first topic

hey guys,

I intend to start my level 2 prep soon. I would like to know from you guys which subject to start off with ? I was thinking of tackling the heavy weights first (equity, fra). Would like some advise on this front.

Thanks.

I went for equity first as it is easier to digest compared to FRA (although I ended up scoring better in FRA than equity haha)

I used the Schweser program for level 2. I followed the program, which had you learn quants first, and it proceeded in order after that. Notably, ethics was the last section to study in the Schweser program. It was adequate, I must admit.

My only warning to you is make sure you study ethics thoroughly. It is easy to rush through it or not allocate enough time for it since it is the last section to study for. I didn’t give it enough studying, and it ended up being the area that I was nervous for on the exam.

Make sure to give enough time to study ethics.

I wouldn’t personally start with Ethics – you’ll need to remember it but it’s somewhat similar to L1 and the only way you’ll get it is by reading and remembering the material and drilling problems later, IMHO you can read over it now but you can fully expect to need to read over it again.

I tended to go in order in the book, but if you can I’d definitely do the John Harris accounting workshops to supplement your knowledge of FRA when you get there in the spring. If you’re worried about accounting, maybe do a first pass at FRA or Equity now to start.

I followed this order.

https://www.300hours.com/articles/what-is-the-most-effective-level-ii-cfa-exam-study-session-order#.WX9UO4TyvIU

quant - econ - FRA - CF - EQT - Fixed - deriv - alts - PM - ethics (per schweser).

Really have to dig deep for the fixed and derivatives stretch but it’s good to end on Alts, PM, and ethics. As people mentioned, make sure to study the ethics hard. The baseline studying that I did for level 1 was not sufficient for level 2 ethics.

makes no difference!

^+1…doesn’t matter. Just go in order but leave ethics for last.

I’d say it generally makes no difference, but I might recommend starting with the heavier weighted/longer sections of the material first. Reason being is you’re likely to spend a few weeks on those topics (i.e., FRA, equity, etc.) and might have more stamina at the beginning to stick to the same topic for a prolonger period of time. It’s nice, towards the end of the curriculum, to cover shorter topics that you get through quicker (keeps you more engaged in my opinion) like alts, ethics, econ.

The key is . . . start.

I don’t think it makes a big difference but I would echo what some have posted here with respect to nailing down the big topics early. If you struggle with aspects of FRA, for example, it’d be good to know in advance when you still have chance to do something about it, as you’re going to see alot of questions on it. I found equity very mechanically, so getting to question practise early helped me save time in the exam as it was almost automated for me at that point. Quants, fixed income and derivatives I did back to back as they are quite closely related at times. I left ethics till last and scored badly in that area so I wouldn’t advocate leaving it entirely till the last minute.

Whichever order you choose, get onto question practice as soon as possible…

SL

Hi folks,

I have made concerted efforts to prepare my hand-written notes while preparing for Level II. Inevitably, I believe this would be of much help to you all. It is strictly according to the curriculum. The notes contain very important points as in:

1. Mock appeared topics/lines

2. Lifeline (any sentence/formulae) which forms the foundation of any topic; the triggering part.

For brevity, it is the crux of curriculum, so don’t consider it to be a substitute of curriculum. For deep digging and best understanding, would recommend you to read curriculum or Schweser whichever you want.

You can share your mail id over here. Will mail you the files thereon.

All the best.

Thanks. Please mail to vn_shankar1@rediffmail.com

Heavier weighted topics like Equity and FRA. This will allow you to revisit them more than twice.