I have been consistently getting 50% in the past AM mocks…problems I have:
-Running out of time. I always find myself not having enough time to do at least 1 topic question.
-Getting 0-33% in Asset Allocation, Risk Mgmt (good in Derivatives, very bad in risk mgmt policies), Performance Evaluation, Trade/Rebalance. Getting 50% in Economics, FI, Equities. Getting 75% in Individual, Institutional and Behavioral.
One tip that might be useful to manage your time is to write short & sharp answers. Make sure your answer directly addresses the question. Don’t try to dumb stuff down too much as the markers are CFA charterholders, so it’s unncessesary to explain concepts (unless its specifically asked for). Keep in mind the number of minutes allocated to the question before deciding how lengthy your answer will be.
just keep practicing man. we’re all in the same grind and in the same hustle. it’s only thing we can do.
Start with your strong topics and write down the time start and finish on top and stick to them. Also maybe look through and do the shorter cases first…less reading…and can get them done faster
Combine these two together and you will get better marks because even if you run out of time you will leave those that you normally would get low marks blank so not as impactful in your mark.
I think what you’ll need to do is really start writing the time down at the top of your question. Then you at least have a sense for when you’re going over. I typically find I have about 10-15 minutes at the end of the exam but I think that’s really going to be a key for you. Average question is worth what about 15 points? There’s 8% right there from not finishing.
a 50 on an essay isn’t the end of the world if you think about it. That’s 90/180. If you manage to get 45+/60 on the MC, that’s probably a pass. (Assuming MPS is around 62-63)
book 2 of Schweser is basically 40% of the essay portion. (Individual and institutional investor book). Since were in the wee hours maybe brush up on that. Out of any given 10 essay questions 3.5 to 4.5 will be from that one book.
Another tip, if you can’t seem to figure out the answer to a question, don’t get hung up on it, just fold the corner of the page and move on to the next question. Come back to it at the end, if time permits. The time you spend thinking about that question could be well spent on other questions to which you actually know the answer.