Note - the HP 10B calculator is NOT authorized for use on the CFA exam. Just wanted to throw that out there.
Why not? That was the first financial calculator that I was exposed to in B-school. That was how I learned to do TVM calculations. As best I can tell, it’s a virtual clone of the TI BA II Plus.
So why is the TI allowed and the HP not?
(Just curious–this has really bugged me for a long time.)
I used to use the Sharp EL-738, but now for the CFA exams I had buy the BA II Plus which reminds me of the crappy TI calculators I used in high school. I don’t know why they take the 12C over the 10B. Maybe its because they want to give the option of using an expensive calculator (12C), and a cheaper calculator (BA II), so they just choose the most popular models in those price categories.
What’s even more intersting that they allow the 12C is that it is programmable! You can literally program it to do things like black scholes, etc. I think they allow the 12C for people that prefer RPN is my best guess.
The 12c was always programmable. That’s why they clear the memory when they inspect it (at least they used to).