My blog about finance, sports and food

.. written by Harry Hayes, and this is only my pseudonim.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Economics - full steam ahead!

This weak was crazy. My brother got married but I managed to read all the scheduled readings and solve all scheduled End of chapter problems. This is probably due to the fact that I pushed myself to complete the agenda no matter what happens. I had to reschedule weekend tasks for Thursday and Friday because I planned to be absent during this weekend.

The most interesting topic in this week's learning section was definitely the discussion about Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Monetary moves. I like this kind of discussions because they are based on certain economic principles and require brainstorming of many different aspects and moves. The fact that the entire complexity can be drawn on a graph is making the entire discussion easier and more understandable.

The discussion about sources of economic growth is, although theoretical, very interesting because the readings are linked to real situations across the world. Finally the section "Understanding Business Cycles" is quite useful for understanding the current status and prospects of world economy.

This week was quite exhausting and I expect a more peaceful week to come. With less pressure it should be much easier to complete assigned readings.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Practice problems - the key to success!

I've dedicated this week to solve practice problems. I went through all past sections of Economics and reviewed End of chapter problems. Before I've started using TimePrep I wasn't really solving End of chapter problems. I found couple of articles claiming that End of Chapter problems and Mock exams are the best tools for the exam preparation. I completed also all my reading tasks for this week. I can see that my studying approach is much more structured now.

I had to change some setup preferences in TimePrep. I found out that I can read more than 7 pages in an hour, so I changed it to 9. I have also changed a bit my routine by decreasing the number of study hours during weekend and increased it on Mondays and Tuesdays. It is amazing how TimePrep gives you flexibility on the one hand and control over the process on the other hand.

Regarding curriculum, I realized that I am quite motivated to read Economics quickly. There is nothing especially difficult or extraordinary I would point out at this stage. I've started solving End of chapter problems and also making notes by this problems, so I could quickly review the most important catches of certain problems in the revision phase. The only problem I can see is the fact that I didn't do this in my Corporate finance book. I've decided to go through all end of chapter problems and write notes in the revision phase (I've planned it as a strategy element in TimePrep).

Next week will be challenging because my brother is getting married, so I guess I will be a bit behind the schedule. However, I am not worried because I will easily reschedule certain tasks.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Optimism regained!

I have finally come back to track of my learning process. I have successfully read almost 70 pages of Economics and reached page 155. I have completed Demand and Supply Analysis: The Firm and started The Firm and Market Structures section. The later looks like more interesting to me, probably because I find the previous more theoretical.

Although I like Economics pretty much and I really enjoy reading it, I see it as a truly good theoretical framework for understanding (but not really calculating) the effects of various socks in the economy on key performance indicators. I am heading fast through the curriculum at this stage and I have regained my optimism regarding the exam in this attempt.

As I have already announced in my last post, I've bought TimePrep. It is amazingly well structured app that takes into account many aspects of CFA candidate's study routine. For example, it takes into account the fact that I have already read certain volumes (Corporate finance) and starts the entire scheduling process by excluding this specific volume. The app is even more flexible, it offers the possibility to enter how many pages have I read in other volumes (e.g. I have read 70 pages of Economics).

In addition, you can choose sequential order of volumes, and other so called strategy elements which are in principle very important additions to readings such as End of chapter problems, practice problems, mock exams, etc. By choosing the average number of pages you can read in an hour, which I find a good approximation of study speed, I have also used in planning, and number of practice problems you are completing your preferences part. Then you are entering your weekly routines. It is good because you have to think of usual time slots you can dedicate to learning.

I didn't know, but even the CFA Institute recommends to candidates to choose certain daily study routines and try to stick to them. This is exactly the point of this TimePrep approach. The value of this app is also the feedback it gives to you - taking into account all the preferences it calculates how much time you actually need and confronts it to the time you have provided giving you the feedback about how much time you have to add or reduce from your weekly agenda. The ultimate value of this app is the fact that you can quickly reschedule failed events, which was the biggest problem when I used Excel for planning purposes. The use of this agenda is so easy and intuitive.

The next couple of sections look good and interesting and I am really looking forward to read them. However I will really try to solve as many as possible practice problems. As I already wrote, I think that Economics is not difficult at all but the success in this specific topic area is definitely the matter of solving decent number of practice problems. As per TimePrep I should complete the Economics by the beginning of December. Lets see how good and disciplined will I be.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - CFA Study track lost!

As I predicted last Friday, the start of this week, yesterday, was a total disaster for my CFA studies. I feel quite desperate because I was so motivated but I simply couldn't spend a minute on studying. It is hell! I was in the office and on endless meetings for these two days.

