Episode 11: How to Crack CFA Level II
Attention CFA exam takers –
this episode is for YOU!
Level II is probably the most feared level in the program. I still vividly remember my Level II journey (I almost didn’t make it!).
How hard is it these days? Better to hear from the horse’s mouth. So I interviewed Samina Burhani and Ameen Saada, two Level II candidates who I like a lot and who are also my students. We cover, inter alia, the lessons from Level I, the unique challenges of Level II and of course, their solutions. I hope you pick up some tips.
Listen, learn, grow.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
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Binod:
This is Binod Shankar and you're listening to The Real Finance Mentor Podcast, from therealfinancementor.com. The Real Finance Mentor is your go-to resource for insight and inspiration on careers and finance, CFA and more. You would think, "Why this podcast?" Well, my goal is to deliver insight and inspiration for your finance career, but making it one, relatable. This is not theoretical stuff. We zero in on the critical practical issues. Number two, authentic. No bullshit, no sidestepping. The topics, guests and questions are all from that perspective. And number three, take a chartered accountant, CFA charter holder, add 17 plus years as a corporate warrior, mix in 10 years of entrepreneurship, throw in a decade of full-time CFA training, add speaking, mentoring, cycling, and mountaineering and that's me. Welcome to the Real Finance Mentor. Or as they call it, RFM.
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Binod:
Hi, everyone. You're listening to episode number 11 of the Real Finance Mentor Podcast, and I'm the host, Binod Shankar. Now, level two is widely regarded as the toughest level in the CFA program. It's wide and deep and a huge jump from the small, shallow pond that is level one. Because of the depth, level two is also where you can easily drown if your fundamentals are shaky. So I decided to get a firsthand account of this journey from two level two warriors, students I've taught in level one and know well. They talk about their ambitions, their many challenges and of course, the solutions. I hope you pick up some tips. Join me and get ready to listen, learn and grow.
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Binod:
Today, I have of course, two special guests, not one. No. They both happen to be CFA level two candidates, and I've taught them both in CFA level one. So it's a relationship that we are continuing virtually now, apart from the initial connection in class. So guys, maybe you should introduce yourself first.
Samina Burhani:
Hi Binod and listeners. I'm Samina Burhani, an ACCA student and finance graduate for Middlesex University. In my second year, I took part in the CFA Investment Research Challenge, and I got to represent UAE in the MENA regionals. During the four months of that journey of that challenge, I fell in love with financial modeling and equity research, which until then, I had only self-learned in a very scattered manner. So then I decided to take up this drilled CFA challenge and cleared CFA level one in December last year.
Binod:
Welcome to the show, Samina.
Samina Burhani:
Thank you.
Ameen Saada:
Hi, Binod and listeners. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of this amazing podcast. I'm Ameen, I'm 28 years old. I studied bachelor of business administration and MBA in project management in Malaysia. I passed CFA level one in June 2019, and currently I'm a CFA level two candidate.
Binod:
Right. Fantastic. Thanks you guys for coming on board. Interesting times, preparing for level two. The whole virus thing came along and the exam has been postponed. We will talk about your level one journey, your level two journey, what you are doing, et cetera, et cetera. This will be a really good insight forstudents who are right now going through the journey. But before going there, I was always very curious, so how is university different from CFA? I know it's obviously different, but exactly how?
Samina Burhani:
I think university is like a ladder and CFA is a jet pack ride. We learn moving in small segments and modules in university. Whereas at CFA, everything just forces you to up your game into the skies. If you ever run out of that thirst for more, which is the fuel, you fall right back down. So it's all in for that one exam.
Ameen Saada:
Sure. For me, I feel CFA, of course it's unstructured learning. It's not like a university where you enroll for five to eight subject maximum each semester. You prepare for each subject separately. You do have the classes, quizzes, assignments, final exams. All of these elements contribute to your final result.
So let's say if you didn't do God, good sorry, in your assignment, you still have a chance to score high on your final exam and pass. This is not the case with CFA. It's like you enrolled for 10 subjects altogether, started to study all of them, you have to put your own schedule and follow it. The most important point is your failing or passing is decided by the final exam itself. So you have only one day. You'll have to ace that day in order to pass.
