40 Day Study Plan

I’m going to try to pass Level II with 40 days of studying. I signed up for the exam after passing Level I last June and ordered the Stalla materials, but wasn’t feeling motivated until recently. I figure by doing this I’ll at least give myself a shot, and if I fail, I’ll have a base to build on for next year. My background: Reasonably smart, but not incredibly so. I’d say I’m very smart compared to the general population, but am in line with the exam takers here. FSA, passed my 9 actuarial exams in 15 total attempts. Financial background is what I’d call “medium” compared to the rest of the Level II takers. I’m an ALM actuary and work with asset modeling. I have 5 vacation days built into my study plan, which means I really have 41 days to study, but 40 made for a catchier title. Also, I studied 3 or 4 days in November and got some work done in on Stalla Study Sessions 1-4 (Ethics, Quant, Econ), so it’s really a little more than 40 days, but those are the sessions that were already in my wheelhouse anyway. My plan is to tackle each Study Session over the course of two days. The first day will be reading the Stalla guide and making notecards. The second day will be running through the Passmaster questions. There’s no time for reading the actual CFA texts, but if I can fit the end of chapter questions in at some point, I definitely will. I have some “catch-up” days built in in case this get’s too overwhelming and I can’t complete these things in two days. Also, I work a normal office job with normal office hours, so this will be all evening and weekend studying. I don’t plan on taking any days off. Really, this thread is mostly just to keep myself honest with my studying, and also to see how much a normal-intelligence person can accomplish in 40 days. Gogogo!

That’s really ambitious. You have exactly 46 days of studying until exam day. (Not counting exam day) It seems like you are also working a job, with 5 vacation days of study. I got to say, your chances of passing are very very slim. I’d honestly peg it at 1% chance of passing. good luck though

My friend, if you are a FSA actuary, you are NOT a “normal-intelligence person” LOL How do I know? I live with one. I think you have a really good shot if you can read through all the material and do practice questions. Your mathematical skills are awesome, if you know accounting pretty well, I think most actuaries are like accountants/mad mathematicians and law lawyers anyway, this will be very attainable. DO it PASS it and report back!!! Good luck!!!

Good luck, you certainly have a chance when you’re very disciplined.

Never hurts to give it a shot and see where you land. Good Luck.

if you passed the actuarial exams, I think you have a good shot at passing in 40 days. Itercom, how did you come up with 1%? How on earth would you know what % it will take?

I used the force

“I got to say, your chances of passing are very very slim. I’d honestly peg it at 1% chance of passing” This has got to be one of the stupidest post I’ve seen on AF.

kinda like your user name

The material won’t be your enemy, burnout will… You’re trying to absorb a ton of information in a short time period. If you can do it, and someone who’s passed all 9 Actuary exams is capable, I salute you and call you God… Curious how much overlap exists between the actuarial and CFA material. I know probability gets tested as well as basic financial math, anything else based on your experience so far?

> Curious how much overlap exists between the actuarial and CFA > material. I know probability gets tested as well as basic financial > math, anything else based on your experience so far? The probability / quantitative methods stuff I’ve seen a million times now and is practically second nature, and you’re correct, basic financial math (discounting, annuities, basic bond valuation) is tested as well. I’ve also seen some of the econ material in the actuarial exams, but it didn’t get especially deep. Capital Market Theory is somewhat heavily tested. The basics of FRA and corporate finance are tested which helped in Level I, but I’m expecting no help in Level II, other than having some more familiarity with the material than others might’ve had. I think the bottom line is there’s some overlap, but other than what you mentioned, not all that much. And this answer applies more to Level I; other than looking at the chapter titles, I haven’t yet dug into the Level II material. My guess is that for Level II, other than the quant section, the actuarial exams won’t have much overlap. Thanks for the support everyone, I’ll definitely keep this thread updated. Lookin’ forward to cracking the books open tomorrow!

My own opinion re Actuarial v CFA exams (I’m an ASA): For level 1 I’d say I had seen around 70% of the material in some shape or form with the ethics and FRA sections the exception. Having been through Schweser now, I’d say that for level 2 it’s at about 60%. The actuarial exams cover fewer topics in much more depth. Just my opinion.

