a guide-how to pass level 2

am a level 3 candidate-i passed level 2 (FORTUNATELY) with my first attempt and i would like to share my perspective on how to approach this HUGELY difficult exam… first of all DONT start before january,your productivity will not be very high before that date and most of the information you will not retain come exam day…(dont start thinking about shortage of time and that its too late-ITS NOT JUST DO THAT AND START JANUARY) read the material one time from january till april and then start revision…DONT trouble yourselves between schweser and cfai,just use ONLY schweser and if you study it thoroughly its more than enough for a first reading…many many things you will not understand from this first reading but its the same will all the other candidates…DO NOT GO BACK AND SEE THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC AGAIN NOW after you finish the first reading try to get the videos of the material, (i downloaded previous years videos-not the most up to date presentation but still helpful)this took around 10 days to watch all and again review the material from these videos,basically just relax,make you coffee and watch ALL OF THEM-DO NOT SKIP ANYTHING… after my second review from videos it was may…so you will have around 1 month before the exam which is the MOST CRITICAL time period…during this use a bit of qbank and try some end of chapter questions in the cfai…DO NOT try to solve book 1 and 2 from schweser its a bloody joke,it WILL NOT help you really…you willl only consume yourselves by solving very hard exercises and there is no point at doing so… so here you are…its around 25 of may and you reviewed the material ONCE…watched the videos ONCE with some qbank and some end of chapter questions (DONT think that i mean solve every eoc question in the curriculum-just scan through them and solve randomly,ONLY THOSE WHICH ARE PROBLEM SETS NOT OTHERS!!) around this time 12 days before the exam do every sample or mock exam the institute has published…DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT BUYING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM…they may not be the same with the exam but it will give you a damn good idea about the difficulty and style of the exam,and believe me when you see that paper you will need that psychological preparation… finally after solving ALL these CFAI exams you will probably have a couple of days and focus NOT on ethics (am saying that because you hear a lot of people saying that you must leave ethics last to be fresh in your mind-well DONT DO THAT,by studying ethics along with others you will be fine) just do WHATEVER YOU FEEL WEAK ON-if its alternative investments do that,if its bonds then do that…whatever it is…it doesnt matter because in the actual exam you will see questions you will never believe its possible!! then go pass i did EXACTLY what i mentioned above and here it is Level 2: Pass The table below illustrates your subject matter strengths and weaknesses. The three columns on the right are marked with asterisks to indicate your performance on each question or topic area. Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% - Alternative Investments 18 - - * - Corporate Finance 36 - * - - Derivatives 36 - * - - Economics 18 * - - - Equity Investments 72 - * - - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - * - - Financial Reporting & Analysis 72 - - * - Fixed Income Investments 36 - - * - Portfolio Management 18 - * - - Quantitative Methods 18 - - * p.s if anyone wants to ask any more details about this study plan i am more than willing to help of course

Can I have your advice please on whether my plan is achievable? My plan is to go for Level II in June 2010 after completing Level 1 in Dec 09. Wait for results to be released by CFA Institue in Late Jan 2010, hopefully pass Level 1 and then register for Level II in Jun 2010. Plan to rely mostly on Schweser and use CFA cirrcumlum for doing the end of chapter practice questions. Is this plan too ambitious?

well i think your plan is achievable-i mean i know a lot of people who have done the exact same thing you are planning-i have to say though that this is achievable GIVEN that after the results of level 1 (which hoepfully will be a pass) you will start studying immediately end of january and you have to study hard in order to have a good chance of passing level 2 as well (by hard i mean consistently)…regarding the material to be used when studying i already said my opinion in the first post…

Your plan is good but its not going to work for everybody. PERIOD. Care to tell your background and work experience.

Superstar, Do you think that for L2 one should be working in the finance related profile and all,I am working in hard core accounting and other then some basic knowledge about all the financial term.I have only one answer.Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Okk. So what’s ur profile you are working in right now.

my background is BA Economics and then a Masters degree again in International Economics… my work experience is 2 years of work experience in a hedge fund as a research analyst I am not saying that it will work for everybody of course,am just giving my opinion on how to approach this exam,am not forcing anybody to adopt it,just trying to help

Superstar111 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > my background is BA Economics and then a Masters > degree again in International Economics… > > my work experience is 2 years of work experience > in a hedge fund as a research analyst > > I am not saying that it will work for everybody of > course,am just giving my opinion on how to > approach this exam,am not forcing anybody to adopt > it,just trying to help Now somebody with no background and no work ex in finance attempts to follow your advice is going to have a tough time. I appreciate your endeavour although it would help a lot if you could have added your profile in the 1 st post so that other people can make adjustments to your schedule. I request all AFers to post their profile along with their debriefings. This makes comparision a lot better.

There is no guide on how to pass level 2. You know what you are getting into. It’s fair to say Level 2 is much harder and requires more prep time than Level 1. Just do what works for you. Some people like to use Schweser/Stalla, some just CFAI, some takes 3 months, some takes 6 months. Who cares what others are doing? If you have the curriculum books, just start looking thru the books, decide if you need help from Schweser/Stalla, make a study schedule based on your background and work & other obligitions and start the journey.

I would not feel comfortable at all starting in January. I simply don’t have the time to do that. I started reading quant last week and have already referred to the CFAI texts on many occasions. Schweser doesn’t seem to elaborate as much on the topic as need be.

jrozario Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There is no guide on how to pass level 2. You > know what you are getting into. It’s fair to say > Level 2 is much harder and requires more prep time > than Level 1. Just do what works for you. > > Some people like to use Schweser/Stalla, some just > CFAI, some takes 3 months, some takes 6 months. > Who cares what others are doing? If you have the > curriculum books, just start looking thru the > books, decide if you need help from > Schweser/Stalla, make a study schedule based on > your background and work & other obligitions and > start the journey. There is no guide how to pass but there are some guides on how to fail certainly.Like trying to clear CFA L2 in 3-4 months. Some people have done it but its not a thumb rule.

