As a result of exemptions and previous exam choices, I find myself needing to CP1-3, ST9, and SA3. It seems the logical order would be to complete CP1 next, however due to my company's study policy, if I attempted CP1 in September I wouldn't be able to get my full allocation of study days. Instead I am looking to do ST9, though I see that this does follow on CP1 a lot. I'm just curious if anyone has insight into how difficult it would be to attempt ST9 without taking CP1 first? I know the other option would be to do CP2 and 3, but I've only recently started working, and I want to get the most out of my exam periods while I'm not too busy. Would attempting ST9 before CP1 be brave, or just stupid?
Hello! SP9 follows on quite heavily from CP1 in terms of the chapters on risk and risk management, capital and modelling. Also the exam techniques learnt and developed in CP1 on generating ideas are extremely useful in SP9. My gut feel is that it would be a tough gig to do SP9 before CP1. Sometimes it does make sense to do the SP in the practice area that you work in before CP1, especially if you have 2-3 years of work experience and lots of practical examples to anchor onto to back up the theory in the Core Reading. However, you mention that you've only just started working and so this makes less sense as an approach. Your alternative suggestion of doing CP2 and CP3 this summer sounds really good to me. You could always order CP1 (either the Core Reading or the Course Notes) over the summer and start reading it - there is a lot of merit in taking a couple of exam sessions to get to grips with it. Whilst there may be some changes from the 2019 version of CP1 compared with the 2020 version of CP1, I don't expect these to be major. Good luck with the decision! Anna
