Questions and answers

Yes. Everything in a level is free: the video modules, notes, quizzes and tests, class recordings, audio lessons and past exam question sets. There is no access fee, no subscription and nothing to renew. Until 2025, this course sold for CAD $1,865 per level.

Create a free account (it takes about 3 minutes), confirm your email address, then answer the short questionnaire for the level you're studying: your exam date, how many hours a week you can study, and a few questions about you and your goals. When you finish, the whole level opens and your study plan is ready.

Your answers build your study plan and keep it on track. They also help Michael see who studies here and what works. Because the courses are free, a real name and a confirmed email address are also what keep each account to one person.

One level is active at a time, and your study plan follows it. When you move on, for example after passing Level I, answer a short questionnaire for the next level (a minute or two). The levels you opened before stay open.

For the lifetime of the site, with no renewal and no fee. New and updated material added to your level later is included. If the site ever closes, members will hear about it by email ahead of time. The details are in the Terms of Use.

Yes. The full outline of every level is open to everyone: the sections, the lessons and their lengths. Signing up opens the lessons themselves.

The CFA® Program, Levels I, II and III (with all three Level III pathways), and the Canadian Securities Course (CSC®).

Michael's video modules for every topic area, recordings of his past classes, his notes as PDFs you can download, audio lessons, quizzes and tests you take right on the site, and, for Level III, past exam question sets.

Yes: the same sections and lessons, in the same order as on Michael's earlier course platforms. Quizzes and question sets are now interactive on the site. A few items are still being moved over; they show as "Coming soon" and open by themselves once they're added.

No. There are no live classes. The class recordings are recordings of Michael's past live classes on Zoom. If you'd like to work through something with Michael directly, you can book tutoring.

Choose an answer and the site tells you whether you were right, with an explanation where Michael wrote one; tests show your results at the end. You can retake a quiz as often as you like, and your scores are saved with your progress. If you think an answer is wrong, use "Report a problem" on the question: Michael reviews every report.

From your exam date and the hours you can study each week, the site builds a week-by-week schedule from the actual lessons in your level, using their real lengths. If you fall behind, it re-plans the weeks you have left.

They play in the site's own player, which remembers where you stopped, so you can pick up again on any device. Full screen works. Picture-in-picture and downloads are turned off.

While a video plays, your email and a short code move across the picture. It discourages recording and sharing, and if a copy leaks, it shows which account it came from. To be straightforward about it: no player can stop screen recording, ours included. The watermark is the deterrent. Anyone who can see your screen can see it too.

The notes (PDFs) and the audio lessons can be downloaded for your own use. Videos stream and can't be downloaded.

A computer, tablet or phone with a current web browser. There's no app to install. To keep the site one tap away on your phone, add it to your home screen: on an iPhone, open it in Safari, tap Share, then "Add to Home Screen"; on Android, open it in Chrome, tap the menu, then "Add to Home screen".

Check that you're signed in and that you aren't playing videos on other devices at the same time, then reload the page. Updating your browser fixes most other problems. If it still won't play, write to michael@michaelhlinka.com and say which lesson and which device.

On donations from the people who use it. Giving is optional, and any amount helps pay for hosting the videos and running the site.

No. Donations never change your access: giving opens nothing, and not giving closes nothing.

Use the Support button at the top of any page. Donations are paid by card only, through Stripe's secure checkout, in Canadian dollars.

No. Michael's site isn't a registered charity, so we can't issue tax receipts. You'll get an email receipt for your records.

Ask within 14 days of giving; a refund is at Michael's discretion. Mistakes, such as a double charge, are always refunded. See the Refund Policy.

Yes. A one-hour session costs CAD $300.00 plus 13% HST (CAD $39.00), CAD $339.00 in total. Bring questions about any CFA level, the CSC, or your career; Michael answers what you ask. The price is per hour, not per person, so you can bring people who are studying with you.

Pick an open time on the Tutoring page, at least 48 hours ahead, and pay by card. Sessions are on Zoom. Your meeting link appears on your booking page and in your email once the payment clears, never before.

Cancel at least 48 hours before the start for a full refund, or reschedule at least 48 hours before. After that there's no refund, unless Michael cancels. The full rules are in the Tutoring Terms.

Not yet. Captions and transcripts are being prepared from the recordings and will be added to the videos and class recordings as they're ready. The notes (PDFs) cover the same material in writing.

Write to michael@michaelhlinka.com and tell us what's in the way, for example a screen reader, keyboard or zoom problem. We'll help, and fix what we can. The site is built to work with a keyboard and with screen readers, and it follows your device's reduced-motion setting.

Check your spam or promotions folder, then ask for a new link from the page that asked you to confirm. If it still doesn't come, write to michael@michaelhlinka.com from the same address.

Use "Forgot password" on the sign-in page. If the email doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your spam folder, then write to michael@michaelhlinka.com from the address on your account.

No. An account is for one person. Sharing it, or sharing the course material, can get the account closed. See the Terms of Use.

Your account details and questionnaire answers, your study plan and progress, and how you use the site, including your IP address. We never sell it, and there's no advertising here. The Privacy Policy lists everything, who else handles it, and how long it's kept.

Write to michael@michaelhlinka.com from the address on your account. We answer within 30 days.

No. CFA® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CSC® is a registered trademark of the Canadian Securities Institute. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either organization.

Yes. You register and pay for the CFA exams with CFA Institute, and for the CSC exams with the Canadian Securities Institute.

Use the Contact page, or write to michael@michaelhlinka.com. Michael reads every message himself.