That's why I feel CFA is more challenging and intense. But at the same time in college, it gives you the opportunity to meet much more people of course, and do some extra activity to provide you with these interpersonal skills like communication, presentation, all of that.
Binod:
That is interesting. But of course in CFA, you don't have your nice, friendly professors, right?
Samina Burhani:
I know.
Binod:
And helpful professors.
Ameen Saada:
I was lucky to have one.
Binod:
And hint hints for how the exam could be end of the semester.
Ameen Saada:
Yeah.
Samina Burhani:
Right.
Binod:
Right. So, let's talk about your journey. So now you're going to write level two. I'm sure you guys have studied a lot of level two because it was close to the exam when the CFA postponed it. So tell me, I mean, people tell me that level two is this, level two is that compared to level one. I want to hear it from you, the horse's mouth, three ways in which you guys found level two different from level one.
Samina Burhani:
So, I think level one just threw a bunch of theories at me and I was really in crew with all that knowledge. And I thought, this is it. I can just apply these concepts and conquer the financial market. I tried and I failed terribly because nothing out there would match what I've learned in class. I think level two literally solved that by giving us all the real world approaches.
For example, in level one, we learned linear regression with a whole bunch of assumptions, and then level two, we are destroying every single one of those assumptions and then working around it. This is why I enjoy level two much more. It questions the precedent at every step. So now actually, in level two, it takes much longer to absorb the concepts because for every concept we're stopping and checking for alternative scenarios and what can happen. In level one, I would just attend the classes and directly do questions. I tried that for level two and it's been a complete disaster.
Lastly, the focus on item sets, the shift basically to item sets from single MCQs, it takes a while to sink in. To be honest, it's not that bad. I feel it's very well segregated. The paragraphs are usually in order of the questions. My approach is to briefly look at the questions first and then read the paragraphs and solve it on the go.
Binod:
So interesting. Samina you talked about initially, you applied this concept and tried to conquer the financial market and failed. Tell me a little bit about that. What happened?
Samina Burhani:
What I tried to do, I am into financial modeling, so I tried to work around basically equity research and equity valuations. What happened was basically we learned to use beta. In our questions when we were taught, we were given betas in the questions, but how do I find what is the beta for a common stock? I don't want to take something from Bloomberg, for example. So, how am I supposed to calculate it on my own? Where can I get the equation? Things like that.
Binod:
Right.
Ameen Saada:
For me, so far I'm really enjoying the journey of level two more than level one. For most obvious reason for me is the mental preparedness. At level one, there is a continuous fear and anxiety from the exam because it's the first time you're approaching an exam like this. And because the reputation of CFA as one of the hardest exam in the world and all the stories from people how difficult the exam is, so this put me under a continuous pressure, and I felt I'm not doing enough work no matter how hard I prepared for the exam.
In level two, I understand somehow the game. I know that if you are well prepared for the exam, the exam is not as difficult as the people picture it for me. In content matter again, level one is more about theory and you just have to take the concept as it is. You don't really have time to go more into details and deep to know where this concept come from.
For example, I remember for the comprehensive income and FRA, I didn't understand any element there. So I had a lot of questions that aren't answered in level one itself. In level two, it's completely different because the curriculum has a lot of practical approaches about valuation, terminology used by a professional, and it's really rich with concepts that answered most of the curious questions that comes to your mind.
Lastly, questions are much harder because the techniques you're using to solve an item set question is completely different from the MCQ. You should have time management, understand the paragraph. Some information might be unrelevant, so you should get these techniques to solve these item set questions. And of course, the more you solve, it does get better.
Binod:
So now you guys realize that level one was probably a cakewalk in comparison, right?
Samina Burhani:
Definitely.
Ameen Saada:
Yeah.
Samina Burhani:
Definitely.
Ameen Saada:
After you finish it, yes.
Binod:
Yes, it's always after the exam, right?
Ameen Saada:
But when you're preparing, it's difficult to understand. Exactly.
Binod:
It's always after the exam, yeah.
Samina Burhani:
True, yeah.
Binod:
Right. But going back to what you said, Ameen, so when you said item sets for level two, so you have studied, you have practiced questions. Very briefly, what are your tips and tricks for cracking item sets in level two?
