Anyone who starts working toward the CFA charter has heard stories of people with a PhD in finance or even professors who fail the Level I exam. There are multiple reasons for this, in my opinion.

As an investor, I’ve always fancied myself as a contrarian who goes against the crowd, someone who can detect patterns and notice minutiae where others can’t. Perhaps that’s why at the age of 27, while my friends and peers were content with gifting one of their two monthly paychecks to their landlord, I became a first-time homebuyer.

When creating the CFA exam, there’s a natural tendency to simplify so that participants from different backgrounds can all gain an understanding of multiple areas of finance.

Comparing mortgage refinance options with varying terms is a unique mathematical challenge, and also one that consumers face often in a declining rate environment.

Would you like to say you “just got started” or that you are “almost done”? Would you rather be at the beginning, or near the end of accomplishing a significant goal in your life and career? This is the difference between failing and passing CFA Level II.