The beginning of my CFA Level I journey.

The beginning of my CFA Level I journey. I already work in finance so why would I voluntarily decide to study for one of the hardest exams in the industry? If you follow me for a while, you know I work in M&A and transaction advisory. My day to day is helping people through acquisitions, financial reporting, purchase accounting, due diligence, a lot of the technical side of finance. And honestly, I really love what I do. But one thing I've noticed throughout my career is the people I look up to the most are the ones that never stop learning. Whether it's the CFOs, investment partners, executives, they're always investing in themselves and expanding their knowledge. That's something I want to emulate. So I've officially decided to pursue the CFA designation. And for me, this isn't about checking a box or trying to put some more letters after my name. It's about becoming a more well-rounded finance professional. I want to deepen my understanding of investments and portfolio management and economics, equity and fixed income analysis, and all the topics that compliment what I already do at work. I spend a lot of time analyzing businesses and financial statements, and the CFA gives me an opportunity to step back and kind of understand the broader markets and investment principles behind those businesses. Since I'm balancing this with a full-time job, I knew I needed a study platform that was organized and structured. I didn't want to spend my limited study time trying to figure out what I needed to study every single night. And that's why I decided to use Analyst Prep. It gives me study notes, practice questions, mock exams, a structure that I can realistically fit around work. This is day one of the journey. I'm gonna share the wins, the setbacks, the late night study sessions, and hopefully a passing score at the end. So if you're studying for the CFA or you're just interested in finance, I'd love to have you follow along. There's a link to AnalystPrep in my bio if you're interested in it yourself.