Hi, I have failed CFA level 3 twice now. In both , the critical reason was < 50 in ethics. How do people suggest that i shlould be studying it. I get most of them right when i practice in exams. I do not know what to do. I need some serious help.
Hi, I failed in Ethics too. I am assuming I should read the Ethics and Asset managers and GIPS at least 5 times this time, seriouly reading 5 times.
Candidate Level 3, Are you english as a second language? I ask because in my experience with Ethics in levels 1 and 2 you needed a high level of english reading comprehension to sufficiently understand the question and answer correctly. If english is your second language then your english language performance would likely suffer the more pressure you felt possibly leading to a gap between your practice exam scores and scores on the actual day (exam day pressure is way higher than practice exam pressure). In this case I’d recommend relaxation techniques and focusing on the language aspect that may have slipped your attention. The other possibility I can think of is that the GIPS questions are tripping you up. In this case you’re going to have to resort to old fashioned cramming (i.e. memorising a page of notes). It won’t be fun but it may be your only choice. Hope my advice is helpful, if you can describe in further detail what exactly is letting you down in Ethics then I’d be happy to try to offer further advice. Cheers,
Thanks, I just do not know as to what lets me down in Ethics. I do so very well on practice questions. But in ethics, i always mess up in the exam. I actually think that i do very well every time i leave the exam hall, but results show the other ways. Do u think that i shld read the actual book for GIPS and ethics?
You ABSOLUTELY have to read the Handbook (Official guide) to be comfortable with Ethics. I did not read the Preamble, which to me was an overkill, but did study the Asset Manager’s code. In all honesty, I saw questions directly out of the Handbook/AM Code. For GIPS I prepared from the official text book. The was a question on return on real estate investments, which was very similar to an EOC question plus there was an solved example in the text too.
When you say official book, you mean the Ethics book that CFAI provides?
Do all the questions over and over again.
- Read CFAI text repeatedly - Do all questions whether from CFAI/Schweser or even stalla. Thats your safest bet. It is the topic that has the lowest probability of success even if you give it all.
Read the actual CFAI text - Schweser notes don’t work. Read in entirety in the beginning of study, middle and the day before the test. I did this and have scored >70% in both level 1 and 2 - praying it works for level 3 too!
I thought GIPS was under Port Mgmt
Candidate_Level3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When you say official book, you mean the Ethics > book that CFAI provides? Yes. Not to gross folks out, but the easiest way is to use your bathroom time. You won’t have to make an extra effort to master this part of the exam!! I easily got over 70%, but also noticed that CFAI was putting a slight twist on the EOC questions, like asking which answer choice violates the given condition the least. Those EOC questions in the book were very useful. I went over them 3 times.
does any one know as to what is the latest edition for the ethics book. I see the one printed in 2005 as the one at CFA website. Is this the latest one?
CFA_2_ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I thought GIPS was under Port Mgmt It is Candidate_Level3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > does any one know as to what is the latest edition > for the ethics book. I see the one printed in 2005 > as the one at CFA website. Is this the latest one? Not sure about the one you’re referring to, if it’s on the CFAI website it most likely is. However, the latest one is the one included in your curriculum, which was included with your exam fees. Open Book 1 of your curriculum and you are looking at the actual ethics book.
curiculum does not have the exact same book as the Ethics one from CFAI has. That is for sure. The book is more detailed.
My “secrete” to passing ethics: even though i failed the test, i have never received less than 70% on ethics throughout all 3 levels. What’s even more surprising, that I haven’t opened the ethics book until the very last week of the exam. actually, for l1 i studied total of 4 hours, l2 3 days, l3 5 days (here and there). what i found is that most people have trouble recognizing where there is a violation and where there is none. knowing between the two is the key. the best way is to FLAG those pages and instances in the CFAI text where there is NO violation, and then go back to those examples right before the test. Just highlight every single instance where NO violation occurs, when there is one SEEM to occur, and make sure to know the subtle differences. I flag those pages and highlights. hope this helps. GIPS ? there is nothing better than memorization.
Candidate_Level3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > curiculum does not have the exact same book as the > Ethics one from CFAI has. > > That is for sure. The book is more detailed. Are you sure? If that is the case it is news to me.
yups
what are EOC questions. “like asking which answer choice violates the given condition the least”, might be the reason why i didn’t pass ethics this year on Level 3. I read ethics 2 times and really focused on memorization. Did over 70% on ethics on every practice exam i took. I did not discuss ethics in my study group, do you guys think thats necessary from the people that did well on ethics. any suggestions would be usefull
Has anyone ever seen any essy questions on Ethics?