GIPS & SPH Arrived Today!!!!

Ok I lied, they arrived about 2 weeks ago but I am just catching up in posts now to get everything where it should have been before I started economics.  Both of these books are available online at the CFA website for anyone who wants them.  After reading the ethics session and enjoying it, I decided I wanted a copy of the Standards of Practice Handbook (SPH) & the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for later reference. Furthermore, the SPH is a required textbook for the CAIA designation I will be taking in September (separate post). So I justified buying a hardcopy version because I will use it in 2 CFA exams and 2 CAIA exams. The total with shipping came to under $100, and the GIPS is twice as detailed as what is outlined in the curriculum.  Beyond what is required learning, I actually found the extended content interesting as well.  I have only browsed through the books and I will read them front to back during my review week.

Use of Notebooks

I thought i’d give a quick mention to the notebook system I have set up.  It seems to work for me so far, especially in quant.

Formula Notebook

• Every formula in the book I write in the notebook with a short description and a legend.

Review Notebook

• I list any topics that I want to come back and review because it is (a) hard or (b) I am not 100% confident
• I wont use this as a conclusive review guide, but I will use it to start off my review process by drilling down on the weakest areas and moving on from there

Rough Work

• I use this to record rough work, including every example inside the text(s) that I work out manually.

Notepad

• Here I keep a running list of things to do that pop into my head when studying. It can be about CFA or anything else.  I try to clean this list up every 1 – 3 days.
• I also keep a list here about topics on the blog, notes on a post and so on….

Duo-tang of CBOK

• To give myself and overview of the macro based concepts of the course, and an idea of how i’m progressing

CFA Cirriculum v. Schweser Notes v. Secret Sauce

I just thought this was an interesting way to view the fundamental difference between these three resources, content.  A lot can be said about content and its usefulness, which is why I think that it is prudent to start with the CFA then go through the schweser and follow up with the secret sauce.  The content keeps getting more narrow and more specific and really drills down. Below is an example of the ethics (ss1) sections of the course:

1. CFA Curriculum: 166 Pages
2. Schweser Notes: 63 Pages
3. Secret Sauce: 6 Pages

Ethics Update…..

So I completed SS1 – SS4 and now i’m just plowing through the Schweser notes on it.  Found the content pretty straight-forward though I can see how the questions could be tricky if they really drilled down on the material.  The GIPS standards is definitely my weakest section, only because of all the little intricacies and the fact that i’ve never seen it.  I was surprised how much of reading 4 was optional content, it seemed relevant, but i’m not complaining that I don’t need to memorize that stuff.  I know CFA is trying to drive the Codes of Conduct down our throats, but the amount of examples in these chapters was excessive.  It was so much, by the end I was ready to jump off a tall bridge. I am still waiting on the CPH and GIPS handbooks to show up, so in the mean time I will continue on with my studying. These are the focus areas I think I will come back to later:

• GIPS Compliance Statement
• Standards of Conduct
• Sections of GIPS
• Code of Ethics
• Process of the PCP

I found the use of Secret Sauce, Stall Cue cards and qbank to really help drive this material home as a interim review process.  I liked the methodology to reinforcing the material, so I think I will continue with that approach.  Of course, ill have to add secret sauce somewhere in there…..likely at the end.

Secret Sauce Arrived!!!!

I decided to order secret sauce from schweser a couple days ago.  It arrived 2 days after I ordered it, which does not surprise me.  Schweser has consistently outperformed Stalla in my personal experience, at every turn.  That’s a debate that has been beaten to death, and i’m not about to start again here.  It’s amazing how Schweser really trims the content down to the relative stuff.  If I was to recommend only one study solution, it would be this one.  Trust me, worth the money and convenience.

