I think most of you have little to no idea what you are talking about. I passed both levels relatively easy (obviously hard to tell what exactly my score was). I think the tests are poorly written which makes them ‘difficult’. I don’t think the material is ‘hard’. I do think there is a lot of it which adds to the challenge. What I don’t understand is the ridiculous logic that the test should be made ‘more difficult’ and the charter a ‘bit more difficult to earn’. Again, only 6 of 100 people who started with me in June 2008 (ignoring retakers and assuming a 50% L3 pass/fail) will finish in June 2010. How much more difficult would you all want it? Only 1 out of 100 pass the 1st go round? The test itself is thought by many to be the equivalent to a Masters in Finance. Does anyone know a graduate program that will pass only 6% of students its 1st time through? People worry about the dilution of the charter need to wake the hell up. The designation might get you in the door somewhere but it isn’t the holy grail. It will not be relevant throughout your career. It will not make you a made man or woman. It seems the people who fear for its dilution are simply terrified that their golden goose might not be just that. Again, people who want the test to be more difficult what percentage of people should pass each test their 1st time through? Seriously, I want to hear your opinions. Further, wouldn’t it be disingenuous of the institute to manipulate their pass/fails to pass or fail a certain percentage each year? Level 1 was historically high, not because it was easier this go around, but because there are a lot of unemployed individuals who realize that they need to get more education to get back in the game. This is also why this past year MBA applications were through the roof. But I digress…again, what percentage of people should pass each test their 1st time through? Is 6% really too high? Are 9k new charterholders annually too many? Are people afraid of the competition? I can’t honestly understand why someone would be bitching about this. And Skillionaire, I am an arrogant asshole also. That is why i could care less how many people are moved through this program (within reason obviously). I am going to make it, a few percent less people with this designation does not help me…a few percent more people with this designation does not hurt me. Whatever.
One thing I agree with Delta is that the way the exam was written isn’t the best one. So overall, I found the exam was tricky, but not difficult. The way the results were reported have too much leeway, it’s difficult to get an accurate readings on how one performs (and to improves based on the experience). P.S. I have completed graduate studies before. And I can tell you that even at Ph.D. level, most professors prefer their students to finish, GTFO, get laid and pay alumni fees to the University. (If a student doesn’t finish, he is either very dumb or very smart. It is rarely the professor’s will.) The pass rate of CFA curriculum is by no mean close to what graduate studies would be like. P.P.S. Let’s face it too. Investment business is competitive. You won’t get too far with skills or the CFA charter alone. You need rich clients.
this exam is very difficult…if u want to make it still tougher please wait till i m done with it
Kamilio, I am indifferent on your comment to be honest. I would like to see them break down the exam and turn it into multiple exams that could be written during multiple times during the year so you can master a portion of the material and move on. If the CFAI did this I would really not care how high the passing mark would be. It would have been nice to see the new tax portion on the exam IMO. I think there is a case for many people on this forum that failed and they know the information just as well as anyone else. Best Regards to all who passed or failed!
skillionaire Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > If you have a problem with my opinion, why don’t > you state your own opinion or, (and this would be > my preference), simply stay silent on the matter > as opposed to sounding like a toddler. That was exactly my opinion in my previous post… One has to look at the entire exam… prep material, exam duration and questions. One has to know a lot for level 2 compared to 1, now if one is gud with most of the prep material, he/she may feel the real exam easy or easier… Now hypocrites, not saying u r one lol, don’t come out and declare that exam wasn’t that tough or sud be made tougher… but lacked BALLS to do the same even just a Day before the results !!!.. ohh sorry it took more than 2 months to comprehend !! U say what u want to say and to just be on a safer side tell sth sooo obvious “not a right time to discuss” - \ And i don’t need some advise from you to keep silent or not… so shut the *&%$* up… The real deal is, people get carried away in the heat of new success… and try to give some subtle airs abt themselves or wud like to see whatever have have achived to be the best… so now since u have achived this feet… u want it to be more tough, which by itself isn’t wrong, bu if u really want, go ahead there r soo many other toughest things to achieve… !!!
Very poor taste, OP, at this very moment.