Ameen Saada:
Sure. I remember when the first question I answered, it takes me too long. So I said, why don't I go Google and read some opinions about that? The best fit for me, it's I do skimming. I read the first few lines from each paragraph. So I can relate where the information that I need is, and I directly jump to the question. So I go to question one, I say, I saw something that's relevant to this in this paragraph.
The good thing is it's all in order. So you know that when you finish question number one, so you forget about the first paragraph, for example, and move to question number two and three. So this is really the best fit for me. It only doesn't work, I think, in ethics because even a simple word in ethics, if you miss it, it could change the answer from being A to B. So I only faced some problem with ethics so far.
Binod:
That's because you have to be ethical, Ameen. That's the starting point, right, Ameen?
Ameen Saada:
Yeah, I'm trying my best.
Binod:
So, Ameen, but you guys I think, Ameen, you mentioned level one was the first time you encountered the CFA program, which is true, right?
Ameen Saada:
Yes.
Binod:
And hence, the stress, fear, anxiety is so much higher. But now you're on level two so you're almost like, I won't say a veteran, but you're experienced because you have learned some lessons in level one. So three lessons that you learned in level one that you're using right now in level two, so that you don’t reinvent the wheel.
Samina Burhani:
My biggest regret was doing mocks with my phone by my side in level one. I did a lot of mocks. I even timed them, but not a single one did I do for six hours straight in exam-like conditions. I would solve 30 questions, stop the timer, text my friends and then resume whenever I felt like. So on the exam day, when I entered the hall, I had a routine of 60 questions a day, 60 to 80 questions roughly. But even then, and this is apart from mocks, but even then during those six hours, my brain was like a snail, especially in the second half. I was rereading the question four times just to process it. So in level two, I am doing much more sincere mocks and exercises to prolong my focus, basically.
Another lesson would be consistency. In level one, I would master a topic and then crush all the questions and just keep it aside, because I'm confident. And then after a month, when I'm confidently doing the mocks, I read the question, I know the overall concept, I remember some formulae, but I don't know how to solve it. I did terribly on those tests. And in level two, I am doing about 10 questions even on topics that I feel that I've mastered every week. Because I could be on top of a topic, but I feel like it's very important not to lose grasp of how to solve a problem.
Lastly, I used to take my calculator everywhere, from home, work, to the malls. It was like another body part.
Binod:
Was it level one or level two? Where was this exactly?
Samina Burhani:
In level one. In level one, I used to carry my financial calculator everywhere. It made me very speedy on the exam day, so no regrets about that. But what I didn't do, and I do regret, was I did not learn all the functions on the financial calculator. I cherry picked and I ignored some functions.
The exam was not a place to test and try, even though I had the function right there. So it could have saved me precious time. That's why in level two, I'm literally eating, sleeping, drinking this calculator.
Binod:
I tell people that you know that a calculator can do everything except make chicken soup. I'm exaggerating, but actually it makes your life much easier, much faster in the exam. Bond calculations-
Samina Burhani:
Definitely.
Binod:
... time value of money, correlations, statistical bond functions. Right, yeah.
Samina Burhani:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ameen Saada:
Sure. For me, I think it might sound weird, but the most important lesson, I think I remember the first one. Level one, I was afraid to solve the question. I don't know where this fear comes from, but I think I was afraid of getting the answer wrong because this will challenge my understanding. So I would have preferred somehow staying on my comfort zone. So five to eight question in each reading and that's all. Let's move on.
But once I start solving questions, especially from the curriculum, I had this fear that I will not understand the curriculum language or it's too difficult, I will get only 20% correct. But since then, when I start solving question, getting wrong, read the explanation, it took my understanding to a completely different level. It filled all of these understanding gaps that maybe I didn't notice while I'm studying. So from first day in level two, I start solving questions. From first day, actually I started solving as many question as possible.
The other important thing is, do not to just start with concept that does not sink in. I used to waste a lot of time in level one because I wanted to understand everything, every single concept that I came across, even if the concept just mentioned, and it's not important for level one itself. And this wastes a lot of time for me. Currently in level two, I do finish reading first, press down some notes and question and try it and go over the material again a few times. Most of these question are just answered by just reading and solving some question on this reading.
