BEWARE OF THIS VIDEO! Hey guys, every test-taker is different so there is no hard rule about how much studying you should do and when, but I can tell you that if you didn't get a masters in finance or something, waiting till 2.5 months before the exam to start studying for the CFA Level 2 is NOT setting yourself up for success. Even if you do pass, those 2.5 months are going to be a nightmare of stress and anxiety for essentially a stab in the dark on exam day. People forget that the CFA is not only a breadth exam, but a depth exam. Breadth in that it has tons of material, but also depth in that memorizing every word and formula of the CFAI material (obviously impossible) still wouldn't guarantee getting every question correct. Why? Because the CFA exam also measures your intuition based on a deep understanding of the material. This is why you need 6 months to slowly absorb the information to get the 'Why' behind the formulas to truly be successful on exam day. Pearl also is wrong about the amount of hours. She states in the video that 300 hours is on the high side and maybe too much, but this is also incorrect. 300 hours is the AVERAGE amount of time spent studying by CFA level 2 candidates. Guess what? Less than half of all candidates pass the examine! This means the average candidate likely needs MORE than 300 hours to pass. If you want to get in the 90th percentile you likely need much more than that. Every candidate is different, which includes different backgrounds in finance, abilities to digest material and every candidate has different luck on exam day, so there is no hard rule on hours, but in my opinion this video is misleading. If you are an average guy with an average finance background then you need 6 months to pass the examine with a minimum of 300 hours. My story: Before level 2, I spent 7 months studying. I got through the entire material about 6 weeks prior to the examine and then spent the rest of the time reviewing, memorizing and taking mock exams. I never crammed or felt stressed until about the week or so before the examine. I was able to take days off whenever I pleased and spent on average an hour or two studying on the weekdays. The CFA experience can be enjoyable if you give yourself time to understand and digest. For all of these reasons, I disagree with Pearl and hope that candidates do NOT take her advice. Good luck on your exam!
This comment should be pinned! lol I 100% agree. To just PASS, nevermind in the 90th percentile, with just 2.5 months of study would suggest to me that Pearl has an extraordinarily high IQ and/or an extensive background in finance prior to pursuing the CFA. Definitely NOT an average candidate! I, like you, spent 7 months for level 1 and had 6 weeks for review and mock exams. I took the February 2024 level 1 and plan to take the November level 2 (not August) because that's more than likely the amount of time I'll need. I spent approximately 450-500 hours studying for level 1 - and level 2 will be harder no doubt! I also found that around 3 hours of studying per day was my personal limit. There's just so much the mind can handle in a single period of time and it needs time to "digest" the information. Biologically, the glycogen in your brain gets depleted and is restored the next day after resting.
And you need even more time to study if English is not your mother tongue. Being a non-native speaker of English puts a huge pressure, especially in vignette type of questions.
Hi Stella, You mentioned studying from CFA curriculum in 2.5 months but it's so extensive it's impossible to read it in 2.5 months. And please also advice on how much practice you did to prepare, like amount of practice questions
How the hell did she read all 6 books, and write notes, and answer every question, and do both CFAI mocks in just 2.5 months?? Did she just read the summaries and study the questions??
Hi Pearl! Found your channel recently and I love it! I am currently preparing for L2 (the exam is in May 2024). In L1, I was under time pressure, so I mostly sticked to Schweser notes, but for L2 I am want to follow curriculum materials and use the learning ecosystem. What do you think, is it a good plan or should I invest in other tools too? Thanks!
I have failed the CFA Level II exam three times using Kaplan. Weird fascination with memorizing formulae and doing manual calculations to pass. Passed the CPA exam on my first attempt, but scored below 50% in the FSA section of this exam on my last attempt.
Thanks so much for taking the time to break down the CFA L2 and sharing the tips. Your videos are truly inspiring for those of us going through or about to begin CFA journey.
Thank you so so much for your comment and super thanks! It means incredibly much to me to hear that you enjoy my videos😃 I wish you all the best with your CFA journey!🍀🤗🙌
How did you remember everything while studying from previous topics you had already studied ? Regular revisit of questions you had done ? Any advice appreciated !
is the learning ecosystem of the CFA still free after registration? I checked the platform and I can’t see all sections and there are no mock up exams unless I pay for the upgraded study material
Thanks for the vid. I passed the CFA Level 1 easily by just using Schweser. But omg what the hell is level 2? Some topics are not covered well in Schweser like derivatives and fixed income. Plus I’m so annoyed that I keep forgetting a lot of the material I studied earlier on when I move to later topics. Some questions are so intense, like the credit analysis (the binomial trees) or so broad and requires memorization like hedge fund strategies and real estate investments. I’m so demoralized cuz I studied so much and still not able to retain all that information all at once. I’m like a straight A student in college and so hard on myself for not getting this lol.
Hey ,pearlstella ,very informative & effectively made video.Could u share ur graduate & undergraduate background & ur job profile.Just curious ,as u managed to clear Level 2 in just 2-3 months.Itvis just spectacular.Congratulations
Studied 4 months for level 1, thought im gonna fail, passed with like +95% percentile but this was last summer! I had 2 semester of university since the level 1, so I remember NOTHING 😭 Now I have 4months to study for level 2, im scared already
hey , i,m from India and like the way you give insights of being a financial analyst, I would like to know that how much hours daily is enough to clear cfa in one shot. and yes i like the way you move your hands at the beginning of video while welcoming your viewers
Oh it is such a pleasure and peaceful to watch you! You are a really cheerful personality. My jaws would hurt if I had to talk so much with a smile always :-)
Hi. Can You Make Video on 30-40 days Strategy for CFA level 1 May 2023?..Assuming that I completed 4 topics till now, 6 Topic Remain 😢 feeling nervous 😔 Suggestions for me what to do to clear May 23?
Hi Rajesh🤗 that's a challenge, but it's definitely still possible to pass! If I were you I would stop doing the regular readings for the 6 remaining topics, and instead I would just read the summaries for those topics and do as many practice questions as you can on them (and read the explanation every time you get a question wrong and learn that way). I find the practice questions prepare you better than the normal readings do. And then make sure you set aside time before your exam (ideally 10 days or so) for review and for doing a practice exam, that probably leaves you around 25 days to finish the curriculum or 4 days per topic (out of 6 topics). I wish you best of luck!!🙌
Hi there, could you make a video on how to study effectively without taking notes pls ? There are a lot of definitions and things to remember, and I've realized that taking notes takes up a lot of my time. Thanks
Hi Oahn! I studied by the structured plan for all my exams, but I would skim readings sometimes for things I was already familiar with🤗 I wish you best of luck!!
Hi Pearl. Can you please tell how difficult is the actual Level II exam relative to EOC/Portal questions and the mock exams? Also, any tips regarding how to perform well in Ethics? I pray that you passed the Level III exam. 😊
Thank you so much Mohammad! In my experience, the CFA EOC or Learning Ecosystem practice questions did a great job at preparing me for the L2 exam, both in terms of the level of difficulty and the type of questions. I would definitely recommend to do as many practice questions as possible (even if that means that you have to skip some readings if you're under time pressure), they helped me a ton🤗 In terms of Ethics, I would also just say that the practice questions (and reading the answer explanations) are super important. I wish you best of luck on your exam!!
@@pearlstella did you do the open questions that the Ecosystem have? play any games or flascard they have there? I saw so many errors in questions that make me doubt it. how many mock test u did?