Vdoddapa, unless you’re texting from an ancient phone which lacks a keyboard, your spelling/typing is obnoxious. Secondly, you must be somewhat new to the forum, as you can certainly run a check of my posts, and leading up to the test I said the same thing regarding toughness, and also (tongue-in-cheek, but to the point) declared that I might get the first ever perfect score on Level II. So we’ve now concluded that I’m not a hypocrite, your typing is equivalent to a 4th grader texting, and I apologize if I tried to have some compassion for the people who failed yesterday by telling the OP that it wasn’t a good day to have this discussion; that really makes me a monster. "One has to know a lot for level 2 compared to 1, now if one is gud with most of the prep material, he/she may feel the real exam easy or easier… " Lol, boy, you don’t say? So you’re saying that if I study harder and “get” the prep material better than most, that perhaps the test will be easier for me than most? Weird… "but lacked BALLS to do the same even just a Day before the results !!!.. " Run a search on my posts BEFORE WE EVEN TOOK THE TEST, please. “The real deal is, people get carried away in the heat of new success… and try to give some subtle airs abt themselves or wud like to see whatever have have achived to be the best” I honestly have no idea what you’re trying to say here - perhaps someone could translate for me? So now onto Delta… “I think most of you have little to no idea what you are talking about.” Comes out swinging, I like it. “I think the tests are poorly written which makes them ‘difficult’. I don’t think the material is ‘hard’.” See my comment vis a vis “tests are easy but tricky”, seems to be pretty similar. “Again, only 6 of 100 people who started with me in June 2008 (ignoring retakers and assuming a 50% L3 pass/fail) will finish in June 2010. How much more difficult would you all want it?” Wow am I gonna take some heat for this answer, but here goes…the percentage of people who pass the test on the first time (to me) is beyond irrelevant, because you’re allowed to take all tests as many times as you’d like, with the 7 or 9 year window or something like that. To me, it’s the limitless retakes that somewhat tarnish the image of the charter - don’t think that you should have to go 3/3 to get the charter, but do you think that someone who fails every level 5 times before passing and someone who goes 3/3 are of the same “caliber”? And please spare me the left-wing “I almost think the person who takes fifteen years is more indicative of the determination needed for a CFA” (which I saw someone type in another thread). “People worry about the dilution of the charter need to wake the hell up. The designation might get you in the door somewhere but it isn’t the holy grail. It will not be relevant throughout your career. It will not make you a made man or woman. It seems the people who fear for its dilution are simply terrified that their golden goose might not be just that.” I’m already in most doors I need to be into and don’t really need the charter, but as long as I’m going for it, I’d like it to mean something.
agrover Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > what a dumb thing to say…u knew the range of the > passing rates before you gave the exam…then u > shudnt hav given cfa if u think passing rates r > too high…i know i busted my ass off for this > thing…cleared level 1 in dec 08 and lvl 2 in > jun09. Its not easy . All i can say is that if u > clear CFA it shows tht u r a hard working , > intelligent guy. thats it…u r not a fund > manager…thats y cfa asks for 4 yrs of experience > …b4 u bcum a CFA > i dont think it shows anything else…mayb u r too > lucky too pass given the number of hours u spent… This is a bit off-topic, but when did the English language devolve into text-message-speak? I can barely even decipher this.
"Now hypocrites, not saying u r one lol, don’t come out and declare that exam wasn’t that tough or sud be made tougher… but lacked BALLS to do the same even just a Day before the results !!!.. ohh sorry it took more than 2 months to comprehend !! " Re: What will happen if you fail? (mini survey) Posted by: skillionaire (IP Logged) [hide posts from this user] Date: June 8, 2009 02:21PM If I fail, I’ve all got bigger things to worry about than retaking Level II, because if I failed that test, I’m pretty sure the Apocalypse is upon us. If you see a large red man with horns on head and a pitchfork come out of the ground on August 18th, you should instantly think to yourself “oh, Skillionaire must’ve failed, @#$%&”.
Yes the passing rate is about 45% for each level but lets consider, how many of those people actually studied as hard as we AFers did? The AFers passing rate is definitely skewed positively. One of the reasons why I took want a CFA charter is because that it is seems/sounds prestigious (and of course you gain valuable knowledge). If the passing rate was so high, then in a few years there will be too many charter holders and the charter will be less valuable. Isn’t MBA the same case or perhaps even a college degree from 50 years ago? Therefore if the test was harder, less people will pass and it will be more valuable for us who passed. If CFA was easy, I definitely would not be attempting it… It is like hall of fame of sports, each year only a certain amount of people get through… Maybe CFA institute should consider something similar before the CFA name gets ruined…
skillionaire Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Now hypocrites, not saying u r one lol, don’t > come out and declare that exam wasn’t that tough > or sud be made tougher… but lacked BALLS to do > the same even just a Day before the results !!!.. > ohh sorry it took more than 2 months to comprehend > !! " > > > Re: What will happen if you fail? (mini survey) > Posted by: skillionaire (IP Logged) > Date: June 8, 2009 02:21PM > > > If I fail, I’ve all got bigger things to worry > about than retaking Level II, because if I failed > that test, I’m pretty sure the Apocalypse is upon > us. > > If you see a large red man with horns on head and > a pitchfork come out of the ground on August 18th, > you should instantly think to yourself “oh, > Skillionaire must’ve failed, @#$%&”. This is bad ass Skill.
