"I passed all three levels of the CFA on the first attempt. How did I do it?" Sam Gottlieb-former tax attorney, Merrill Lynch wealth management advisor, and now CFA exam instructor-tells you how he did it so you can pass your first time too. Two of the biggest concerns expressed by CFA Candidates are How many times should I attempt a Level before quitting? and What are the best ways to study? Here, Sam shares his answers to both questions. In this ONE handy workbook, Sam streamlines the grueling CFA study process for you. He distills the critical concepts from the 6-volume CFA curriculum into an easy-to-follow, boxed and numbered outline format. You can use his book as both a... PRE-STUDY GUIDE to prepare you to read the CFA curriculum materials. From his experience, Sam helps you separate information that"s tangential or interesting to know from what"s essential to pass the exam--a much more efficient way to study! REVIEW AID to ensure that you"ve mastered critical information likely to appear on the exam. Once you"ve done your initial reading, this portable aid allows you to brush-up anytime and anywhere. For each of the 18 Study Sessions, benefit from Sam"s approach as he gives you: Short Overview of the CFA readings for the session from his perspective and then a brief summary of What the CFA Institute Says about it. Boxed listing of the relevant Readings and a boxed listing of the Learning Outcome Statements (LOS"s) with an Introduction. Laser-sharp Summary of each major section and subsection of the LOS in an easy-to-follow, numbered outline format--plus definitions of relevant terms. Boxed Examples with realistic but fictional Situations and Sam"s Comments to illustrate how to apply principles from the LOS"s. In the sessions involving formulae and equations, Sam"s Examples show you how to do the calculations, and interpret, evaluate, compare, and contrast the results. Use the accompanying FREE DOWNLOAD of the FinancialExams test engine with 1000+ practice questions to test your readiness for the exam by identifying areas of weakness for further study. Samuel J. Gottlieb, CFP, CFA. Now an instructor of courses for the CFA, Financial Risk Manager, and securities licensing exams, Sam was formerly a New York trust/estate/tax attorney and then a successful Merrill Lynch wealth management advisor. He passed all three levels of the CFA exam on his first try by distilling only the essentials from the multi-volume CFA curriculum materials into the numbered outline form shown in this book. He found that other books cover the same material, offering less material than the CFA Institute, but still more than you really need. He makes it fast and easy for you to focus on what you need to pass the Level II exam in this streamlined course of study.