Figured I’d update this since I said I would. I’m 2/3 of the way through my first run of the material. I’ve covered ethics, quant, econ, FRA, corporate finance, and equities. I read each Stalla study session, make notecards of the important formulas, then work all the Passmaster questions until I’ve gotten each one correct. I have not memorized any of the formulas, nor have I cracked open a CFA text. It takes on average 8 hours to go through a study session like this. Since I’m studying in the evenings, each session takes 2-3 days. Most of the material’s not as hard as I expected it to be, but there are parts that are a beast. If I took a test today that was only over the parts I’ve covered, I’d get slaughtered, but once I memorize the formulas and notecards, I think I’d have a fighting chance to pass. Probably 50/50. In short, my early feeling is that 40 days is definitely enough to give yourself a “decent” chance of passing. If you’re smarter than I am, you can even give yourself a “good” chance. Only the smartest of the smart could give themselves a great chance.

I have an actuarial background as well, huge disconnect between the two fields in my opinion. I work in pensions so the Pensions stuff and share based payment stuff is simple. Derivatives is also not as difficult, but my real challenge is getting fixed income, equity and accounts down. Also ethics can be airy fairy Also, I am a rataker, studied last year for two months due to the birth of my first child and got a grade 8 failure Would you rate these exams as difficult as the actuarial exams. I definitely do. Good Luck everyone

> Would you rate these exams as difficult as > the actuarial exams. I definitely do. It depends on how you look at it. When I was studying for Level I, I was surprised at how the material seemed on par with the preliminary actuarial exams. I’d been told by so many actuaries that the CFA was easier, it was almost shocking to find that that wasn’t the case. So I prepared for the exam just like I did for the actuarial exams – with very intensive studying. Come exam day, I sat down, opened the exam booklet, and the difference hit me like a ton of bricks. Even though the *material* was roughly the same, the questions asked by the CFA were much, much easier. There’s rarely a straightforward question on an actuarial exam. You have to really know the minute details of every topic. But there were very few CFA Level I questions that really dug deep into the material. I wanted to write additional details in my exam booklet because the questions all seemed so straightforward. “Here are all the ways to adjust for diluted shares, since you didn’t ask about it…” I’m hoping the same happens for Level II, given that I haven’t had the time to get as deep into the details for this sitting. But we’ll see. I’ve always heard that Level II is harder than Level I, but I’m finding the material to be roughly the same this time, maybe even a little easier.

Drz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Figured I’d update this since I said I would. I’m > 2/3 of the way through my first run of the > material. I’ve covered ethics, quant, econ, FRA, > corporate finance, and equities. I read each > Stalla study session, make notecards of the > important formulas, then work all the Passmaster > questions until I’ve gotten each one correct. > > I have not memorized any of the formulas, nor have > I cracked open a CFA text. > > It takes on average 8 hours to go through a study > session like this. Since I’m studying in the > evenings, each session takes 2-3 days. > > Most of the material’s not as hard as I expected > it to be, but there are parts that are a beast. > If I took a test today that was only over the > parts I’ve covered, I’d get slaughtered, but once > I memorize the formulas and notecards, I think I’d > have a fighting chance to pass. Probably 50/50. > > > In short, my early feeling is that 40 days is > definitely enough to give yourself a “decent” > chance of passing. If you’re smarter than I am, > you can even give yourself a “good” chance. Only > the smartest of the smart could give themselves a > great chance. You’ll be fine, dude. I put in 150-200 hours (ballpark, as I would always stop keeping track) for each level and passed I and II pretty easily. It’s not as hard as some people would have you believe, especially with a decent background. I’m giving you an 85% shot if you stick to your studies.

100% agree re actuarial exams v CFA exams. I’m studying as if I were preparing for an actuarial exam and hoping the exam itself is something more like CFA level 1 than actuarial exam M or C.

i think 40 days is not enough even for chartered actuary. But it would be good basis for next year.

I would just give a word of warning- understanding it when you go through it and recalling it a few weeks later is not nearly the same thing. The newer material has a tendency to push the older material out of your head. Good luck! If you stay focused you have a chance.

I would just give a word of warning- understanding it when you go through it and recalling it a few weeks later is not nearly the same thing. The newer material has a tendency to push the older material out of your head. Good luck! If you stay focused you have a chance.