I read the first section on ethics, and I was pleasantly surprised.  They managed to cut the entire ethics section down to 6 pages, and it was written very well.  The thing I liked most about the secret sauce was that the writers recommended which parts of the content to focus on.  So for example, they would mention how to study the standards of conduct, instead of just straight memorization.  Everything was in condensed format in lists and a lot easier to read, though I don’t see how you would use just the secret sauce without background knowledge in the content.  I definitely agree that you can purely study off this after you’ve read everything.  The book is small enough to become your essential notes for the final weeks.  Anyways, I am very glad I bought secret sauce, definitely a solid grouping of the essential content of the curriculum.

What I am Using to Study……

Your choice of study suppliers can be influenced by a lot of factors.  I personally decided to buy the schweser materials after an extensive reading of topics on AnalystForums.  It seems that there is a pretty loyal following between Schweser and Stalla, and it’s really personal choice.  Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and I took this into consideration when purchasing materials from both.  Below is a list of the resources I will be using and discussing frequently over the course of the next two and a half months:

Learn:

• CFA Curriculum Materials
• Schweser Notes
• AnalystNotes free materials
• Stalla Cue Cards
• Schweser Secret Sauce
• Blogs of Former CFA-L1 participants

Apply

• Schweser Qbank
• Notes & question databases built by former students
• Questions at the end of CFAI and Schweser materials
• AnalystForums

Test

• CFA Sample Exams
• CFA Mock Exams
• Schweser Mock Exams Volume 1 & 2
• AnalystNotes free mock exam
• Qbank

A Substantial Change…

When I originally opened this preliminary site, I thought it would serve a medium similar to the CSC and CPH blogs I managed.  I assumed I would split the posts between my personal experience with the course and its material and my opinions on a variety of related items.  After finishing using this format for the CSC and CPH blogs, both of which are now inactive, I have realized that this site will take a different direction.  The reason why is simple, AnalystForums.  Its by far the single greatest collection of user generated content in regards to the CFA that is out there right now.  There is not one shred of  applicable content that I could provide using my old medium, that hasn’t already been covered by the crowd in much greater detail, and in every case, with greater respect o skills and experience.  With this realization, I will be adopting a model more accustomed to a normal blog.  I think there is a lot of resources for people out there who want to learn about the CFA, interact with others taking the course at that exact moment and find significant amounts of relevant content to their studies.  This type of market does not exist for the CSC, CPH or any other CSI related courses.  It is also fairly lacking with the CAIA and FRM designations, although we will see how AnalystForum addresses these issues.

So instead of uploading a massive amount of content to this blog in one hit, I will be uploading what I find relevant to my personal experience as I go along. I wont be covering the differences between 3rd party study suppliers, or why choosing the CFA is a better idea then the CAIA or FRM. This has been covered extensively on the forums, and I encourage anyone to use the search function to track this content down. Instead, I will be uploading posts on my experiences with the topics and content, as well as the general process.  You can also find me on the forums frequently.  With all that being said, I am going to upload a few posts to get the site caught up to today.

- Steve

All together now…..

Stalla Flash Cards

Got my stalla flash cards about a month ago, and I was impressed.  I had done some research on them over other offerings and they are definitely the better quality over other products.  The short and sweet, I choose Stalla cue cards of Schweser because the Stall cue cards had the information already on them.  The Schweser ones were just blank cards with the LOS statements on them.  I don’t have a lot of time to create cue cards, so $200 was a small price to pay for this.  I am really pleased with the quality of these. Again, i’ll talk more about my selection for study materials later on.  Just wanted to upload a few pictures to give you an idea of what they were like.

Schweser Material

So my Schweser material arrived about a month back and I had a skim through it.  I have to say I am impressed how they condensed the size of the books down, but I will be more skeptical when I start comparing information between the two books.  I am going to write up a post later about Schweser vs Stalla, as I did quite a bit of research.  There was a lot of decisions about what solutions were better between the two providers, and which ones were just a waste of cash.  I have a lot of notes on these, which is one of the reasons I purchased the Stalla cue cards and not the Schweser.  More on that later. I just wanted to upload a few pictures of the 2009 Schweser study guides to start.