I just finished organizing the materials for the exam and laying out an attack plan… here’s a (very) approximate page count: 1. 1200 [free readings] 2. 2000 [all paid readings, Hull (not included but) estimated at ~200 pages] 3. 1400 [Schweser Books 1-5 + practice exam book] 4. 550 [Schweser QBank, print-out estimate] 5. 700 [Jorion] 6. 550 [past/practice GARP FRM exams 200x, x={0,1,2,3,6,7,8}] = 6400 [total] -------------------------------------------------- Comments: 1. I think you can get by even when neglecting a significant portion of the free/paid readings and Jorion since it appears that Schweser did a good job. [I’m open to being corrected on this point, lol.] 2. This page count is an upper limit, I estimate the effective number of pages to be about half. 3. Only 138 days left. 4. Holy crap, ZOMG!
I have started with Phillipe Jorion (4th edition) as of now. Have already completed the operational risk part. I need to finish off with Jorion in about 15 days time… i.e. by the 15th of the month! Then I plan on taking one-two of the GARP official tests to find out which are the areas that require focus. I start with Schweser material thereafter and try and finish the stuff by around September 15… ie approximately 60 days. October and November should be enough for Qbank and quicksheet and other test papers. >>> This seems to be the ideal game plan as of now, given my situation and considering the fact that I can’t expect myself to read up and retain more than 25-30 pages each day! People one thing is missing here… we do NOT have an active forum (its just this thread that we have) to discuss individual questions. If anyone of you took the CFA L1, you probably know what I am talking about… discussions on each and every question and a thread for the same used to help us all a lot! Chad, is it viable for you to add a forum for FRM too?? Try and see if you can get schweser and Bionic Turtle to pay-up for maintenance!!! Others please pitch in with your ideas as to how we should go about!!
I’ve just listened to the introductory kick-off lecture by S******* and they mentioned that Jorion’s handbook hasn’t been revised since they (GARP) shifted the contents of the exam, so they warned that Jorion’s book might be slightly out of date. Is anyone of you posting on GARP’s discussion forum? They’ve got two: one for forming study groups and one for more general questions.
bionicturtle has a great forum. i believe it is free for non paying members as well
Ya Bionic Turtle Forum is also good and for non-paying memebers as well. But we are so addicted to watching this forum. I suggest to perhaps adding a one more tab to this will work.
Guys …Schweser notes for CFA are really good. But happened to look last year FRM notes by Schweser. To me they looked very inadequate. Did anyone use those notes last year?
Maybe this thread is good to discuss “about” the FRM, whereas another forum and/or section of AnalstForum might be good to discuss the concepts/questions/calculations/etc. in the FRM itself. The mission of AnalystForum is: “To provide every CFA® charterholder and candidate with the information and communication necessary to advance the profession to its highest level.” I think that it would serve the mission well to have another section in AnalystForum dedicated to “other designations” since it seems CFA charterholders are pursuing other designations to supplement their CFA charter to enhance their professional skills. [Notice the language…I’m implying…and do believe…that the CFA program is the core.] Chad, what do you think?
I just started with the Shweser material. Do you need to do the other readings?
In that case Chad should do the CPA (taken by more people), MBA, and PRM as well.
All I have to say, PtrainerNY…is that PRM sucks!!! 
amoynahan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just started with the Shweser material. Do you > need to do the other readings? I think Schweser is a good guide, but a bit skimpy on the details in some areas. For example, I just finished up reading Schweser Volume 2 and it seems they do a lot of just stating equations out of nowhere and you just have to memorize them to plug/chug…like the important BSM equation! I hate just taking equations as given without seeing the derivations, and I’m definitely going to read Hull (and the other source materials) for a better understanding and proofs. In the end, I think you can still pass the exam if you treat equations as “black boxes” without too much actual understanding. For me, I’m treating the FRM as a good starting point (since the threshold to pass is pretty low and IMO not really indicative of too much) to learn about risk management, nothing as a huge end in itself. I think to “do” risk management, instead of “knowing about” general risk management concepts, you need at least a master’s level understanding…something I estimate is at the very least 5x FRM in terms of depth and breadth.
Perhaps my lack of respect for simply passing the FRM was due to the thread below…horrible scores and funny/insecure comments…but yet still “pass.” http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?1,649371,page=1
Is the PRM really easier than the CAIA? I’m surprised…
Is the PRM really easier than the CAIA? I’m surprised…
sternwolf, by using “PRM” up there, did you mean “FRM”? If so, I am referring to: 1. the skimpiness of Schweser notes (but still their being a very good guide nonethless) 2. my guess as to what actual risk management entails…which I estimate is a lot harder than simply passing the FRM 3. not necessarily making a statement FRM or CAIA (though if I were forced to, and also putting aside the obvious points of the different nature/aim/scope of these different exams, I would opine that the “workload” (and difficulty level) is something approximately like… CAIA L1 + CAIA L2 = FRM . I know this is a hard comparison to make, if even possible, but that’s a first order, imperfect, fuzzy comparison) [Just very obsessive since I’m facing such a ridiculously large volume of material and tests in the next two years.]
Dsylexic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am using bionicturtle -excellent screencasts. In what way “excellent”? Excellent as in you finding the material easy to understand and questions easy to solve, or excellent as in a good and entertaining lecturer?
I was talking about the PRM…I think on an earlier post you said it was actually easier than the CAIA…
MehdiOchre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dsylexic Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I am using bionicturtle -excellent screencasts. > > In what way “excellent”? Excellent as in you > finding the material easy to understand and > questions easy to solve, or excellent as in a good > and entertaining lecturer? to the point,covers all AIMS, top class visuals .not entertaining at all - i am not a fan of David Harper’s voice. if you learn better with visual aids, BT will be a good choice. They have additional spreadsheets to explain the more abstruse concepts . there arent many quizzes uploaded yet,but DH insists on writing up new questions every year.so there arent recycled and outdated questions like schweser q bank.
sternwolf Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was talking about the PRM…I think on an > earlier post you said it was actually easier than > the CAIA… I was basing my opinion on the fact that it seems “only” Level 3 PRM is anything special or difficult, with the other levels being standard covered CFA material. So if you aren’t doing CFA, maybe my rankings are off… Furthermore, there is decent potential that I’m being an assclown and not know what I’m talking about since I haven’t completed any of them yet…these opinions are all based on the AF search function and what little time I’ve spent studying for these tests. My opinions will have more weight after I’ve completed all of the designations…hopefully in two years.
How do I watch the FRM Kick Off from Schweser? I called them and they say there is no kick off. What’s the dilleo?