FRM,CAIA exam preparation

bostonkev Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sternwolf Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > btw, did anyone get the uppermark/kaplan > > flashcards for lv. 2/or level 1? Are they any > > good? > > Flashcards for Schweser CAIA L1 are “very” good. > > > Of course you do lose the detailed writing, > graphs, and calculations…but everything else is > there pretty much. > > They are pretty much the two volumes worth in > flashcard form. How many flashcards? Is it one for every los? Did it help alot for you? I’m considering getting them for lv.2

One for every learning "sub-"outcome, like 5.1a, 5.1b, etc. I haven’t really used them yet, but will keep you posted.

@bostonkev: Have you managed to get the Q-Bank working? If you did, how many questions are there? Thanks.

@TooNice: I don’t have access to it yet. 1. The product availability page still doesn’t list it as “Now Available” [http://www.schweser.com/products/availability.php?new_level=caia_1s] 2. Classes don’t start until July 9, so I think it’s still a bit early. [I didn’t get the package with the lectures.]

TooNice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @bostonkev: Could you please let us know how many > questions is in the Q-Bank once it works? There are 1275 questions total, here’s the breakdown. Category Total Viewed Incorrect Used Score CAIA - Level 1 for September 2008 1275 0 0 0% 0% Quantitative Methods 468 0 0 0% 0% 1: Characteristics of Hedge Funds 45 0 0 0% 0% 2: Measuring Return 50 0 0 0% 0% 3: Return and Risk Statistics 50 0 0 0% 0% 4: Risk-Adjusted Performance Measures 27 0 0 0% 0% 5: Databases, Indices, and Benchmarks 25 0 0 0% 0% 6: Covariance and Correlation 30 0 0 0% 0% 7: Regression Analysis 55 0 0 0% 0% 8: Asset Pricing Models 49 0 0 0% 0% 9: Styles, Clusters, and Classification 55 0 0 0% 0% 10: Benefits and Risks Revisited 14 0 0 0% 0% 11: Strategic Asset Allocation 31 0 0 0% 0% 12: Risk Measurement and Management 37 0 0 0% 0% Professional Standards and Ethics 124 0 0 0% 0% 13: CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct 37 0 0 0% 0% 14: CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct 50 0 0 0% 0% 15: CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct 37 0 0 0% 0% Real Estate 123 0 0 0% 0% 16: Introduction to Real Estate Valuation 51 0 0 0% 0% 17: Debt and Mortgages 35 0 0 0% 0% 18: Real Estate Returns 37 0 0 0% 0% Hedge Funds 217 0 0 0% 0% 19: Introduction to Hedge Funds 51 0 0 0% 0% 20: Establishing a Hedge Fund Investment Program 30 0 0 0% 0% 21: Due Diligence 51 0 0 0% 0% 22: Risk Management 47 0 0 0% 0% 23: Regulation of Hedge Funds 38 0 0 0% 0% Commodities and Managed Futures 157 0 0 0% 0% 24: Introduction to Commodity Markets 44 0 0 0% 0% 25: Investing in Commodity Futures 57 0 0 0% 0% 26: Commodity Futures in a Portfolio Context 19 0 0 0% 0% 27: Managed Futures 37 0 0 0% 0% Private Equity 123 0 0 0% 0% 28: Introduction to Private Equity 73 0 0 0% 0% 29: Performance Measurement for Private Equity 28 0 0 0% 0% 30: Trends in Private Equity 22 0 0 0% 0% Credit Derivatives 63 0 0 0% 0% 31: Introduction to Credit Derivatives 32 0 0 0% 0% 32: Introduction to Collateralized Debt Obligations 31 0 0 0% 0%

Thanks bostonkev, that was very helpful.

for FRM: it depends on your background. if you are quant and/or passed CFA level 1 or have finance background then either Jorion or Schweser should be enough. I compared different Jorion editions,and they are not very different one from another. As far as actual preparation: I read jorion for 2 weeks (I took vacation), and my friend read schweser for a month, both passed CFA level 1 =>both passed FRM. The exam was freaking hard, I and 3 of my friends could not believe we passed. Why? They tested material that was not covered in their required readings. A friend with PRM and CFA said it was unbelievable. So, I think it really did not matter what we used for preparation. If I am to take it again, I would try Schweser, I hated Jorion…it does not explain anything, problem sets were weak. But I can’t compare. I also used Hull (Options& derivatives) and highly recommend this book. I used it in my grad program, so I knew most of it. I would personally recommend PRM, I liked their materials much better than FRM, plus you get the flexibility of taking it in 4 parts (easier), and if you get your CFA charter then they waive 2 sections.

