I can't read the CFAI Fixed Income PM book anymore

CFA Level III Fixed Income
#1

it’s too confusing- i feel like i’m doing LII derivatives all over again.

can anyone recommend someone who is very good at breaking down these fixed income PM readings (23/24) through videos? Would you go Mark Meldrum in this case?

#2

#goodluck

#3

Fixed Income is not as hard in the exam as it is in the text.

The EOC questions is the range of difficult you can expect. They are mostly theoretical questions regarding convexity, and bullet/ barbell structures etc. A few calcs like rolling yield but on the whole its very manageable even if it LOOKS intense.

Try a video provider, I used IFT and thought his F.I vids were amazing.

#4

thanks bro

#5

FI is fun actually. Even though I got rogered on the EOCs of the 2nd and 3rd chapter, I think its manageable. The next time I encounter them, ImI gonna ram em down. Have no fear, Level III is almost clear.

#6

Agree with rex and saura, FI was probably one of the most frustrating topics to begin with but once you grasp the concepts it becomes relatively straightforward and fun (might be exaggerating here).

#7

I took Deep3 and he explained it very well. LevelUp did as well in the bootcamp.

#8

Yeah fixed actually gets pretty easy when you start getting the base. It has a lot of cross over between chapters. I would say that once you understand the basics it’s very crush-able

#9

man, I love FI. To be fair, I was FI PM :stuck_out_tongue:

In all seriousness, I agree with the above comment, it is manageable. Most of it will be concept questions, few calcs here and there. Good luck everyone!

#10

thanks everyone. it has actually gotten a lot more straightforward in reading 24- i made this post when going through reading 23 and it started getting all technical with type IV liabilities (DB pensions). Hopefully MM or someone else can help clear that up when i go back to it later

#11

You can read it more.

In the words of Dr. Reston from Seinfeld…

“You can and you will.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYAzjJRZ6HA

#12

I would go with levelboot camp, jumpstart videos. Everything is explained in detail and his slide deck is amazing as well. I aced this topic in the exam as well and all credit goes to Marc LeFebvre.

#13

I didn’t find FI too difficult or complicated, and I actually liked it. I’m having difficulties with Book 3, Applications of Economic Analyses& Asset Allocation. Some of the readings are so boring that it makes me want to slit my wrists.

#14

Hi,

Would it be helpful to order and use just his slide notes, without his videos. Need your suggestion. Also how do I interpret his side notes.

Thanks

#15

If you’re talking about Meldrum’s slide notes, they’re useless without his videos. You basically have to watch the videos at the same time as you go through his notes because the notes are just terrible and confusing if read separately.

#16

Thanks, was referring to Marc’s notes from Levelup, which are available for subscription seperately looks like. However, there’s a lot of color coding etc I understand. Is it worth the purchase and can it be understood if you’re not going through his videos.

#17

I used MM videos, it was well explained. I felt very confident after watching his videos. But still bombed those two sections on the exam, maybe due to lack of practice. :stuck_out_tongue:

#18

update: reading the book paid off. big.

#19

I’m using MM right now and he breaks it down really well

#20

I think MM FI videos are very good. I still haven’t finished all FI though, but so far so good. EOC seem easy, but FI has been always my strength.