Lastly, I was afraid sometimes that I'm forgetting some stuff, maybe a concept I studied five months ago. So what I used to do, I get off my plan, I go back to just reading this concept again, and this got me a loop. When I go back to this concept, I read the next concept, I feel, oh, I forget this one also. It does get me a lot of confusion of this. Now I'm more relaxed because I know I at least I would go one more time over this concept. I still have revision, I will do mocks, I will do a pool of questions that's from different reading, which is really helpful. So I do get these lessons and I'm using them in level two of course.
Binod:
Ameen, my biggest worry is now you'll get so chilled out and relaxed by level three at this rate. Level one you were so [inaudible 00:15:52], level two you were so confident, level three you'd be like [crosstalk 00:15:56]. I can nail this because [crosstalk 00:15:59].
Ameen Saada:
It's so easy to pass. Exactly.
Binod:
I think you should be-
Ameen Saada:
Hopefully.
Binod:
... careful about not being complacent, but interesting that you mentioned that. I keep telling people the same thing, my students. You will forget. Loss of memory is very common. I had the same issue across all three levels of my CFA. I think the key to that is constant practice, like you said, right?
Ameen Saada:
Yeah.
Binod:
And of course the three to four week revision just before the exam. So I think no one should really get worried about forgetting stuff. This is normal. There's so much to learn, right?
Ameen Saada:
Exactly. Especially, when I shared this with my colleague, sorry, my classmates and with my mentors. Everyone is telling me it's normal and we are facing the same. So you don't have to worry about it. When you use the techniques, like just do a pool of questions or you go over the material, revision, you don't have to worry about it.
Binod:
Exactly.
Ameen Saada:
It's really normal.
Binod:
Right. So you've gone through level one obviously, and you've learned some lessons, but of course, level two has unique challenges. So what are three unique challenges that you have identified, and how are you personally dealing with these unique challenges of level two? I know you have mentioned some of these challenges before, but I want to have this nailed down.
Samina Burhani:
Right. Firstly for me, just remembering the tons of possibilities and alternative scenarios for each topic in the curriculum, that itself is a task. So to study them, inevitably, I feel like we need much more revisions. I never remember anything, not in class, in level two. Sometimes by the time I reach the car park after the class, it's just gone. Then I had-
Binod:
So what were you doing in the class, Samina? I am just wondering. What were you doing in class all this while?
Samina Burhani:
No, I promise I was paying attention, but it's just so much to take in together, all kinds of different scenarios. It takes time to absorb. Then I have to rely on other learning resources to reteach those topics to myself. There is some amount of retention, but just to solidify it.
Binod:
Sure.
Samina Burhani:
I think that is why we have fewer revisions, even after we understand the topic, because we feel like we understand and we know the topic. But every time we read again, there's always something new. Lastly, like most candidates, I believe I passionately dislike quants.
Binod:
No, you can't say that. You cannot.
Ameen Saada:
No way.
Binod:
Exactly, Ameen. You are going to be a financial guru [crosstalk 00:18:34].
Ameen Saada:
That's my favorite part.
Samina Burhani:
No, for me-
Binod:
And portfolio manager, and quants is an integral part. Anyway, but you're right. Most people don't love quants.
Samina Burhani:
I definitely agree that it's very integral. I just don't like to study. So I managed. I managed in level one by picking option C, but then I think in level two, there is lesser scope of figuring out the answer, even though you don't actually understand the topic, relying on elimination method. That's less effective.
Binod:
Right.
Samina Burhani:
So I feel we really need to know the topic and there are no tricks. So to teach myself regression analysis, I've been purposely putting multiple regressions in my stock models to force myself to learn and fix that condition and just get better.
Ameen Saada:
For me, I think yes, time and time is the major challenge in level two. I was lucky enough after I get the results from level one, I talked to one of my friend. He's a charter and he told me level two is you need much more time. So don't wait till December to start. And yes, this is what I did. I start in September and I was lucky enough to start in September because it give me the advantage of time. Because again, in level one, when I leave a class, I feel like I get most of the concepts. And level two, only 50% and I'm doubting my understanding on this 50. So I have to go over the material at least twice to understand the big picture.
