I’m working full-time and doing my MBA in the evenings, so I’m going to need as much time as possible to prep for Level II. I’ve attached my study schedule as well as a break-out of each section of reading. Hope this helps anyone looking for help putting together a study strategy / plan! https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Atu8XPHCFHTJdFYxS19sUW9OVXBIX1dLWWVSWUxBUmc&hl=en_US Weeks Remaining Saturday Date Weekly Activity 39 09/03/11 Session 1 | Ethical & Professional Standards 38 09/10/11 Session 2 | Ethical & Professional Standards 37 09/17/11 Break 36 09/24/11 Session 3 | Quantitative Methods 35 10/01/11 Session 4 | Economics 34 10/08/11 Break 33 10/15/11 Session 5 | Financial Reporting & Analysis 32 10/22/11 Session 6 | Financial Reporting & Analysis 31 10/29/11 Break 30 11/05/11 Session 7 | Financial Reporting & Analysis 29 11/12/11 Session 8 | Corporate Finance 28 11/19/11 Break 27 11/26/11 Session 9 | Corporate Finance 26 12/03/11 Session 10 | Equity Investments 25 12/10/11 Break 24 12/17/11 Break 23 12/24/11 Break 22 12/31/11 Break 21 01/07/12 Session 11 | Equity Investments 20 01/14/12 Session 12 | Equity Investments 19 01/21/12 Break 18 01/28/12 Session 13 | Alternative Investment 17 02/04/12 Session 14 | Fixed Income 16 02/11/12 Break 15 02/18/12 Session 15 | Fixed Income 14 02/25/12 Session 16 | Derriveratives 13 03/03/12 Break 12 03/10/12 Session 17 | Derriveratives 11 03/17/12 Session 18 | Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning 10 03/24/12 Break 9 03/31/12 Comprehensive Review 8 04/07/12 Comprehensive Review 7 04/14/12 Break 6 04/21/12 Comprehensive Review 5 04/28/12 Comprehensive Review + Mock Exams 4 05/05/12 Comprehensive Review + Mock Exams 3 05/12/12 Comprehensive Review + Mock Exams 2 05/19/12 Break 1 05/26/12 Light Refresher and Review Week 0 06/02/12 Exam Day Volume Reading Number and Title Page Start Page End Pages Practice Questions 1 Reading 1 | Code of Ethics and Standards for Professional Conduct 5 19 14 0 1 Reading 2 | Guidance for Standards I - VII 19 185 166 64 1 Reading 3 | CFA Institute Soft Dollar Standards 185 211 26 6 1 Reading 4 | CFA Institute Research Objectivity Standards 211 227 16 6 1 Reading 5 | The Glenarm Company 229 235 6 0 1 Reading 6 | Preston Partners 235 241 6 0 1 Reading 7 | Super Selection 241 247 6 0 1 Reading 8 | Trade Allocation: Fair Dealing & Disclosure 247 251 4 0 1 Reading 9 | Changing Investment Objectives 251 253 2 0 1 Reading 10 | Prudence in Perspective 253 275 22 11 1 Reading 11 | Correlation and Regression 277 349 72 26 1 Reading 12 | Multiple Regression and Issues in Regression Analysis 349 437 88 28 1 Reading 13 | Time-Series Analysis 437 513 76 19 1 Reading 14 | Economic Growth 517 547 30 0 1 Reading 15 | Regulation and Antirust in a Globalized Economy 547 569 22 0 1 Reading 16 | Trading with the World 569 597 28 0 1 Reading 17 | Currency Exchange Rates 597 627 30 20 1 Reading 18 | Foreign Exchange Parity Relations 627 683 56 20 1 Reading 19 | Measuring Economic Activity 683 697 14 6 2 Reading 20 | Inventories: Implications for Financial Statements and Ratios 7 55 48 20 2 Reading 21 | Long Lived Assets: Implications for Financial Statements and Ratios 55 115 60 13 2 Reading 22 | Intercorporate Investments 117 189 72 30 2 Reading 23 | Employee Compensation: Post-Employment and Share Based 189 251 62 24 2 Reading 24 | Multinational Operations 251 325 74 24 2 Reading 25 | The Lessons We Learn 325 343 18 6 2 Reading 26 | Evaluating Financial Reporting Quality 343 417 74 25 2 Reading 27 | Integration of Financial Statement Analysis Techniques 417 465 48 21 3 Reading 28 | Capital Budgeting 5 99 94 50 3 Reading 29 | Capital Structure 99 133 34 19 3 Reading 30 | Dividends and Share Repurchases: Analysis 133 183 50 14 4 Reading 31 | Corporate Governance 183 239 56 25 4 Reading 32 | Mergers & Acquisitions 239 296 57 24 4 Reading 33 | A Note on Asset Valuation 5 9 4 0 4 Reading 34 | Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes 9 51 42 8 4 Reading 35 | Return Concepts 51 105 54 12 4 Reading 36 | The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy 107 131 24 0 4 Reading 37 | Industry Analysis 131 161 30 0 4 Reading 38 | Valuation in Emerging Markets 161 195 34 6 4 Reading 39 | Discounted Dividend Valuation 195 271 76 27 4 Reading 40 | Free Cash Flow Valuation 273 359 86 23 4 Reading 41 | Market-Based Valuation: Price and Enterprise Value Multiples 359 469 110 17 4 Reading 42 | Residual Income Valuation 469 525 56 17 4 Reading 43 | Private Company Valuation 525 578 53 17 5 Reading 44 | Investment Analysis 5 31 26 0 5 Reading 45 | Income Property Analysis & Apprasial 31 45 14 6 5 Reading 46 | Private Equity & Valuation 45 99 54 12 5 Reading 47 | Investing in Hedge Funds: A Survey 99 133 34 6 5 Reading 48 | General Principals of Credit Analysis 137 201 64 36 5 Reading 49 | Term Structure and Volitility of Interest Rates 201 255 54 2 5 Reading 50 | Valuing Bonds with Embedded Options 255 321 66 38 5 Reading 51 | Mortage-Backed Sector of the Bond Market 327 407 80 47 5 Reading 52 | Asset-Backed Sector of the Bond Market 407 465 58 44 5 Reading 53 | Valuing Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities 467 505 38 31 6 Reading 54 | Forward Markets & Contracts 5 63 58 15 6 Reading 55 | Futures Markets & Contracts 63 139 76 14 6 Reading 56 | Option Markets & Contacts 139 245 106 11 6 Reading 57 | Swap Markets & Contacts 245 319 74 19 6 Reading 58 | Interest RateDerivative Instruments 319 355 36 5 6 Reading 59 | Using Credit Derivatives to Enhance Return and Manage Risk 355 371 16 6 6 Reading 60 | Portfolio Concepts 375 475 100 18 6 Reading 61 | A note on Harry M. Markowitz’s “Market Efficiency” 475 481 6 0 6 Reading 62 | International Asset Pricing 481 525 44 20 6 Reading 63 | The Theory of Active Portfolio Management 525 561 36 3 6 Reading 64 | The Portfolio Management Process and The Investment Policy Statement 561 592 31 22
I would reconsider doing ethics first. Without breaking the CFAI code of ethics, all I can say is I would have probably performed just about the same had I not even read ethics… And even if that was not the case for your year, reading ethics 39 weeks out as 0 added value Also I wonder if anyone else managed to stick to a plan. Some reading you won’t even need to read, others you might need to read 10 times. It is also good to leave a reading alone sometime and come back to it later… Don’t be so strict on youself. Anyway, at least you have an attack plan, I will bet some money you will pass.
I would chill for a bit, we only just recently got our marks back? I also think that starting in September is a little too early and the massive almost month long break that you´re planning might take you out of the loop of it all.
I would also allocate more than 1 week to study session 6.
In retrospect, the material that would have been valuable to get a head start on would have been Econ/Currencies, Quant, Corp Finance (the capital budgeting), and Equity (the DDM, FCF, & Residual Income Model). These are all formula intensive sections, and sections where once you learn it, you know it. The softer sections and the ones with lots of small moving parts (ethics, corp governance, accounting, parts of equity, derivatives) will be difficult to remember on exam day if you study this far out. Either way, try and finish your first reading 2-3 months out if you have that much going on. Where L2 material really makes sense is when you review it 1-2 times.
Definitely leave Ethics for last. If I were to study for L2 again, I’d have reviewed the FRA and Equity sections twice before I moved on to some of the other stuff. I passed the exam without reading a word of the fixed income, derivatives, or PM sections of the curriculum. I’ll admit there was some serious luck involved, but that goes to show just how much L2 is centered around FRA and Equity.
Ethics is one fat prostitute with a pretty face, and you only get to see the face and decide whether you want her or not…illusion! Save for the last.