Charterholders,
Looking back on the three exams, what are your favourite nuggets of gold you gained when preparing for the CFA exams? Any level, content you just thought, yep, this is seriously useful to know. Things like the Beneish Model for assessing the quality of reporting. There has been a few things I’ve written down over the years to ensure I apply it in the real world and I’m wondering what your thoughts are here?
I personally found the options and FRA stuff the most applicable to this day.
As I am doing some estate planning stuff lately also, all the L3 content about wealth management helps me both understand and screen folks I am working with. I am now one of the characters in the vignettes lol.
When reading social media posts and even journalist articles, the Behavioral Finance aspects (all the biases) are more openly visible to me now too.
Cheers Elder. I like your submission, simplicity and humility. Not many attest to the fact ( even among the Charterholder) that the entire CFA program was designed on the basis of applied finance. Hence every aspect is a nugget in itself. It’s very easy to discard something as theoretical or engage into the silly conversations of CFA vs the top MBA yet the one simple fact that elude most of us - CFA is not a mere three level program. It’s the cauldron of Finance, bible if you like.
I find it ludicrous when I see naysayers thrashing the CFA program and the Charterholder without having an understanding how deep it’s contents are and how rewarding a career it could ensue. Of course by career I don’t liken it to the number of promotions or the compensation package thereof. That nobody could guarantee regardless of ones pedigree and/or academics credentials. But for sure CFA makes a finance professional’s working life much more adaptive and smooth. How opportunities are created and cashed upon are not in the realm of the CFA program. Often we forget that and associate the CFA Charterholder with instant spectacular results.
Personally, Level II was a revelation for me. A little detour, since I also have the FRM Charter FI, Derivatives and Risk Management are my absolute favourite. I struggled with BF in my first attempt at L3 , the very reason of Band 10 but three years down the line after earning the Charter I see the point. It’s 100% relevant and makes sense. Surely not as obscure as it appeared the first time around.
So yeah ! That’s pretty much it.
Nice one, great points, behavioural stuff it great to clock in an article and I’ve caught myself at it now I’m aware of it. I remember level II being full of eureka moments but I do feel the need to go back and review some of it, you do forget the details. It’s of course the stuff we use as part of our day to day that sticks best.
Level III wealth management was great, going through it, creating my own economic balance sheet was added to the to do list! Had a little girl so rethinking insurance beyond covering the mortgage is certainly needed.
Cauldron of finance is a great term 
I see the CFA materials like they’re a set of encyclopedias that we know where to find stuff from now.
My next steps aren’t going to be pursuing another course that comes with exams but to try and implement as much as is relevant to my job and managing my own book. This is why I’m curious to know everyone’s favourite nuggets