The other thing is the way you think in level two, the way you approach the content is completely different. I feel like you should think as a real financial analyst, rather than a student, I would say. Every concept you come across, you will ask yourself, how this is applied to the real world. Where should I use this? What is the ups and downs of each models to really understand the overall material and connect them? For example, you would connect economics and FRA and equity to get the idea of industry valuation, for example, in equity.
The last one is the level of difficulty. I'm not like Samina. Of course, quants is my favorite subject in my school, university, post grad. I love math, I love numbers and all of this. I have never thought I would face a problem with quants. When I started preparing for level two, I start with quants. And first time I'm reading, it sound like a foreign language to me. I didn't believe that. I had to go two or three times over the quants for it to click. So the level of difficulty of the material, of course in level two it's much higher.
Binod:
Let's test your knowledge of quants since you love quants, right?
Ameen Saada:
Yeah.
Binod:
What is the formula for portfolio variance? Listen carefully, what is the formula for portfolio variance? I'm just kidding.
Ameen Saada:
I will hopefully get that.
Binod:
So guys, right. Another question I want to you ask you obviously, now that the exams have been postponed from June to December, and you're probably wondering what happened? You know you're so prepared to write the exam. What is your study and revision strategy now that you have what, six months almost for the next exam?
Samina Burhani:
For me, honestly, pausing cannot be an option because I will get really cut off, and I will lose momentum and I'll have to start from zero. But if I finish too early, I'll feel like I know everything and I won't open the books for a long while before the exam. And I think that is too dangerous as well. So I'm constantly slowing down. Very consciously I'm slowing down on my coverage, but I have not changed my question practice routine at all.
I'm a very strong believer of question practice, and I'm still maintaining at least about 40 questions a day and trying to meet a 75% average. Because I feel concepts are one thing, but remembering how to solve is in my opinion, what's super essential. Also, with all these lockdowns, I feel we have a very good opportunity to explore the curriculum concepts in real life.
I'm also doing a few free cash flow valuations for companies and trying to improve my regression models with my course knowledge, like I mentioned. And I'm trying to understand how the current impacts of the current events are having on basically different currencies, how they're affected by the impacts of what is happening right now, and trying to trade on these. So that is mine from economics.
There's so much. Even the oil price crash was a result of a derivatives' contract. So in my view, if we try to apply a concept from scratch, it's very unlikely that we will forget it. It's a very good way of retention.
Ameen Saada:
For me, to be honest, I was expecting the exam to be postponed because it does make sense. There's a global pandemic, but I was terrified when the news came out by the uncertainty, because I was planning to the three levels back to back. I don't want to waste time. But I believe we couldn't plan for each uncertainty in life. So I was overwhelmed with uncertainty and the idea of taking more time to complete three levels and being in exam ready mode for eight more months after I spent five months preparing, or six months. It was also terrifying.
So whether it started first, let's calm down and do not allow this uncertainty to overwhelm me. And I continue my study as if I were taking the exam in June, but I decide to use the time from June to December to go over the material, especially the material I don't feel bored when I'm studying it. So it's good to use this time and go over the material a few times and build maybe a good pace on level two.
The only thing I changed is mocks because it's not a good idea to take mocks in June, so I postponed that till November for example. I'm not sure yet. I'll just say November.
Binod:
Yeah, I think it's a great idea to go back to the books, Ameen, and get your basics right because level two is ... how do you say it, more complex? And also there are some levels that you have to carry out to level three, and I find that a lot of people who struggle in level three, one reason they struggle in level three is because their basics in level one and level two was weak. So this gives you the next six months, and now it gives you extra six months rather. It's a fantastic chance to now deepen your knowledge, right? Right.
Ameen Saada:
Sure, sure.
Binod:
So a lot of times, of course, people talk how tough CFA is, how long, how complex, how difficult. It can get frustrating, obviously. 10 topics, some alien topics, tough formulae. You keep forgetting things. So, how do you guys motivate yourself when things get tough? They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going, all those things. No pain, no gain. But I'm very curious because each person has a different way of motivating themselves, himself or herself. So I'm curious, how do you do it?
