Last month, I read the latest Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) news. The May 2026 Level I pass rate was only 39%.

I looked at the number and smiled.
It reminded me of a younger version of myself.

Many years ago, I passed CFA Level I on my first attempt. At that time, I was already an ACCA member.

In the 1990s, ACCA was already one of the toughest professional examinations around.

Most accountants would have stopped there.
I didn’t.
I wanted to understand investment, valuation, and finance beyond accounting.
Also people said CFA is tough.

So I signed up for CFA.
When I passed Level I, I was confident.
Inside my heart, I thought,
“Charterholder… macam possible.”

Then Level II arrived.
It humbled me.
I failed.

Of course, I wanted to sit again.
But life doesn’t wait for your study timetable.

Around the same time, I started KTP.
Every morning, I worried about getting clients.
Every month, I worried about paying salaries.
Every night, I worried about cash flow.

Building a business quickly became my full-time examination.

Around the same time, I also discovered golf.
Looking back…
That probably delayed my CFA journey even more.

CFA Level II failed me once.
Golf has been failing me every week ever since.

Slowly, the CFA books stayed on the shelf.
One month became one year.
One year became many years.

Eventually, I accepted that I would never become a CFA charterholder.

For a long time, I thought I had failed.
Then one day, I asked myself a different question.
“What if I had passed?”

Maybe I would have continued all the way.
Maybe I would have built a fortune on investment.😂🤣😅
Maybe I would have spent my life analysing listed companies.

Maybe…

I would never have built KTP.
Life is full of opportunity costs.
Every “yes” means saying “no” to something else.

I said “no” to finishing CFA.
I said “yes” to building a business.

Today, I still analyse companies.
Not for an examination.
But for business owners making real decisions.

Every valuation engagement reminds me why I started studying CFA in the first place.

Cash flow.
Risk.
Growth.
Business value.

The knowledge never went to waste.
It simply found a different purpose.

People sometimes ask me whether I regret not finishing CFA.

My answer is always the same.
No.

Because every success has a price.
Mine was a qualification I never completed.

In return, I built a firm.
I built a team.
I become a decent golfer.

Looking back…

I didn’t fail CFA.
I simply chose a different investment.

And after all these years…
It turned out to be the best investment of my life.