DO we get curriculum when we register for the CAIA exams?? Like we do for CFA?? How much volume of pages are we talking about here? Thank you, Anish

anishcandy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > DO we get curriculum when we register for the CAIA > exams?? Like we do for CFA?? > How much volume of pages are we talking about > here? > > > Thank you, > > Anish Hi anishcandy, You do not get a curriculum…you have to buy it yourself. For Level CAIA L1, books include: 1. Anson - Handbook of Alternative Assets [~700 pages] 2. Lhabitant - Hedge Funds: Quantitative Insights [~330 pages] 3. Linneman - Real Estate Finance and Investments [~280 pages] I have the books and Schweser for CAIA L1. IMO, you don’t need the curriculum since Schweser does such an excellent job and has: 1. Book 1 [~400 pages] 2. Book 2 [~375 pages] 3. Book 3 - Two Exams [~135 pages] 4. Qbank - 1275 questions 5. Classes - I didn’t choose this option, find out more at http://www.schweser.com/caia.php I can’t say anything for CAIA L2, which is an additional 5 books [sold separately] and ~20 papers [you can buy these from them]. Find more at http://www.caia.org/curriculumreadings/

Thanks bostonkev, Compare with UpperMark CAIA level1, 1.Book 1(300pages) 2.Book 2(270pages) 3.Book 3(200pages) Questions are include in the each book. 4.Qbank- 1130 questions. I’m not sure yet, but schwerser seems like better. How is the level of difficulty of those Qbank questions? UpperMark ones seems too easy. Every questions are so straight forward. Also Can you print out every questions with explanation for Schweser Online Qbanks? Thanks.

Hi steve0721, I haven’t done the questions yet, but you can print out questions and answers.

Thanks a lot bostonKev. That helps. Edit: I know that they change the curriculum for every exam, do they change the books mentioned on their website also? If I get 2008 books from somebody would I be able to use it for March 2009? Appreciate your response. Anish

For level 1, they didn’t change from 3/2008 to 9/2008. I think its highly unlikely that they will change from 9/2008 to 3/2009, but it’s still possible.

i think they probably would. Thanks anyways.

As a warning, you might get sick of looking at the guy’s smirk on the front cover of the Schweser CAIA, lol. If he took CFA, he probably wouldn’t be smirking so much.

I went for UpperMark in the end because I wanted the Quant package. I also recently found that they don’t answer emails. So from the looks of it, Schweser is the better buy, and will probably jump ship for Level 2, provided that you can still vouch for it after the exam.

I’m pretty much done reading the CAIA Level 1 study notes (2 volumes). They are so good as “test preparation” that I wish I hadn’t wasted any time skimming the original source textbooks before. I estimate that Schweser CAIA 1. cut my study time in half - since simply trying to get the right bullet points for each of the learning outcomes is massive labor…but they do it all for you and 2. increased my passing probability to ~100% - not exaggerating, that’s how good I think the Schweser CAIA notes/QBank are However, I will go back and reread the original texts later for my own knowledge base.

How long did it take you to go over the two volumes in Schweser, and do you mind saying a little more about your background? I expect to get the books here sometime this week and will start immediately once I get them. Looking at my summer plans, I have realistically 7 weeks that I can study for it almost full time. There will be at three weeks where I will be doing something else and not be able to study for it at all. And the remaining time will likely be part time (when commuting, 10-15 hours per week in the evenings etc). I am not sure if I am cutting it too close with a plan like this.

Hi TooNice, I finished going through the two volumes of Schweser in 40 hours, with some qualifications: 1. I skipped ethics, since I already did it for CFA Level 1 2. I already spent maybe 20 hours reading through the textbooks by - Lhabitant [i read all of this] - Anson [I got 2/3 of the way] - Linneman [only the first 4 chapters of introductory stuff] I put the qualifications in there to put those 40 hours into proper context, you can see how annoyed I get by people implying how smart they are by boasting about how little time they need “without” putting that time into context. See my comments at: “nerds at the exam?” over at the Level 2 forums. http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?12,786245 Here are other observations: 1. Since I am from a quantitative background (grad student in physics), the quantitative part came very easily…but definitely allow yourself a lot of time on it if you don’t have much quant. (There’s no shame to it…I needed a ridiculous amount of time for financial statement analysis for CFA L1, which others thought was a breeze.) If you’ve done CFA Level 1 quant, then the CAIA Level 1 quant has a lot of overlap and you might be more in the same boat as I am. 2. The second volume (on real estate, hedge funds, private equity, etc.) might take up a lot of time simply because the information there is not very compressible and very fact-based bulleted points. For example, you have to know the features/differences/similarities of the following commodities indices: GSCI, DJ-AIGCI, CRB, MLMI. You will need to spend some nontrivial amount of time simply trying to memorize these…this might be a non-issue for someone with experience in the industry but since I haven’t seen them before, there’ll be no shortcuts for me. 3. As always, I think it’s best to overestimate the amount of time you need in the studying. Maybe you can do the non-calculation-intensive work during those commutes (if you aren’t driving of course, lol) such as the flashcard memorization or review.

Did anybody take the CAIA exam before? I read that it’s computerized test and wondering whether they provide all the formulas which are in study handbooks or just giving us the formulas which are so simple. How is the test compare with paper-based test? I assume maybe it’s more hard to concentrate on exam. Are many questions like application type questions or just simple fact asking questions which are in online practice questions bank? Thanks.