Samina Burhani:
I think that the biggest challenge with CFA is maintaining consistency across the long study periods that we have, and now it's much longer. I am personally driven by challenges. So what I do is I set myself weekly targets. Like I must reach a total of 500 questions on the question bank by this weekend, or I need to achieve a 75th percentile on the CFA mock practice page by Sunday. And I keep beating and upgrading them.
This helps because on the CFA question bank, we cannot select smaller topics to practice. So I'm forced to study the full topic to meet my target. When things get really bad and I'm skipping a lot of questions, and my targets are all a train wreck, I open my old files, I look at a list of my past achievements to remind myself that I'm not dumb. It's just a matter of practice, I'll figure it out. Sort of a confidence boost.
Ameen Saada:
Of course, if a journey is challenging it required a lot of consistency and patient. In general, I'm not a patient person. So I always remind myself with the reason why I started the journey, and I put this goal in front of my eyes. I try to eliminate any distraction that come in between. I also do look back at the effort that I've done so far and it doesn't make sense to, of course, waste all of this effort. There is no way to go back now, so you have to keep going.
Also, I do talk to some friends that are taking CFA because they understand what you're going through more than you talking to people who are not taking the CFA. They cheer me up when I'm down of course. And some techniques, I do work out, video games and just changing my study spot, just keep me in the mood for studying. Sometimes I just go back and do some questions from readings or a topic that I feel I'm strong on just to boost my confidence. I don't know. It does give me a boost as well.
Binod:
Now that you are veterans, so to speak, in the CFA journey, it's like if you look at your CFA uniform ... you guys have a CFA uniform, right? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
Ameen Saada:
Somehow.
Binod:
But if you had one, you would have stripes on the sleeves like, sergeant-
Ameen Saada:
Derivative Quants.
Binod:
Exactly. What do you call it? Chevrons. Chevrons Aiwa. So, since you're now in level two and now looking back, what three pieces of advice specifically, would you give youngsters who are planning to start the CFA journey? They might be fresh graduates or they might be not necessarily youngsters, but they have no idea abouts CFA. Now that you know what the CFA beast is like, what will you tell them?
Samina Burhani:
From my end, I would say you'll get there, but it's a considerable investment of time. It's not like the other exams where towards the end, you can just whiz through the topics and if you're smart and lucky you'll pass. CFA is definitely not like that. You need to put in a lot of time.
Secondly, I feel question practice is just a teaser, and mocks and sincere mocks are the real trailer to the movie. I would say do your mocks sincerely without a pause button on your timer, and don't be fighting your brain in the exam like I did.
Lastly, I would say don't just stick to the academics. The CFA curriculum is very much aligned with the practicalities out there in the world. So use the concepts you've learned, analyze companies and markets, make investment decisions based on your research. I feel that is how we grow with CFA.
Ameen Saada:
For me, I think CFA is not just a designation or a test to pass. It's a journey that will make you gain a lot of skills and throughout the journey. So take the CFA exam to learn and develop yourself rather than just memorizing to study to pass the exam, and get the certificate and that's all. Get the knowledge, get the skills and be more competent. Also, meet new people while you're studying because these people, at least you have one thing in common, which is the passion about finance. So for me personally, I do meet a lot of amazing people and mentors throughout my journey.
The second thing is of course, practice, practice, practice as much as possible because you will never get ready for the exam unless you practice a fair amount of questions and do make mistakes. Because if you're doing a mistake while you're studying, it's better than doing these mistakes in the exam days.
The last is don't be afraid of the exam and let this fear control you because the exam is difficult for those who are not well prepared. So there are some common things you will heard from everyone that take CFA, like be well prepared, practice and do a lot of questions and you're in a good way to go for the exam of course.
Binod:
Yeah, exactly. So I tell people, Ameen, is it a tough exam? Yes. Is it a easy exam? Yes. It depends on your level of preparation, right?
Ameen Saada:
Exactly.
Samina Burhani:
It's true.
Ameen Saada:
100%.
Binod:
If you prepared well, a fair exam. If you haven't prepared and you suddenly pick up the books two weeks before the exam, it's a nightmare. I particularly liked something you said, Ameen, about taking the CFA exam to learn and develop rather than just frantically memorizing facts and figures and formulae, and just fast tracking to pass.
