CFA , CAIA, & FRM Blog

Mark Skoskiewicz

Mark Skoskiewicz holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a Major in Finance from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, (he received additional minors in Philosophy and History). At IU, Mark was an undergraduate economics instructor teaching supplemental small group sessions for the department’s introductory economics course. During his junior and senior years, he was a private economics, finance, and accounting tutor. After Indiana, Mark spent 8 years working for Marakon Associates before creating MyGuru in 2009 while earning his MBA at Northwestern Kellogg to make it easier for parents and students to find high quality yet affordable tutors. While Mark wants MyGuru to always be known as a source for excellent tutors, we also aim to be a thought leader on how to improve academic performance through shifts in mindset, well-defined study plans, improved study habits, and even stress reduction strategies. Mark believes these ideas are a powerful, critical complement to working with an expert private tutor. Mark currently shares insights, advice, and information about how to improve academic performance in MyGuru’s improving academic performance blog and in an eBook Plan, Prepare, Perform: A Personalized Approach to Test Preparation.

Recent Posts

How to Prepare for Your Real Estate Exam

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Nov 30, 2020 10:53:33 AM

If you want to become a realtor, you need to pass your real estate exam. It might seem a bit daunting, but with good preparation, you’ll have a great chance of passing.

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Tags: real estate, become a realtor, real estate exam prep, real estate exam, real estate exam tutor

CAIA vs. CFA: Similarities, Differences, and Implications for Aspiring Finance Professionals

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Apr 5, 2019 9:30:00 AM

We provide both CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) tutoring and CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analysis) tutoring. In most cases, students come to us having already decided which exam is for them and why they want to earn one designation or the other. On the other hand, many of our CFA tutors also hold the CAIA.  

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Tags: CFA, CFA study skills, CFA tutoring, CAIA exam, CFA vs. CAIA, CFA tutors

When Should You Start Studying for the CFA?

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Jun 12, 2017 3:32:07 PM

One of the most frustrating situations for a CFA tutor is to be connected with a nice, capable, seemingly committed CFA student who simply started studying for the exam too late. The rule of thumb for level 1 of the CFA is that it should take you about 300 hours of preparation. I believe that the pure amount of material covered on the CFA is why most CFA prep solutions are classroom and video based. There is just so much material, it’s far easier to help people work through it as efficiently as possible by explaining the key concepts clearly and providing extra practice. In that sense, the most valuable tool in your toolkit when it comes to CFA preparation is time. Just begin the process far enough in advance and, generally speaking, you’ll be OK.
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Tags: CFA, defined benefit plans, CFA study skills, CFA tutoring

Preparing for the CFA exam: Financial reporting of defined benefit pension plans

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Mar 3, 2017 3:18:27 PM


The financial reporting and analysis section is one of the more heavily weighted topics on levels 1 and 2, making up 20% and 15-20% of each exam, respectively.

Therefore, it is very important to spend a considerable amount of time on this entire section in order to have success on exam day.

The employee compensation reading falls within the scope of financial reporting and analysis and is one of the more challenging sub-topics for many students. The reading is separated into two further sub-topics: pensions and other post-employment benefits, and share-based compensation. The former topic is much more difficult for students and will be the focus of this blog post.

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Tags: CFA, defined benefit plans

Welcome to our new CFA Blog

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Dec 16, 2016 11:49:03 AM

Blog article coming soon! Read More