Thanks pilishwong, I’ll wait to see what rayquan decides first. I also wasn’t aware bionic turtle even had a dedicated forum, excellent suggestion. I am heading over there right now. Off topic, do you know which third party suppliers provide PRM materials? Does bionic turtle cover this, or is there significant overlap?
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cfacowtown, Bionic Turtle only cover FRM NOT PRM. Bionic Turtle FRM forum had many intense debate between pros and cons of FRM and PRM. For PRM, you might want to try 7City from the U.K. They are very good for CFA. I had my CFA Level III review done in their NYC office. Check out their website to see the price for PRM review and see if anything available in your area.
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Excellent, i’ll be sure to do my due dilegence over there. I’ve used the search function on these forums but PRM v FRM really isn’t covered, so i’ll be heading over to bionic turtle shortly. I have heard about 7City from others who have taken higher level courses, I am thinking about giving them a try on CFA-L2, L3…right now the focus is on CFA-L1, CAIA-L1 and the NYC Marathon.
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Thank philip, I actually have read that before. Interesting read, confirms what everyone else is saying.
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@ cfacowtown and philip thanks for the info …yeah i have been a lurker at BT forums from quite a while …it really has high traffic FRM Forum . cfacowtown I guess it takes time for FRM forum to be up and running …let alone at the pace of CFA forum you can also have look at the Bionic Turtle forum where there are plenty of practice questions …those questions really drill down the understanding …will greatly help for PRM …i feel its good that 7 City review offers for PRM …will have a look at it …if its good then I may go for PRM too
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philip could you please tell me how BT reading materials are useful as against Schweser .I did have a look at last year’s reading materials …I felt its not much detailed like schweser …as in only the important points/summary are given . could you please help me understand …Indeed BT videos are good but I didnt find his study notes and slides all that comprehensive. what all do I get if I buy the FRM study pack from bionic turtle ?
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Factor Hedge, I would not say BT’s materials are replaceable for Schweser’s. However, the notes from Schweser are not deep and not giving enough details for certain quant/models concepts. (Very obvious after comparing to core reading materials from GARP.) BT went into great length to present quantitative model concepts in Excel and the author went through with you in the lectures. BT doesn’t offer many practice questions and doesn’t offer mock exams, Schweser can cover that end. However, in my opinion, I will not take the risk to rely on Schweser alone for exam preparation unless you are working in risk area or very familiar with those models. I used FRM handbook 3rd edition, Schweser Notes/practice questions and mock exams and BT. (I did spend a lot to time into the Excel models provided by BT to understand the model details and how they work. That will not be covered in Schweser.) Finally, the questions from the 2008 FRM exam were almost entirely different from Schweser’s mock exams and the mock exams provided by GARP in terms of level of difficulties and format. The 2008 FRM exam had longer and more difficult questions than the mock exams. I was struggle with the questions and the time …! However, I end up scored 1st quartile in Market risk, Operational Risk, and Quantitative Method and 2nd quartile in Credit Risk and Risk Management. I guess everything I did help me to pass. (Many Quant or FE guys got 1st quartile in all 5 parts.)
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Philip Thanks a ton !!! for the detailed explanation …it would definitely help me in my prep …I completely agree on the xcel models provided by BT …having looked into those models myself …which is not provided by schweser …I am planning to read some of the major portions in the core readings like Hull ,Gujarati etc …and Jorion (FRM Handbook) + schweser notes and mocks along with BT . Are GARP provided mock exams very helpful …like the ones provided by CFAI reflects the actual difficulty of the exam and do you think 400 odd hrs of productive prep time would be decent for an average candidate …with CFA L1 kind of exposure ?
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Factor Hedge, The mock exams provided by GARP are the past FRM exams, I presumed. They were a bit offshoot from the 2008 FRM exam. (Many complained about the inconsistency in the exam and they might correct it for the 2009’s). It is difficult to use CFA level I as a measurement of benchmark against the number of hours to spend on FRM preparation because CFA and FRM are entirely different and level I knowledge might not give you an advantage over someone who hasn’t passed CFA level I. I never checked the number of hours I spent on FRM but I would use as much time as I can until I get a full understanding. FRM for non-quant is very different and possibly more difficult compared to CFA I, II and III. Please be prepared and take advantages from different resources if possible. For the CFA, Schweser and Stella’s mock exams did a much better job than CFAI. Don’t waste the money.
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Philip Thanks a lot !! I would definitely try my best to polish my weak areas for FRM and put in as much time as possible …
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