Today I decided to review my plan, and I figured out that I am lagging 100 pages behind my schedule (!!). If I want to complete the process on time I have to somehow compensate the lost time. The easiest way to do that is to allocate more time on my weekly routines and I will try to work hard and compensate the loss.

However, there is an alternative. As I wrote before there is TimePrep as an interesting substitute for Excel planning. Since now I didn't even consider buying it since it was too expensive for me. Now, when I see that I spend 1 hour in planning and rescheduling - I realized that i need a system to help me in the planning process that will suite best to my busy schedule. As it says on the Apple app store, TimePrep offers fairly automatic rescheduling system which is, in my opinion, the best feature of this product. It has multiple strategies and even offers worst case scenario for those candidate under the biggest time pressure. I am seriously considering buying this app for my iPhone. I will check more about it on the web page www.timeprep.me and decide on the next steps.

I will certainly have more time for studying in the next few days. Let's see what can be done! 

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Economics, back to school!

Although Economics is something I am really aware of, in my everyday business I am just looking at the most important macro indicators which I use in my modeling exercises and in daily business. The beginning of this volume reminds me of my college days when I studied concepts like elasticity, efficiency etc.

In my opinion, this is one interesting topic and I really enjoy reading it. I've passed approx. 60 pages this week which is quite good statistics compared to my previous performance. For the time being - I am achieving my plan.

Regarding the Economics section and the exam, I've got the picture that you have to really identify types of questions that are usually examined on the exam. I can't see economics as the problematic part of the exam because there are only couple of possible and quite easy question types.

In terms of planning, this weekend is ok but next week brings in challenges. My boss told me that I will have to participate in in-house conference where various business segments will present their results for the 9M period and the year forecast. These are usually all day events and I am afraid I will not be able to focus on CFA.

We'll see!

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Corporate finance completed!

After last week, I was quite angry this week. I took extra effort and completed the Corporate finance volume. I took Friday and Monday off in my office since the activities declined and invested extra time into studying.

I reviewed my quite poor statistics and calculated how much time usually I have for studying and how quickly I progress throughout the curriculum. I have prepared a simple Excel plan with my rough routines and calculated that I have to spend at least 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday to achieve my plan.

The problem I can see in advance is that I have to really stick to my routines which is very hard with my current job and private obligations.

Regarding topics I read this week, they were very boring untilI I reached portfolio planning section which was quite easy and straight forward. I am happy that I've finished the first volume. The Corporate finance section was just great and I enjoyed studying it. I will move to Economics volume now. It reminds me of college where I always looked forward this classes.

Where are you? Did you pass the corporate finance section or?

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Corporate finance still not finished!

I had so much stress on my job last week that I didn't manage to learn enough of my Corporate finance section. Although, in principle I have enough time prior to the exam, my frustration lies in the feeling that I don't have control over my study process. My idea is to stick to certain routines in order to complete the process at least a month before the exam so I can have enough time left for practice problems. The issue is that I don't know how much time to dedicate to the process on weekly basis in order to achieve that goal.

I've completed the introduction in Portfolio management. If you ask me, this section is not that interesting. I am just looking to complete this volume, but it seems that it is not developing fast enough.

I will prepare the schedule with volumes and topics across the weeks from now on. A colleague of mine recommended this TimePrep app. I saw their website (www.timeprep.me) and it seems interesting. However, I will try to organize my study process on paper first. I just want to have control over the process.

The following section is also related to portfolio management. Hopefully, I will go through this quickly. I also hope that the rush in my office will disappear and I will be able to focus more on studying.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Corporate finance almost done!

Hello everybody,

It's been a busy weekend - I've put significant effort and caught some readings and have progressed a lot. The strategy to take the most interesting topic at the beginning showed as a very good strategy because it wasn't hard to read this pages even during the commuting these days.

I have managed to reach Portfolio and risk return section. Besides the fact that I have more than 200 pages to read by the end of this volume, I am motivated and still not tired of CFA :). By reviewing my notes I can see that Cost of capital section was not so difficult and boring as I expected. To be totally honest, I have now finally cleared the way Cost of capital is calculated. However, I think that practice problems from this particular section are crucial. You can really forget formulas and principles quickly and I guess practice problems is the best way to memorize the most important.

Working capital management section is easy. I can see a plenty of ratios and KPIs to be implemented in my company. I really think that this section is valuable. The greatest risk associated with this section is huge amount of formulas to remember. I wrote a note to review this formulas a night before the exam. Following the Working capital management section I entered the most interesting section of Financial statements analysis.

Although I am quite motivated with the fact that I read more that 250 pages, I am not so happy with my overall progress. Quick and dirty calculation says that I read approx 15 pages a day. I didn't read every day, but my hourly statistics are also not so good. I am considering to track my performance in terms of how many pages I read per a day and when usually do I learn. There must be some organization put in place, otherwise it may happen that I don't read fast enough to complete all the readings before the exam.

