Stone Wall
No, not stonewall. This isn't about Cuomo & Spitzer. I neglected writing about the beginning of the course for a reason. It belongs at the end.
You're all ready to start studying. You've got your nice shiny new books lined up on the shelf. You've looked through the smartly-organized course of studies. You're dragging out notes from b-school and trying to remember which order derivative bond curvature is. And the first thing you're confronted with is the law.
OK, not really the law, usually. But same thing: ethics. It's interesting in a Talmudic sort of way. Still, it lacks context. I know why they place it up front, to show how important it is. And of course, ethics are important. The whole point of having a CFA in the first place is to denote trustworthiness. But frankly, it makes much more sense at the end. After having reviewed the material, I'll have more context for these rules, and it'll be easier to remember them. Each rule, each type of rule, will have a place in the structure that I can attach it to.
It's also the only part of the course that's actually new material. (Except for the Economics, if you went to DU's graduate program.) It'll be easier to remember at the end than at the beginning.
Which is why I'm saving it for last.