Hello, I am using Schweser for the majority of my studying, but was wondering for those of you using both, what topics would you suspect might show up that Schweser doesnt cover? Thank you,
Balance of Payment problems in Econ
BOP is covered in depth in Schweser. guess again?
It isn’t covered well. There is a whole section in econ in the CFAI that is more in depth on the balance of payments than in Schweser… starting with the fact that if your official reserves increase, your official reserves settlement account decreases (if I recall correctly).
I found a few things in PM that were not mentioned at all in Schweser especially in the Treynor Black section.
christopher.keeshan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hello, > > I am using Schweser for the majority of my > studying, but was wondering for those of you using > both, what topics would you suspect might show up > that Schweser doesnt cover? > > Thank you, It’s hard to say. But I can tell you that so far I have about 8 pages of personal notes on the non-overlapping materials and I still have about three areas to cover. So the amount of non-overlapping materials are pretty substantial. Whether or not they would show up on the exam is a different issue.
can you post a few examples from your notes of the non-overlapping material? Curious what you are seeing. I was actually looking at the TB stuff over the weekend. The CFAI book is nasty and formula laden. I did the schweser and the CFAI in one sitting. CFAI specifically states, as we all know, skip the formulas - which is the only hard part in the model. The model itself is pretty simplistic without having to calc any weightings. It waste of half n hour opening the CFA text for the TB model and for most of Portfolio Management I’ve found so far. I’ll glance at the BOP tonight, based on this statement… But i’ve found almost no value yet, through my level two and all of level one prep in using the CFAI txts, except in ethics. They are poorly written the practice questions stink for test prep.
PM made up 15% of the exam in 2007. Those who only used Schweser notes were absolutely clueless. Equities is great in Schweser. No need to read CFAI text. Don’t quote me on that because I don’t know how much it has changed since last year. PM, Ethics, and derivatives are a must read in the CFAI text. Schweser simple does not cover it well.
I think Both books are terrible if you are coming from scratch for derivs. Obviously a combo or referring to both books would be ideal (this is my field so i might be only here praying for large amounts of swaps and options on the test this year). If someone could post a couple spots where this year’s schweser books might be lagging that be very helpful. the only blatant topic i recall that level one missed in the winder was a mention of the mosaic theory in ethics. go figure.
I don’t have any materials with me. But one CFAI example problem, if I recall correctly, asks you to calculate the M^2 measure. Infinitesun Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > can you post a few examples from your notes of the > non-overlapping material? Curious what you are > seeing. > > > I was actually looking at the TB stuff over the > weekend. The CFAI book is nasty and formula laden. > I did the schweser and the CFAI in one sitting. > CFAI specifically states, as we all know, skip the > formulas - which is the only hard part in the > model. The model itself is pretty simplistic > without having to calc any weightings. It waste of > half n hour opening the CFA text for the TB model > and for most of Portfolio Management I’ve found so > far. > > I’ll glance at the BOP tonight, based on this > statement… But i’ve found almost no value yet, > through my level two and all of level one prep in > using the CFAI txts, except in ethics. They are > poorly written the practice questions stink for > test prep.
I don’t have my notes with me. But off the top of my head, there are a bunch of topics in FI (like floating cap notes) that aren’t mentioned at all in Schweser. Treynor Black in CFAI is like a totally different world than Schweser. There are also the infamous Asset Market Approach + J-curve from Econ that are missing from Schweser (even though Schweser defended it was removed from the 2008 notes due to removal of the relevant LOS by CFAI). ECN (Electronic Crossing Networks) in Equity aren’t covered in Schweser, as well as tiny bits like capitalization adjustment due to cross holding of companies and how orders are filled on an ECN, etc. Bottom line: if you are concerned about these non-overlapping materials, the best way is to scan through the CFAI text yourself. It’s time consuming but it would give you a peace of mind on D-Day.
this thread makes me quiver. there’s only about 52 days give or take and i have to redo all 18 to retain the material…plus i havent even read the PM section yet.
Again, non-overlapping materials don’t mean they would appear on the exam. So even you know what isn’t in Schweser notes, the cost of spending time to revise these missing materials may not improve the outcome of the exam. But in case people wonder, yes, there are a good amount of materials that are non-overlapping.
Schweser doesn’t have problems on calculation on Current Account and Capital Account etc
J-Curve is mentioned in the PM book in Schweser, along with the money demand model.
Current Account and Capital Account - they do mention in the subtext a hint if you see a problem asking for totals on BOP - allz you got to know is Zero baby. I agree though with the above post, while this thread sent me into a five minute mini panic in reality you only need a 70%. - choose your battles.
Infinitesun Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Current Account and Capital Account - they do > mention in the subtext a hint if you see a problem > asking for totals on BOP - allz you got to know is > Zero baby. > > I agree though with the above post, while this > thread sent me into a five minute mini panic in > reality you only need a 70%. - choose your > battles. You make a good point. 80/20 rule.
Infinitesun Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Current Account and Capital Account - they do > mention in the subtext a hint if you see a problem > asking for totals on BOP - allz you got to know is > Zero baby. > > I agree though with the above post, while this > thread sent me into a five minute mini panic in > reality you only need a 70%. - choose your > battles. Ask people who took exam last year. They will tell you how they felt after seeing BOP problems. Who doesn’t know that the total is zero of all 3 but problems were very specific.
Sure, I hear ya. but that’s the nature of the beast. Chance you’ll get nailed on the smallest details on the dorkiest of subjects. Doesn’t mean you need to panic over it. Just stick with your study plan, study smart, and you’ll have a good shot. It is what it is.
Each year, CFAI would think of new “curved ball” questions on the exam. (Ever wonder why since 1965, there are no perfect scores on any CFA exams?) So your choices (at T-52) are really (A) stick to whatever plan you have begun with, or (B) spend the remaining time to ponder what “curved balls” CFAI is going to throw at us this year. XD If CFAI does indeed pick the tricky questions from the non-overlapping materials, then let me assure you that the amount of materials involved are not of trivial size and it would take time to cover them. I prepared the personal notes because it’s better to have those notes in my hands when I need them, than when I need them and they are not in my hands.