Commitment trumps everything else

Are you committed to pass the June 2016 CFA® exam? If so, you might want to have a look at the FEA Elite class of June 2016, a progress group of like-minded candidates committed to hold each other up to a higher standard than the average candidate and pass the test.

This is the first in a series of 3 key steps that serve as the foundation for creating a successful study plan to pass the June 2016 CFA® exam.

As a very first step before you commit any time or capital to pursue the CFA program stop for a minute to consider if attaining the 3 letters is really worth the effort for you?

I do not mean to discourage you from attaining the charter, but there is no hiding that it is a lot of work. If you are one of the less than 10% of candidates that complete all 3 exams at your first attempt, you are still likely going to invest more than 1000 hours of your life into the program. The CFA Institute publishes the amount of time invested by the average candidate for each level: 287 for level 1, 315 for level 2 and 327 for level 3.

Now the average candidate is not going to pass any of the levels let alone all 3 in a row. Unless you are a speed reader, or have a brain like a sponge, you need to study harder than the average candidate to pull this off, which means you are definitely going to need more than 1000 hours of study time distributed over 2-3 years.

A more likely scenario for the vast majority of candidates that eventually become charterholders is that they fail at least one exam. I am sorry to say so, but it is pretty simple maths when you consider you have to pass through 3 exams where more than half of the participating candidates get weeded out at each level. If you just need to do one retake the total amount of hours is likely to get closer to 1500.

When framed this way you have to be extremely committed to sign up for this. Imagine what else you could do with 1000+ hours (which represents the hard to attain best case scenario).

Why study for the CFA charter?

So why are you doing this? If you are not able to write down a list of compelling reasons why becoming a CFA charterholder is going to transform your life for the better, I will recommend that you do not apply, seriously!

In my mind there are a lot of good reasons to become a CFA charterholder. If you are aiming for a career in the investment industry this is the gold standard and does command a lot of respect, partly because other charterholders in key positions in the industry have experienced the same sacrifices that you are going through to obtain the charter.

FEA Elite

If you have already committed to sign up for the CFA exam, I have got good news. We are running a progress group for candidates preparing for the CFA level I exam. We are looking for candidates that are committed to become CFA charterholders and are willing to commit an effort beyond the average candidate to get the result.

If this is you, I will commit to coach you leading up to the June 2016 exam. I will check in with all of you on a weekly basis with weekly tasks required to keep up with the 21 week FEA Elite study guide. We will also enable you to benchmark your own progress against the rest of the group by sharing your own progress stats.

With a solid strategy and a bit of friendly competition this will create an environment where we are all challenging each other to a higher standard than the average candidate, which is exactly what is required to pass the first level og this challenging program.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, all that is required is that you spend a couple of minutes responding to this email info@financialexamacademy.com answering the following two questions

Question 1. Are you prepared to start your study program at least 21 weeks in advance of the test (11 July 2015) to follow the program?

Question 2. Are you willing and able to commit to a study program requiring 15 hours a week for the first 15 weeks and 25 hours a week for the remaining 6 weeks of revision leading up to the test? Please consider other commitments (work, studies, family, social life etc.) to ensure this is realistic?

I am looking forward to welcome you to the group.

Next up in step 2 we are looking at ways to study harder than the average candidate.

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