I’m sure somebody has asked this few times already… but I want to know from the retakers’ experience how difficult was level ii? Was it because of the way the question asked you? Were there some questions on the exam that you just say what the heck? What makes it really difficult? I would really appreciate somebody can share their experiences here. Thanks.
It’s really all a blur now. I remember thinking it was hard, but not as hard as book 6 exams in Schweser. Ethics was very tricky. It seemed like two correct answers for a lot of questions. FSA wasn’t as hard as L1. Equities tripped me up bad… Quant was just not hard at all (and I barely study it – relatively). I wasn’t surprised that I failed b/c I knew that I screwed up equities (I don’t even recall the issues now). I was a band 9.
They threw a major curve ball with a whole item set on real estate last year. I was underprepared for that for sure. . . maybe 2 of 6. I think that Real Estate counted under equity. . . that may have explained the poor score there.
For ethics, pay attention to what you can and cannot do with the CFA logo. Surprisingly I did ok. Real estate vignette was a b**ch. I think most people bombed this, so it was not a big deal. Quant and Corp Fin were easy. Futures were pretty bad to me (easy to other people I think). Somehow I messed up Econ and it wasn’t because of the BOP. I believe it was something tiny that threw me off. Both FSA and Equities were fair. I drew a blank on some trivial things like sustainable growth rate and normalized EPS. Totally screwed up FI and I couldn’t remember what was on it aside from something relating to tranches and various type of risks. That’s the main point of failure for my L2 last year.
real estate was part of AI and not equity. There were 2 item sets on MF porter and that is what screwed most of us. FSA was easy. Quant, FI and Der were OK. Corp Fin was hard and couldn’t get couple of calculations of NPV correct. Econ, Ethics and PM were very tough…these sections are like 20% of exam. I was more than 70 in FSA and Quant. Othere were in between and econ was less than 70 (only one itemset)…Band 10
Yea, Last year was a mess. The afternoon ethics was all Research and Objectivity Standards, so if you didn’t focus on the random supplemental ethics stuff…you were looking at a whole vignette messing you up, as opposed to one problem. Real estate also got a vignette, and it was not emphasized much in the study material. What else, derivatives were very tricky last year, much less calculation, but focused on the depth of your understanding of the instruments. Quant was not tested very hard, i spent countless hours going over time series and issues concerning regression (autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity, ect.) So that was a waste. I know its ridiculous, but it almost seems as if the CFAI loves to pick little things to test. They test the big stuff as well, but have no problem leaving out something massive like one of the Equity Valuation models in favor of a tiny topic (relatively) like Real Estate last year. You obviously need to focus on the big stuff and master it, but definitely expect them to have at least a few vignettes on very minor topics.
cfaboston28 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > real estate was part of AI and not equity. There > were 2 item sets on MF porter and that is what > screwed most of us. > > FSA was easy. Quant, FI and Der were OK. Corp Fin > was hard and couldn’t get couple of calculations > of NPV correct. > > Econ, Ethics and PM were very tough…these > sections are like 20% of exam. > > I was more than 70 in FSA and Quant. Othere were > in between and econ was less than 70 (only one > itemset)…Band 10 2 questions. 1. What is MF? 2. Are you saying you get 70+ on FSA and Quant, less than 50% on econ, and between 50 and 70 on everything else??
bad word… bad mouthing…
1 MF = mofo 2- Yes
2 items sets on porters 5 forces?? wtf?
DELETE – I listed my scores…but the past is the past
planner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > DELETE – I listed my scores…but the past is the > past Do it man
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Okay. Okay… Okay. Alt Inv > 70 It’s true. I looked at the formulas as I was sitting in my car just prior to the test. Another one. Okay. FSA > 70. Killed it. Don’t think I missed a one. I’m really going now. Fixed income > 70. I knew I passed that one. That’s all for now. I want to think positively. Well, considering one vignette each for quant, econ and PM. I got 4/6 in each w/o much study in those topics (relatively).
I think what we retakers learned is that, it’s very difficult to “wing in” and pass L2 by concentrating on certain section. CFAI know our blind spots and would lay traps for us. This is why this year I am taking a more comprehensive approach towards reviewing the curriculum. I don’t need any 80% in any particular section; all I need is consistent 70s% in all section. What this also means is that, it takes a lot more work to review the curriculum to make sure you got all the details. That’s why L2 is such a b**ch to pass. But look at the bright side, once you pass L2 it’s done for life. The 4/6 rule (getting 4 out of 6 questions right per vignette) seems to be a good rule of thumb to follow on the exam. Remember: it’s not 4/6 of the whole exam; it’s getting 4/6 correct consistently over all areas so that you get 4/6 over the whole exam.
> 2 questions. > > 1. What is MF? > 2. Are you saying you get 70+ on FSA and Quant, > less than 50% on econ, and between 50 and 70 on > everything else?? I don’t understand how you didn’t pass - guessing you were on the line and maybe F-d up Ethics (CFAI’s baby and only material they have actually created themselves)? Would be nice to get some full disclosure CFAI-style on how you did, and specifically where you went wrong. Would it be crazy to ask for your “graded” test back to see the problems you got wrong? I find it funny that the CFAI is all about being 100% clear and concise - full disclosure when reporting performance, when their pass/fail “disclosure” is kind of a joke.
Well said. Wangta01.
L3 lurking here on a study break. Guys, you need to know the curriculum inside and out. There just aren’t any shortcuts at L2. CFAI tests a number of minor, obscure topics intentionally in order to separate those who have mastered the entire curriculum from those who simply hit the high points. Most people will score well on the main topics. To separate and pass you need to also score well on the obscure stuff. The devil’s in the details at L2. Also, I wouldn’t let what they tested or didn’t test last year drive your studying focus. Just because they had minimal quant last year, it doesn’t mean they won’t slam you with time series and multiple regression this year just to mix things up a bit.
hey guys, anyone remembers how the ethics questions looked like? I saw someone mentioning a logo question, I think CFAI loves asking that question, I sat for L1 on Dec, 07 and I remember seeing a question on this. Any otrher clues? Thanks M.
One ethics item set was easy, black and white, knew each answer. The other - it was sooo incredibly grey. Three of the four answers could have been right for every Q. The entire item set was intentionally structured to be very subjective. Nobody I spoke with knew whether they answered correctly or not. It is all subject to intrepretation. CFAI can essentially make the Ethics Qs as difficult as they want. Expect a mix, but don’t expect too many gimmes such as logo related Qs.