Has anybody received CAIA level 1 Results yet?
i think they release them next week or something. i haven’ bothered to check.
How do you think you did?
I’m getting my results oct. 9th. You got your results already? I think I passed.
How did you prepare for the exam? Did you read all of the assigned readings? I did not get my results yet.
I only read the Anson Alt. Investment textbook (~45%) of the exam once and used the Hedge fund quant textbook as a reference when I studied the kaplan notes. I also did 2.5 practice exams. (along with reading the notes 1.5 times) Overall, I understudied badly, and made a few idiotic mistakes but not enough to fail (I think).
I have enough degrees and letters these days that I don’t feel the need to collect any more, but two questions anyway: 1) Compared to CFA stuff, was the exam hard in terms of the level of effort required for a decent chance of passing? 2) Is the material intrinsically interesting and different from the CFA stuff?
- No - a single reading of the material is probably sufficient to pass assuming some financial/CFA background 2) Yes there is little overlap. I am a CFA and FRM holder. I found the CAIA material to be pretty complentary. I hear you on collecting more degrees. My approach is that I am after additional knowledge not necessariyl the designation. If I get the CAIA designation, I will not use it on the business card. Again, my primary motivator is the additional knowledge and moitvation to keep the mind proactive/hungry/aggressive not just getting another degree/designation.
mbhasin, how is the difficulty level of the CAIA level 1 comparable to the FRM? The CAIA level 2 is an essay test:(…
i think the most important question here is: did anyone not gain any knowledge from teh CAIA exams or studies?
I don’t think that’s possible. I remember talking to a married guy with 7 years Hedge fund-of-funds analyst experience that told me he failed…
stern, i think he is lying to you. no way after 7 years of HF experience you can fail. if he did, please give me his number, i think he owes me a job.
No, he was serious. He told me that he had no time to do practice exams and only read the kaplan notes once and bombed it. The man has a wife and wasn’t very serious about the exam. He’s retaking it.
what were his thoughts on CAIA? did he recommend you to take it? i think only like 20 people from Toronto took it. there were like 4 people with me who took the CAIA. i’m very proud to be part of this. its halirious. i’m looking forward to L2. i saw the books and they look great though I did hold out on buying them. Either way, if L2 is as fun as L1, this is going to be one of those good studying periods.
CAIA holders are concentrated mostly in New york and London. (where the hedge funds are…) I went during the last test day and I took the exam with about 20 others (For my particular test hours), most of them were at least 10-20 years older than me… I was clearly the youngest one. There were morning sessions and a significant amount of people talking outside of the center during either their break or finishing up. There were 21 days to take the exam (with flexible, day long times) in new york, so I’m sure there was probably around the same amount. It didn’t seem too shabby at all. I don’t know how many took it in the new york area this season, but there’s around 10-12,000 CAIA charterholders and candidates since the program was launched 5 years ago. I’m taking the course for the education and the thumbs up on the resume, not as a deal breaker. This is not the CPA or CFA.
10-12k charterholders? wtf. i gotta check this out. i thought there were only like 2000.
my bad, it’s 9,900 charterholders and candidates these past few years.
Sternwolf, The FRM is much more challenging than the CAIA. Take a look at the Study Guide for the FRM as it is much more daunting. Overall, I found the CFA, FRM/PRM and CAIA to be complementary to each other with little material overlap.
Sternwolf, I agree with you on the education. These designations such as the CAIA facilitate the studying of books and educational material. One would generally not be so intense in reading the material if not for the exam and money expended. As we get older, we tend to get complacent. I think it is really important to stay proactive and hungry and keep the mind and your education up to date. I think it is worth the money in the long run. Remember, the primary purpose of education is enhancement of the soul and mind.
Great post Stern, and you’re absolutely correct. These exams are not to make us experts or the way to riches, but it’s a tool, a basic foundation, and how we utilize the information and education that takes us to the promise land. I’ve always wondered wy Professors, who are the smartest in the world, are also the poorest. Perhaps they don’t know how to use the knowledge they have acquired.