skillionaire Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Now hypocrites, not saying u r one lol, don’t > come out and declare that exam wasn’t that tough > or sud be made tougher… but lacked BALLS to do > the same even just a Day before the results !!!.. > ohh sorry it took more than 2 months to comprehend > !! " > > > Re: What will happen if you fail? (mini survey) > Posted by: skillionaire (IP Logged) > Date: June 8, 2009 02:21PM > > > If I fail, I’ve all got bigger things to worry > about than retaking Level II, because if I failed > that test, I’m pretty sure the Apocalypse is upon > us. > > If you see a large red man with horns on head and > a pitchfork come out of the ground on August 18th, > you should instantly think to yourself “oh, > Skillionaire must’ve failed, @#$%&”. OK, I rarely post, but this is too d@mn good. Some questionable comments were made no doubt about it, but my question to the original poster is simple, what would making this exam “harder” accomplish exactly? Are you insinuating that the 6hrs worth of questions doesn’t adequately cover the material? Its not meant to identify the .01% of idiot savants out there across the world (no offence intended) Also, I disagree that the exam is “easy” but “tricky”. This isn’t a pure quant exam, nor is it intended by the CFA Institute to be. Thus, the way to make the exam “hard” is to ensure that the questions test your ability to solve a problem by utilizing the theories or applications meant to be tested. Im not saying there is no ambiguity (one of my original complaints) in amongst the answers, but I am saying that if you got to sit down after the exam, go through the ?'s with your study material and really think without time constraints you would remove the majority of your questions/remarks about the level of ambiguity. I think pppl tend to forget that there are many sets of very intelligent eyes that review the quesitons/answers continually to ensure that the purpose, integrity, and values that signify the charter is captured in the 6 hr exam. Skillionaire - WOw, after that last post you really are cocky… PS - I passed LI (2008) and LII yesterday (squeaked by though…) whew.
Mwvt9, congrats on being done with this program, kiddo - pretty funny that after I gave you that pep talk last year about having to sit for the exam I was actually the one who didn’t take it (couldn’t pass up traveling the world for two months).
skillionaire Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mwvt9, congrats on being done with this program, > kiddo - pretty funny that after I gave you that > pep talk last year about having to sit for the > exam I was actually the one who didn’t take it > (couldn’t pass up traveling the world for two > months). Heh, I did the same thing - was supposed to take lvl 2 last year but bailed to travel the world before bschool. Was totally worth…I miss those days…
I went on a money raising mission with my boss for two new funds, but the nights in different cities were, IMHO, much better spent chasing tail than having my head in a book. You’re only young once.
Skillionaire what’s your field ? PE ? Mutual und ?
this is total bs. The exam is plenty f*cking hard. Essentially this exam is the great equalizer for all those qho didnt get to go to a top 10 undergrad and top 5 MBA school to get us in the door at great firms. Just like the CFAI ethics section says, having the charter DOES NOT guarantee any kind of performance…that is left to the talent of the individual which will alwyas pervail in the long run. These exams demonstrate a certain level of competence of an individual.
Used to be PE, than a fixed income hedge fund. Now golf 
@ Skillionaire We may have to disagree, as the percentage of people who pass on he 1st time is indeed relevant. It is the truest test of the nature of the exam. An easy series of tests will lead to more people passing 3/3. A tougher test, obviously, will lead to lesss. What is truly irrelevant is the person that takes 15 years to achieve the charter. Who cares at that point? You and I will have enjoyed our charter for the better part of 12 years by that point. Your difference in ‘caliber’ will be rewarded by many many years of employing the charter and using its benefits. And I am a liberal, and 15 years in this program would indicate great determination, but that is not to say that that person is more determined than anyone who goes 3/3. Skill, you sound like a smart guy. And I appreciate that, as stupidity irks me. And between you and I the ‘upper crust’, lets be honest with one another. Neither of us would go after this Charter if it didn’t ‘mean something’. And 9k people obtaining it annually is almost immaterial. How many people get MBAs every year? Quantitative Engineering graduate degrees? Or Masters in Finance? The CFA is in no danger of being diluted anytime within our appreciable lifespans. Don’t worry about it.
Yeah man, I’m over this discussion as well - good luck on Level III, from what I hear we’re gonna need it.