I have a specific question about LII suggested study order.
To explain myself: for LI I followed a really unorthodox study order, meaning I studied CF, Eq, PM, FI, Derivs and Alts first and only then did I take FRA, Quants Ethics and Econ (the latter I almost skipped it was the hardest for me).
Meaning I took the staff I thought I would like first and those I dreaded (like Quants) I held for later not to discourage myself or not to lose too much time.
Are there any arguments against a similar approach for LII?
I understand that FRA, Econ and Quants are rather “tools” to use in the valuation of asset classes but does the material really build on each other in this sense.
To be honest I have just looked into the LII Quants book and almost hyperventillated reading the titles of the chapters it’s so scary.
So can I leave (at least Quants) by the end or not?
You will find that equity borrows a lot from FRA and some from Quant and Econ. There’s a lot of repetition in the Quant book - (a lot of multiple regression stuff is tought in the simple regression chapter. - don’t get bogged down with time series and ARCH). Derivatives shares some of the econ material. I’d recommend reading the curriculum in order. I never really understood why people read out of order. You’re going to have to get over the fact that some subjects may be a little discouraging… you won’t know until exam day exactly how much weight they will represent.
If I were to take it again and not score any lower than 50% in anything, this is what worked for me and what I would do again:
First time through:
FRA and Equity first - an absolute must master both sections
Corp Finance, Fid, Derivatives
Alt Inv, Quant and Econ before PM
PM
Ethics Last
Frankly, I skipped Econ but did beween 70% and 100% on it so who knows what’s going on there…
I would review FRA and Equity 24/7. By 1 month out you should be getting amazing on all equity and FRA questions. I would review Ethics hard 3 weeks before the test, then 2 weeks before go in and get every LOS that you don’t know. then 1 week I would be doing practice tests just to review virtually everything that you know and don’t, hopefully pick up a little, then take the test. If you’re smart PM and Alt. Investments can be mastered in 2 (full 8 hour) days of studying, each.
PM is a super easy topic if you understand quant, not much econ here (I think it’s over stated how much overlap there is, it’s just graphs that overlap)
I had the exact same feeling as you when I first opened the quant book, it seemed overwhelming. I would recommend you watch the schweser videos as I feel those are what really put me on the right track to learning the core concepts, then I went back and read the texts. I feel that it saved me alot more time in the long run because if I were to have read only the text and not watched the videos I wouldn’t have got as much out of it.
I agree with the above poster, study FRA/equity day and night. I found equity to be quite easy once you understood everything, but FRA has always given me trouble. Know how to do the blue boxes and end of chapter questions in CFAI text blind folded. If you can get over 70% in ethics, equity and FRA you are in great shape. Don’t forget that quant and econ are only going to be 5% of the exam (most likely) so don’t stress on those ones. Just know the main concepts.
Other areas you should know extremely well: corp fi, derivatives, alt investments, fixed income … if 50% of the exam is going to be ethics, equity and FRA, then another huge chunk is going to come from these 4 areas. Don’t overlook anything