Hi All, First time poster, but have lurked for a bit following my sitting for the 2011 Level 3 exam. I used Pilot Frixion pens as I am notorious for writing things quickly and having to erase. In short I didn’t want my exam to look like a hot mess (though now I am worried about another type of hot mess, more on that later). I didn’t read posts until now about the pen heat issue or the ability to use pencils (which I would have used had I known). So aside from obvious commentary about how I could have done by due diligence better, etc. Did anyone use these pens in prior year and pass and did anyone use them this time around and feel confident that the ink disappearing would not be an issue? I am contemplating writing CFA Institute about this item to see if they would accomodate (put an exam in freezer) if the ink erased on its way to C-Ville. I called this morning and they said that I would have received an email if something crazy happened like the entire exam was blank. Of course given how much we have gone through, I’m even paranoid about one answer missing. I guess its good to know the entire exam didn’t disappear and hopefully some of you all can provide some Frixion success stories to ease the anxiety. Thank you all and good luck with your results. Best, JG
You should write to CFAI and ask them for advice regarding this specific brand of writing apparatus. You should probably attach pictures of the pens that you plan to use, as well as handwriting samples to verify legibility. Best of luck.
i would love to hear some of the crazy questions/enqueries that the CFAI get every year before results are released …not giuls21’s question i mean his is TOTALLY legit!..perhaps they can grade the exam in a meat locker
I used this pen. Looks like PhillyBanker used this pen and passed in '09… Winston1 used it in 2010, I assumed he failed, and took it again this year it seems. Maybe he’ll chime in. 
Sorry, I don’t mean this to come across as hostile, but why the f… would you use a novelty pen for a cfa exam? It’ll most probably be fine but you sure set yourself up for some unnecessary worry. Good luck though.
None taken. I had never heard of this problem until today, so I’ve been worry free until today. I noticed when I took the practice exams I was erasing a lot, so it seemed like a good option. It came in handy enough on exam day. If I knew all the issues this particular pen had beforehand, I wouldn’t have used it.
Yeh I’m in the same boat as you. I didn’t view it as a novelty pen and I ended up erasing a ton during the exam (so a regular pen would have been a big time mess). Of course had I known about the ink issue, I wouldn’t have rolled the dice. I think being allowed to use a pencil is confusing. Maybe going forward CFA Institute just needs to formally say pencils are allowed, if indeed they are allowed. I emailed CFA Institute today and made them aware of the issue. Waiting for a response. I’m feeling better though. I left a piece of paper in my car all day today that had Pilot Frixion ink on it and there was no fading.
Hi please can you let me know the outcome of your exams written with the frixion pen. Did the exam fade or was it still in good order at the time of marking.
The candidate has no way of knowing the answer to this: Did the exam fade or was it still in good order at the time of marking.
If you are asking if they did not pass - because of exam fading or other reasons - still no way of knowing an answer to that - that would be a serious mystery - was it because they wrote the right answers (questionable) and the exam faded, or they simply did not write what was required.
If however you have heard the frixion pen fades - over time, do not use it.
I used the Frixion pen and had no issues at all…was able to erase stuff easily, and I passed the exam so my scribbles must still have existed at the time of marking.