How to pass CFA Level 1 in 2022 successfully: Students' experience

HSE Banking Institute second year students of the Master's degree “Financial Analyst” Daria Karmanova and Alexey Kucher recently passed the CFA Level 1 exam successfully, which they took together in Baku in August this year. We asked students to share their experience, impressions and future plans.

- Please tell us about yourself.

Daria: I work for the investment company "ATON" in the Trading Desk department. This is the rare case when you get enourmous pleasure from your work.

Аlexey: At the moment I'm getting a job at bank in the department of Financial Analytics. I am also engaged in scientific activities at HSE research center, and from the 2nd semester of this academic year I will conduct seminars on Financial Accounting at HSE. 

- You are studying in the second year of the master's degree "Financial Analyst". Do you like it? Which disciplines proved to be most useful for you?

Daria: Expectations completely coincided with reality. The program is very practice-oriented, especially impressed by the fact that the teachers are leading specialists in the financial industry who have a lot to learn from, many of the professors have CFA, ACCA and CPIM certificates. It is very valuable to adopt such an experience. Most of all I liked the courses "Quantitative Methods in Economics", "Corporate Finance", "Venture Investment", "Fixed Income", which were conducted by wonderful teachers A. Shelike, E.A. Dimova, A.B. Shpuntov and A.A. Kulakov. Also I really like the research seminar led by A.A. Kudrin, which is taking place right now, in the 2nd year.

Alexey: Yes, I like that a lot of disciplines are based on the basic textbook from the CFA Institute. As for the disciplines: I completely agree with Daria! I would like to thank the teachers for such interesting and useful courses, and also express special gratitude to V.M. Solodkov and V.Y. Belousova for solving all organizational issues.

- Why did you decide to take the CFA exam? What played a key role in your decision?

Daria: My ideological inspiration was my undergraduate teacher who taught the discipline of Financial Accounting and Reporting – E.Y. Makushina. Her teaching style, deep knowledge of finance and a very charismatic manner prompted me to learn her professional background, qualifications. I read about it on HSE website, then I talked with her in person, read the information about the CFA exams which she took and realized that I needed it. As soon as I realized what powerful, fundamental knowledge those who take this exam possess, as well as what success they achieve in building a career, I decided that at any cost I should pass it.

Alexey: CFA exams include a number of areas from the field of finance and investment that are most interesting to me professionally. Therefore, I decided to combine the study of Financial Analytics and preparation for the first level of CFA. On the one hand, this is a fundamental knowledge, on the other – a globally recognized certificate which confirms the possession of crucial skills for any financial specialist. For an employer, the CFA exam is a distinctive marker of not only a good understanding of how an investment business functions, but also a deep knowledge.

- How did you prepare for the exam? What role did the "Financial Analyst" Master's degree play in your preparation?

Daria: I was preparing for the exam on my own. Discipline and self–control are the main qualities for successful preparation. Mostly I studied the materials of the CFA Institute, sometimes I watched lectures on YouTube on the most difficult topics for me. The disciplines of the master's degree "Financial Analyst" also helped a lot, since many topics coincide with those that I was preparing for the CFA exam. Sometimes I even asked our teachers to clarify a problem that could not be solved.

Alexey: "Financial Analyst" has helped with a large number of disciplines that are very closely related to theory and practical tasks encountered on the CFA exam. But perhaps the most important thing is a lot of independent work for 8 months, which is required to study all the materials, as well as solve several thousand test tasks to consolidate this knowledge.

- You passed the exam in Baku. Was it difficult? 

Daria: The exam turned out to be as similar as possible to how I imagined it. Tasks are no more complicated and no easier than the question banks provided by the CFA Institute.

Alexey: The exam was difficult, but if you deal with the preparation process as much responsible as possible, you can cope with any task in the test. I like CFA exams because, on the one hand, it requires a lot of knowledge and skills, but, on the other hand, the CFA Institute provides you with all the materials that you need to prepare. It is enough to study them attentively, and then nothing unfamiliar will be found on the exam.

- You passed the exam successfully, and we congratulate you! Are you planning to take CFA Level 2?

Daria: Thank you! Yes, of course: I plan to start preparing for the next level soon. I am a person who gets wild pleasure from studying, so I am really looking forward to my new training period.

Alexey: Thank you! Yes, I plan to take the next levels, but first I want to take a short break to devote time to work. In plans also to complete master's degree, pass all exams, prepare and defend a master's thesis. Immediately after that, I will start preparing for the next level.

- What can you wish to those who are planning to take the CFA in the near future? Can you share the main, in your opinion, advice?

Daria: Have patience, perseverance and time. It is necessary to realize that weekends, holidays and free evenings are canceled for these 6-8 months of preparation. The only thing I have left is quality sleep and sport. Yes, you devote yourself completely to preparation for the exam, but those fundamental knowledge and satisfaction in obtaining the status "Passed" are definitely worth it. Personally, I'm very inspired: I realized that I was capable of anything at all and there were no obstacles for me.

Alexey: In my opinion, the main thing in preparation is self–discipline and maximum concentration on the material for a long period of time, because the CFA exam requires not only deep theoretical training, but also the ability to quickly respond to non-standard questions, not to lose concentration (because the exam lasts more than 5 hours), be very attentive.

Также успешный результат сдачи экзамена недавно пришел выпускнице программы Банковского института Гозель Байджиковой: предлагаем вам прочитать интервью, в котором она рассказывает о своем опыте сдачи и о переносе экзамена из России в Турцию.

Once again, we congratulate our students on their successful results and wish them good luck in passing next exams!