goes. i`m from an engineering background and i`m going for it...i think being from finance, it should be a piece of cake for ya!!

like i said earlier, there are prep books and there are standard text books. i might be getting the prep material xerox copy from my friend, i`m not sure, havnt got it yet. but i also feel the textbooks are a good investment coz they can be used for all three levels and for an MBA in the future.

i bought 2 recommended textbooks this weekend from a bookstore near IIT powai:

1. Investment analysis and portfolio management--Reilly and Brown
2. The use and analysis of financial statements --White, sondhi, and fried

i started reading the second chapter of the first book last night...seems pretty good. didn`t face much difficulty understanding concepts....it was an introductory chapter and was pretty staright forward. i think things will get complex in the forthcoming chapters...lets see how it goes.

[Crash_test_dummy]

Originally Posted by archbishop

I've been thru the link u gave and it says the membership fees are for the first timers only right?

So i guess the total fees would be :
16,875 + (19800*3) = 76,275/-

(hope i got that right). That is if they don't revise it.
Also, i heard from someone in this forum that the books for all the three levels are the same but the relevant chapters are different.

But having compared the required books of the three levels, i found that u have to purchase some extra books for level 2 and 3.

aww damn, i just typed a really long reply and pressed submit reply button and got an error. pressed the back button and the whole thing i typed was gone...so much for the first post of the new year ha!

anyways, i`ll post later in the day when i`m free.
ps: your calculation is correct...i did a mistake my multiplying the membership fee by 3.

[archbishop]

Hi dude even i m from goregaon. Pretty close to you. Even i had the same thing in mind ya.......... to go thru the books and then register. lets see a couple of my friends also seem to be interested. i think even they can pool in.

[Crash_test_dummy]

Originally Posted by archbishop

Hi dude even i m from goregaon. Pretty close to you. Even i had the same thing in mind ya.......... to go thru the books and then register. lets see a couple of my friends also seem to be interested. i think even they can pool in.

cool...goregaon is right next door! ignore my last post...i got an error message and thot my post didn`t go thru, but when i logged back in, both my posts were there! must be some problem from PG server.

anyways, so i wen thru the recommended reading list and here`s a list of books that were frequently recommended. (the percentages in brackets is the weightage given to the topic...i`m not sure if it is accurate, ignore the percentages):

CFA LEVEL I

Financial statement analysis (20%)
The analysis and use of financial statements (3rd edition) – White, Sondhi, and Fried
Financial Accounting (8th edition) – Needles and Powers


Ethical and professional standards (15%)
Standards of Practice Handbook (9th edition) – CFA institute, 2005


Quantitative methods (12%)
Quantitative methods for investment analysis (2nd edition) – Richard A. DeFusco, Dennis W. McLeavey, Jerald E. Pinto, and David E. Runkle


Economics (10%)
Economics: Private and Public choice (10th edition) – Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and Mcpherson


Analysis of equity investments (10%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) – Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown


Analysis of fixed income investments (10%)
Fixed income analysis for the CFA program (2nd edition) -- Frank J. Fabozzi


Corporate finance (8%)
Fundamentals of financial management (8th edition) -- Eugene F. Bringham and Joel F. Houston

Derivatives (5%)
Analysis of derivatives for the CFA program -- Don Chance


Portfolio management (5%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) – Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown


Alternative investments (5%)
International investments (5th edition) – Bruno Solnik and Dennis Mcleavey


As i said, i`ve already bought two of the books from this list. If things go well, i aim to buy at least 50% of all the books on this list. please add to this list if u know more.

[archbishop]

Originally Posted by Crash_test_dummy

cool...goregaon is right next door! ignore my last post...i got an error message and thot my post didn`t go thru, but when i logged back in, both my posts were there! must be some problem from PG server.

anyways, so i wen thru the recommended reading list and here`s a list of books that were frequently recommended. (the percentages in brackets is the weightage given to the topic...i`m not sure if it is accurate, ignore the percentages):

CFA LEVEL I

Financial statement analysis (20%)
The analysis and use of financial statements (3rd edition) – White, Sondhi, and Fried
Financial Accounting (8th edition) – Needles and Powers


Ethical and professional standards (15%)
Standards of Practice Handbook (9th edition) – CFA institute, 2005


Quantitative methods (12%)
Quantitative methods for investment analysis (2nd edition) – Richard A. DeFusco, Dennis W. McLeavey, Jerald E. Pinto, and David E. Runkle


Economics (10%)
Economics: Private and Public choice (10th edition) – Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and Mcpherson


Analysis of equity investments (10%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) – Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown


Analysis of fixed income investments (10%)
Fixed income analysis for the CFA program (2nd edition) -- Frank J. Fabozzi


Corporate finance (8%)
Fundamentals of financial management (8th edition) -- Eugene F. Bringham and Joel F. Houston

Derivatives (5%)
Analysis of derivatives for the CFA program -- Don Chance


Portfolio management (5%)
Investment analysis and portfolio management (7th edition) – Frank K. Reilly and Keith C. Brown


Alternative investments (5%)
International investments (5th edition) – Bruno Solnik and Dennis Mcleavey


As i said, i`ve already bought two of the books from this list. If things go well, i aim to buy at least 50% of all the books on this list. please add to this list if u know more.

Can u PM me ur email id? I will add u in my hotmail chat.
1. By the way how much did u spend in getting those two books. Did u get them at the rate mention on the site?

2. What is stalla? Is it a publishing house?

3. Are most people out here doing CFA also working? Coz i m in the third year and would prefer to work after my MBA.

[archbishop]

Did u get my PM? i had sent u one this morning.