I think a lot of people do that and that's a mistake because they might somehow pass level one or even level two. But when they get to level three, it'll be very difficult because level three is application. And once they get the charter and start applying it in real life, in a job, that's when yes, this lack of conceptual understanding will hit them very hard.
Right. I've got one more question for you guys. Since you have the time now, you have a lot of time now on your hands, more time than you know what to do with I'm sure, and since you're young and single and I really wish I was in your position right now, but hey, half envious, what self-development project are you working on right now?
Samina Burhani:
For me, I feel like I really need to up my networking game. I am not good with ice breaker conversations and stuff like that. So while I'm in social distance right now, I'm trying to improve my LinkedIn presence with maybe a few more posts, interacting more, stuff like ... I'm also doing a couple of financial modeling trainings because that is my field of interest. Unfortunately, I'm not a very heavy reader, and I know this comes off terribly, but I think the problem is that I need to get to the point fast in order to develop interest, which is why all these articles that keep beating around the bush, they don't work for me.
So what I do is I keep altering what I follow on Instagram and LinkedIn to just keep the most useful content. And with this market crash that we had with the COVID-19, I've made it a point that I do some research on defensive industries that are actually unaffected by this global crisis. And also, how the different economic events are affecting different markets and businesses.
Ameen Saada:
I used to be a shy person. I was the last one to enter the class. So the last one to enter the classes in the university and the first one to leave. I sit at the last desk and that's all. I did get a good GPA in the university, but the most thing I regret, I was left with two friends from the university. So I missed a good part about it. I'm trying to build up also my communications skills as well, and I started by attending these CFA events. This helped me a lot because I did met a lot of people, amazing people that are of course, sharing the same passion.
Currently with the quarantine, there are some Facebook groups about CFA and other things that I'm interested in. I'm trying to connect with people also virtually, which is something I had never done before, but it does get better. My writing skills, I believe, is not as good as supposed to be, and especially it's a must skill to have for level three. So I'm taking also some classes to improve my writing skills.
Lastly, my current job does require advanced financial modeling, of course. So also, I'm trying to improve my skills and excel in financial modeling. Generally, I used to be like I don't have patience, so my goal now is just to get 1%, at least 1% better every day. So far, it works.
Binod:
Good stuff. Quick one, because a lot of people in finance, for some reason, finance seems to be overpopulated with people who are shy, people like yourself in your earlier avatar. Briefly, tell me, you said you used to be shy. Have you changed, and how did you make that shift?
Ameen Saada:
I think the most important thing is the first step, how to ice break with someone. So you just take some courage, just go and talk to a foreigner. First, second time, third time, it was completely normal for me. In the class, for example, I remember the first one month I didn't talk to anyone, but there was something inside me pushing me like, "Hey, go talk to people. Go talk." But it takes one month for me talk to the first one.
The first one was difficult, second one, third, I'm done. So I talk to everyone in my class. And from there, I started to break ice with people. I think it's only the first step that it's very difficult to take, but once you take it, it's done.
Binod:
It's practice, right? You talk about practice all the time.
Ameen Saada:
Practice, right.
Samina Burhani:
Sort of, yeah.
Ameen Saada:
Perfect.
Binod:
You need to keep practicing and practicing and you'll get better. But Samina and Ameen, thank you so much. We have come to the end of this very interesting episode. I always wanted to interview candidates, fresh graduates, students who are young. You have brought a different perspective to this podcast, to this. Thank you once again.
I hope you achieve victory in your level two exams coming up. No pressure. I'm sure you'll do well. And hopefully this time next year, you will be preparing for your level three, and hopefully getting the charter quite soon after that as well. I wish you the best in your career. Thank you so much for coming to this podcast and spending the time. Thank you so much.
Samina Burhani:
Thank you, Binod, for having us.
Ameen Saada:
Thank you so much.
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Binod:
This podcast is brought to you by The Real Finance Mentor. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you found it insightful and inspirational. If you did enjoy this episode, please drop us a review and spread the word and be sure to check out more exclusive content on therealfinancementor.com and my LinkedIn profile, which is Binod Shankar CFA. Let's keep in touch. Just add your name to the mailing list on therealfinancementor.com and we'll tell you about new episodes plus book reviews, upcoming events, and blogs. Till the next time - onwards and upwards.
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