I used KS only for Level 1. Did about 320 net hours of studying, also did over 5,000 practice questions. I have been hearing that KS is not sufficient for level 2. That I need to get MM videos as well, at least for FI & Deriv. … I learn better through practice questions and making flashcards (active learning) - not a big fan of videos.
Let me know your thoughts and recommendations!
KS + test bank + mock was enough for me
I failed miserable last year and may switch to IFT world and hear konveity has great mocks and question banks. I used MM last year and Bloomberg and will switch to IFT world and do tonnes of questions.
What were the top 3 most challenging sections for you for lvl 2?
I used KS for level 1. Thought is was great. Used it again for level 2. I didn’t think it did as good a job preparing me as it did for level 1. I had heard this from others around the office that had used it previously. So when I got to the CFAI mock exams I felt there were areas I hadn’t been prepared for. Led to a lot of stress that last month before the exam. All that being said, I still ended up passing level 2 but it was just extra stressful. This go round for level 3 I plan to actually read the CFAI books (never opened them for level 1 or 2) and use their website. That’s just my experience, but I realize it differs for everyone based on their own previous experience and knowledge base they start off with.
Same for areas most challenging- those will be different for each of us. For me it was FRA, Der, and FI. But I actually ended up doing around 70 percentile on each of those in the end.
I used IFT for both lvl 1 and 2. For lvl 2, I also used MM videos for derivatives and fixed income. These two were the topics I found most difficult, along with Quant. I did all the eocs but I ran out of time and was not able to do any mock exam. MM is good because he explains in great depth, this is something not always required but I felt, I needed this for the two topics. However, he has very poor notes. IFT notes were the best in any case and I found them most helpful. Let me know if you want to know anything else.
I used only MM’s videos and made my own study notes for both lvl 1 and 2 (didn’t touch any CFAI textbook)
Then I use candidate portal for practice questions and mock exams. That’s all.
I know you aren’t into videos, but MM turns complicated things into much simpler one.
I used KS for both lvl 1 and 2. As others have mentioned lvl 1 was great, lvl 2 the material felt a bit more lackluster (mostly just felt more throw together ridiculous amount of grammar errors and annoyances while reading). I definitely went into lvl 2 exam feeling a bit more shaky than lvl 1.
As far as being sufficient you can certainly pass using only KS. I passed both lvl 1 and 2 first try, didnt touch EOC or blueboxes in the CFAI material, and have absolutely no experience in the finance world. I think as long as you study for understanding, which it sounds like you do given your hands on approach, KS is enough. That said having a little extra cushion so that you dont spend 6 months and have to retake the exam isnt the worst idea if you feel you’re on the border of passing.
The toughest were economics, derivatives and PM