I already started at a snail pace. The argument that starting in Jan would ensure a better retention rate is somehow subtle. I prefer starting early so as to have a contingent plan. In the event I couldnt retain much of what I’ve learnt, I’ll just revisit the SS. This is the strongest point I find to start early. A contingent plan.

AbhiJ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Superstar111 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > my background is BA Economics and then a > Masters > > degree again in International Economics… > > > > my work experience is 2 years of work > experience > > in a hedge fund as a research analyst > > > > I am not saying that it will work for everybody > of > > course,am just giving my opinion on how to > > approach this exam,am not forcing anybody to > adopt > > it,just trying to help > > > Now somebody with no background and no work ex in > finance attempts to follow your advice is going to > have a tough time. > > I appreciate your endeavour although it would help > a lot if you could have added your profile in the > 1 st post so that other people can make > adjustments to your schedule. > > I request all AFers to post their profile along > with their debriefings. This makes comparision a > lot better. AbhiJ, he said it was “a” guide to passing the exam, not “the” guide. He simply listed the method he used to pass Level 2, and never claimed that anyone using his method would make it through the first time. Overall, he gave constructive advice for preparing for this test. Take it as you wish and move along. In spite of AbhiJ’s request, I suggest all “AFers” post any information they find useful in preparing for that particular forum’s exam. No need to summarize your resume after each post. Those that enjoy making rules for the masses are free to create their own forum.

Tstone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AbhiJ Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Superstar111 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > my background is BA Economics and then a > > Masters > > > degree again in International Economics… > > > > > > my work experience is 2 years of work > > experience > > > in a hedge fund as a research analyst > > > > > > I am not saying that it will work for > everybody > > of > > > course,am just giving my opinion on how to > > > approach this exam,am not forcing anybody to > > adopt > > > it,just trying to help > > > > > > Now somebody with no background and no work ex > in > > finance attempts to follow your advice is going > to > > have a tough time. > > > > I appreciate your endeavour although it would > help > > a lot if you could have added your profile in > the > > 1 st post so that other people can make > > adjustments to your schedule. > > > > I request all AFers to post their profile along > > with their debriefings. This makes comparision > a > > lot better. > > > AbhiJ, he said it was “a” guide to passing the > exam, not “the” guide. He simply listed the > method he used to pass Level 2, and never claimed > that anyone using his method would make it through > the first time. > > Overall, he gave constructive advice for preparing > for this test. Take it as you wish and move > along. > > In spite of AbhiJ’s request, I suggest all “AFers” > post any information they find useful in preparing > for that particular forum’s exam. No need to > summarize your resume after each post. > > Those that enjoy making rules for the masses are > free to create their own forum. ‘A guide’ or ‘The guide’ its trying to be a guide for AFers. If somebody blindly follows his advice without knowing his background, expect what he is going to flunk big time. Someone might say you see I cleared CFA L3 in 2 month. After somebody follows his advice and flunks. He says sorry I didn’t tell you I have a PhD in financial economics. Its called keeping things in perspective. Telling 2 lines about work ex and degrees is not exactly a CV. This is what I am afraid of -generalization.I said while giving debriefing not every post. I had just made a request as CFA is pursued by people all over the world with different back ground people like army personnel to maths PhDs to Fund Managers. It seems to me as you who is trying to make a rule.

If you blatantly took the advice of some anonymous poster on a free-for-all internet forum then failed L2, you have a bigger problem than failing don’t you think?

guys it is only my opinion of an approach to level 2-abhij is also right i should have put my profile with it to give people a better perspective and not be misleading,but before arguing with each other dont forget that it is only an opinion and a free for all forum here…if you dont want to follow it then dont…am just saying it because it worked for me and i passed level 2… interpret it as you like and make your own conclusions-no one truely cares if others pass or fail anw so no need to argue over it there is no right and wrong…

Superstar111 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > guys it is only my opinion of an approach to level > 2-abhij is also right i should have put my profile > with it to give people a better perspective and > not be misleading,but before arguing with each > other dont forget that it is only an opinion and a > free for all forum here…if you dont want to > follow it then dont…am just saying it because it > worked for me and i passed level 2… > > interpret it as you like and make your own > conclusions-no one truely cares if others pass or > fail anw so no need to argue over it there is no > right and wrong… We both are saying the same thing a bit differently though however the central argument remains the same. Thanks

ozzie123 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you blatantly took the advice of some anonymous > poster on a free-for-all internet forum then > failed L2, you have a bigger problem than failing > don’t you think? The problem is when you read 10 briefings saying that CFA L2 can be cracked in 4-5 months then it starts to have an effect on you.You may not realiose it but you may begin to underestimate the diifficulty of exam. And yes there are people who don’t read the forums with a disbeliving attitude.

disbeliving attitude !!! +1 lol

Please no insult to Superstar111, if the pass “mark” has been slightly raised, Superstar could have ended with a Band 8 or 9 fail (not even 10). IMHO, I do not like Superstar’s result enough to follow his advise. I want to study for knowledge not to only marginally pass the exam.

4-5 months is MORE than enough time to study for the exam. if you’re not smart enough to be able to get it done in 4-5 months, then you’re not really gonna cut it in a front office finance role anyway, so might as well quit while you’re ahead.