What's your current situation? Where do you stand?

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Corporate finance kick off!

It's been a while. Job, family, studying. The lot. But, as I wrote in the last blog, I've decided to start with Corporate finance. It is not in the line with the sequential order of CFA curriculum, but I've decided to start with the most interesting topic. I guess this will motivate me to complete the first volume quickly and proceed with the process.

The very first topic (Capital budgeting) is definitely the most interesting for me. I learned this topic on the college and i like it pretty much. NPV, IRR and return periods are quite straight forward and easy and I can definitely conclude that CFA curriculum doesn't go into to many details. 

Looking at the table of contents I can see that the next topic (Cost of capital) is not so interesting although it seems very important for my job. However I am looking forward to dividends section. I don't know much about this topic and would like to learn more.

Looking back at the last week, I did some analysis of my performance. I am an analyst and at the end of the day it makes sense to continuously monitor the performance in order to correct some actions if necessary. So, I can conclude that I am studying slowly (only 35 pages per week) and I do not have studying routines (basically, I'm studying when I have time and will). I don't panic for the time being, but  however I can see that I may need a more structured approach to my study process.

I will proceed with Corporate finance now. I hope this will go smoothly and will finish quickly.

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Prep kick-off!

September has come! It is time to start. I like this structured approach, just like I am managing a project. I am wondering does it make sense to build a project time line, but let's see that after a few readings...

Which book to choose? Is it ok to go from the first reading and follow the sequential order of readings? Well, the first part is ethics... I remember from the last time that ethics was not difficult but I hardly remembered all the rules. This is especially difficult because on the exam I wasn't asked to recognize the basic principles, but rather some specific situations I couldn't remember on the exam day. Maybe it is not right to start from ethics, but to keep it for later.

I read some blogs about what to start with, and the most interesting idea I've found was to start with the readings or books that are the most interesting to a candidate. You know, that makes sense to me. If I start with the topic that is most interesting, I will probably finish the first book sooner which will motivate me to continue with the process opposite of the situation in which I choose the most boring part that will destroy my willingness to continue with the process. So, I found Corporate finance the most interesting topic and I will start my study with this.

And I am happy to say that I have full support from my wife. Hopefully this will last for couple of months..

I will get back here after few readings! 

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - Choosing the study materials

Before starting to read CFA curriculum, which i plan to start on September 1st, I've decided to have a structured approach and plan the process. The very first question was which materials to use.

Many candidates on forums and groups claim that Schweser is the best. I trust them since Kaplan is probably the biggest educational company in the world. I am just wondering - is it abbreviated curriculum really something I need?

Well, since I do not have time for preparation, I assume reading abbreviated curriculum could save some time. Is it going to be a shortcut I will be punished on the exam for? I don't think so. Many candidates passed using Schweser, otherwise it wouldn't be so popular and successful. If I dedicate quality time to this curriculum, I should pass.

I've done a small research in order to identify as many as possible so called prep providers. Many of them are offering classes, but I prefer to learn alone by reading books. You can find audio/video materials also, and some of them are free. I found also some people that offer coaching on the CFA LinkedIn group. I don't have time for classes, and usually I learn the best when I read something compared to audio and video materials as an alternative.

So, eventually, I decided to take Schweser. I will start soon, I have to prepare my wife and colleges for it, and that's a big step. Please keep yours fingers crossed for me and tell me what materials did you choose and why?

[harryhayes80]

CFA Passion - CFA Exam prep diary

I've started my CFA prep in January for the June exam. I decided to enroll the program in order to get knowledge necessary for my current job - I am working as a financial analyst. Unfortunately, I failed the June exam. It was devastating for me to face the fact that I didn't pass the exam I have prepared for couple of months. However, the minute after I read "We regret to inform you...", I decided to complete the program no matter what. I guess the persistance is something I inherited from my father, a navy veteran.

My name is Harry Hayes, and this is only my pseudonym. I am working in a corporate finance department of a big international company. I have decided to write a diary on my CFA prep. I truly believe that CFA is not difficult to pass and that skill set required for passing the exam in the easiest way is far away from financial background and knowledge and awareness of economic laws and practice.

I will try to deeply explore all of the obstacles one can stumble upon in the CFA prep process and create base for many other candidates. I think that sharing (of knowledge and experience) can really help CFA candidates to achieve better result on the CFA exam and in their daily work.

I will share my blog on a number of forums and spots CFA candidates are gathering. I invite all of you - current and past candidates and especially CFA members to contribute to this blog. I am not a professional writer nor a blogger, therefore i apologize in advance for any possible violence of usual practice.

Thank you for reading my blog.

[harryhayes80]

Amazing.