“Congratulations! We are very pleased to …”

In light of the one-year anniversary of receiving my last CFA email, with the first few words saying, “Congratulations! We are very pleased to …,” I felt compelled to share my CFA story.

Before I go further, I have to tell you what made me take the leap. On the first day of work (April 2014) at Primera Africa Finance Group, seated next to me was a gentleman named Oladipo Ajayi and I noticed he was studying. I leaned over and asked what he was studying for, and he said he was a Level 3 Candidate for the CFA. He described the CFA program to me and I immediately tried to apply. He laughed and said, “Joker, the time to register has passed, you have to wait till July.” 

I admit, like most decisions in my life, I embarked on the CFA journey with a good amount of self-confidence, confidence that served me well in my professional and collegiate basketball careers.

Level 1

"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation."

July 2014 came, and I was officially a Level 1 Candidate; keep in mind that approximately a month later, I was set to get married. By the first week in August, all I had read was Ethics. Because I was a newlywed and wanted to spend time helping my wife acclimate to the Nigerian environment and culture, I didn’t start studying again until October 1. With approximately two months till exam time, I watched Irfanullah videos (prep lectures) twice, attended the last half of CFA classes, took every FinQuiz question (prep tool) at least twice, reread Ethics from the CFA curriculum, and took two mock exams. Email received, “Congratulations! We are very pleased to …”

Level 2

"Make use of time, let not advantage slip."

With the swag and confidence gained from cruising through Level 1 with minimal studying, I registered to take Level 2 in June 2015. I must say, false confidence kicked in. My wife and I found an addictive TV series called “24” with Kiefer Sutherland, aka Jack Bauer. Instead of studying, we binge-watched all eight seasons (approximately 192 hours!). Furthermore, my sister was graduating from Northeastern University, so my family and I took a two-week vacation to Boston from Nigeria and at this point (late April), I had probably put in less than 50 hours of passive studying. I brought my CFA materials along, assuming I would have time to study. In hindsight, that was a big lol moment, as I didn’t study for one minute. Now back in Nigeria with three weeks left till the exam, I went into overdrive: I watched Irfanullah videos once, took FinQuiz online questions twice, and completed one mock exam. Email received, “We sincerely regret to …” “Band 2.”

I was so positive I had passed, that I even considered paying to have my exam regraded but read that the CFA graders are thorough with grading. By the way, if anyone knows Kiefer Sutherland, aka Jack Bauer, tell him I want my Level 2 registration money back.

Level 2 – Second Attempt

"Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it."

I started studying again in September 2015. By the first week of December, when CFA classes officially started, I had gone through the CFA curriculum via watching videos twice and taking extensive quick sheet notes. Approximately a week to the exam, I had comfortably gone through the CFA curriculum a third time, taken FinQuiz online questions twice, and completed six mock exams. Then the infamous malaria and typhoid bug hit me: I went to the hospital, three-quarters dead. I told the doctor I had an important exam in less than a week, and I refused to be admitted to the hospital. Reluctantly, he gave me four IV drips loaded with antibiotics, anti-malaria meds and electrolytes (I secretly sped it up, so I can get home sooner), signed a waiver that the hospital wasn’t responsible for my decision to not be admitted, and went home and slept. 

The next day, I couldn’t eat, had a fever, hadn’t studied for the second day in a row, and my flight to take the exam was the next day — keep in mind this was during the Ebola scare. Therefore, any temperature out of the normal range would immediately have you quarantined, meaning I would miss my flight and subsequently, the exam, and would probably really get the Ebola virus. Thankfully, I felt better. I still hadn’t eaten much, but found the strength to sluggishly go through half a mock exam while at the airport waiting for the flight. Exam day, still physically weak, I took two red bulls (one for each three-hour session) and a five-hour energy drink mixed with Gatorade. “Congratulations! We are very pleased to …”

Level 3

"Histories make men wise."

After seeing two guys who I considered smarter than me fail Level 3 twice and then, during my return flight back to Nigeria after the Level 2 exam, a gentleman telling me it took him ten attempts to complete the CFA program, I refused to fail Level 3.

In August 2016, I started studying. I attended CFA classes, went through the curriculum four times, took FinQuiz online questions at least thrice, and took at least 30 mock exams (going as far back as 1999 CFA mocks).

August 8, 2017, “Congratulations! We are very pleased to …”

Confession, I cried when I saw those words. My heart leaped for joy.

Conclusion

I know you hear a lot of horror stories about the CFA program; mine isn’t meant to scare you, but rather to inspire. What you see is the hard work, the time put in, the dedication to my craft. What you don’t see is countless days of less than four hours sleep, little to no time spent with family and friends, missed birthday parties and weddings, receding hairline, failings, weight and muscle loss, burnout, and illness. Furthermore, what often goes unnoticed are the people who were supportive of the journey. Big thank you to my wife, my parents, my family, Oladipo Ajayi for introducing me to the CFA program, friends who stayed in contact, CFA classmates, tutors, and my college teammate, Ben Felix.

Like Steve Harvey said, “The only way you can soar, is to jump,” the CFA program was my jump. What’s yours?