Done the CSC? What’s Next for You?

So you polished off the CSC, and now you have many different options.  A lot of people choose to polish off the Client & Practices Handbook course, which is another regulatory requirement to trade stocks and bonds (see IIROC‘s website).  You have to ask yourself in which direction you want to go.  I would recommend signing up for and completing the CPH, as it is smaller and more common sense then the CSC.  It should increase your value in the hands of the employer, and increase your knowledge.

I would also give some though to a long term goal like the CFA, CFP, CAIA….etc.  These designations truly set you apart from the crowd, but be diligent in your approach to these courses, as they are no cake walk.  As for me, well I write my CPh exam in under 12 days.  I start studying tomorrow, so if your interested, head on over to the CPH blog I have set up.  A link to it is in the sidebar.  I hope to provide a similar experience on tat blog as I have here, just more consistently.  Take the time to ask yourself questions of where you want to be in the short and long term, and address these needs now.  Proactive planning can do a lot for your financial future.

– Steve

Updated Texts: Does it Matter?

I hear this question A LOT: “Do we really have to purchase the new material? My friend has an old book I can borrow”.  In previous posts I have covered the reasoning behind the need to yearly updates to course materials, and I will also cover it briefly here. Firstly, the finance industry is always changing.  Not monthly, not even weekly, but daily.  New things are changing causing new regulatory bodies to merge, new ethics laws to be put in place and so on.  If makers of regulatory exams like the CSI did not update their materials, they would be teaching outdated and irrelevant information.

It makes little to no sense to teach students outdated material just on the basis that it could save some short term money down the road.  Someone, somewhere is going to have to pick up the cost to retrain you on the outdated materials.  It could be you or maybe even your employer.  So updating materials is not just a way to make money (though I am sure they do pull in a pretty penny from doing so).  Keep in mind that this is the same across the board when it comes to certifications and designations.  These things are expensive, and only get worse.

For example, the CSC course cost in mid $900 when all way said and done.  This was a drop in the hat to the CFA.  The registration was $1,100 and then the Scheswer and Stalla materials added around $1500 to that mark.  This isn’t the time or place to talk about the CFA, but the example is still a good one.

So to answer your question, yes the updated texts do matter.  Here are the reasons it matters to YOU, and not the corporations, regulatory bodies and industry in general:

• It increases your knowledge base giving you more bankable assets
• It provides you with a basic understanding for which to further your career in finance
• the updated material is more likely to be tested in the year it is introduced. Having new material gives you an advantage over those using old material.
• You could end up studying topics that no longer exist in the finance world, thus confusing you at exam time (IDA vs IIROC)
• You could end up studying topics that are no longer required by the Canadian Securities Institute (I found this a couple times in chapter 7 alone)

So now you asking the inevitable question: “How much do texts change from year to year anyways?”.  Well I can’t speak for every year but from 2008 – 2009, the material and layout changes substantially.  The change from 2005 onwards was even more substantial as the entire framework was reorganized.  I can’t tell you exactly what material was changed but some old books I had from 2008 and the new books from 2009 vary in page numbers, table placements and definitions included in chapters.

The question you have to ask yourself is this; are you willing to take a chance on the older material over the cost to retake the exam?  That’s up to you.

– Steve