Now that I’ve failed it twice I can tell things that have popped up both times that you must know (Anyone, who has failed it more than me feel free to chime in) Pension Accounting DDM/ FCFF Models Triangle Arbitrage Corporate Governance and best practices NPV of multiple projects, Projects/ NPV vs. IRR Names of all of the ethics codes Time Series Regression Swaps PAC Tranches/ MBS Portfolio Management and Alts are a crap shoot so no way to know Anybody else?
Dont forget to know all off Book 1 & 2, and know the whole of books 3, 4 and 5… was there a 6th… i cant even remember
Nah but seriously… You should just forget the CFA for awhile Cleo… Maybe a holiday or sumthing… maybe weed
Failed twice? Ouch There is no simple list of things you must know. The exam can cover any of the study sessions, you simply must study all of them as best as you can. Do ton of study questions.
No pedpenny now is the time to hit it, right now. My plan is to hit it extremely hard pump out as many outlines and notecards as I can for the next month. Then ease off once football starts. If I don’t hit it now while the material is still fresh in my head, I risk losing it. This way I’ve got the notecards all down, and will just have to review, until the Stalla classes and John Harris classes start in January.
Ethics violation. Did you fail ethics both times MissCleo?
The problem with these lists is that you NEVER know what the CFAI will test. I wont get specific (to violate the ethics), but there were some topics on this years exam that i was SHOCKED showed up, and others that i was sure i had to know inside and out and werent even mentioned. There was on topic i studied for hours on end and that i (along with my Schweser insturctor and friends) was sure was one of the key topics, and didnt show up. Its frustrating to say the least, but thats what makes this exam so difficult. Sorry to hear about your results MissCleo.
Has the 2012 exam materials even been released yet? Starting now isn’t going to help at all
trogulj Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ethics violation. Did you fail ethics both times > MissCleo? Why because I’ve mentioned what’s been tested? Oooooooooooohhhh they test swaps and Pension accounting… bigggggggg surprise
Ok, Just look at your scores and study your weak points, but you will have to get into a better frame of mind if your going to start studying, you would be surprised what a difference it is to study relaxed as opposed to studying stressed out… Goodluck
pedpenny Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ok, Just look at your scores and study your weak > points, but you will have to get into a better > frame of mind if your going to start studying, you > would be surprised what a difference it is to > study relaxed as opposed to studying stressed > out… > > Goodluck haha… the thing is that I did best in derivatives which I actually have no clue. I never had problems with FSA, including pension accounting, but my score was below 50%.
Cleo, I’m with you on getting a head start on studying but I think the best strategy is to do practice questions, after practice questions, after practice questions for each LOS. Speaking for myself, I felt comfortable with the formulas, theory and concepts. I lacked practice. That was my strategy for level 1 and unfortunately due to some time constraints, I couldn’t do the same for level 2.
Pension Accounting >>> This topic is not difficult. I freakin mastered it! Take your time to read this section and you will realize how truly straight-forward and easy it is. DDM/ FCFF Models >>> This is what the Equity is all about IMO. The main problem is getting the right definition of cash flow to use for your valuation. Not difficult at all. NPV of multiple projects, Projects/ NPV vs. IRR >> This section of Corporate Finance is simply not difficult at all. Swaps >> I thought I had the derivatives section down, but still failed this section. Who well. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Triangle Arbitrage Corporate Governance and best practices Names of all of the ethics codes Time Series Regression PAC Tranches/ MBS
Damil I wasn’t saying any of these was particularly hard except for swaps, just saying that they are tested 100% of the time.
MissCleo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Damil I wasn’t saying any of these was > particularly hard except for swaps, just saying > that they are tested 100% of the time. Very true.
People, I wouldn’t try to game L2. There are frequently high profile topics (e.g. a particular model) that end up completely left out in a couple years that rear its head and make up one entire vignette (6% of exam) in another year. (L2 takers in 2008 can attest to this) Minute details buried in a paragraph in a corner somewhere can come up 4 different times in AM & PM sections. (L2 takers in 2009 will know) Study it all. No shortcuts to this. Anything else is just taking a gamble.
Yes that model was Treynor Black, hence why I said PM was a crapshoot. The things I mentioned are guaranteed to be tested. You have to know everything, but know the above reallllllyyyy realllllyyy well.
MissCleo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Portfolio Management and Alts are a crap shoot so > no way to know > > Anybody else? Can’t agree more. Except the TB model, I dont know how the rest of Level 2’s Portfolio Management stuff is going to help professionally. Crap. For me, AI is jinxed one. Even in L1, I failed in this topic and scored >70% in rest. They can literally ask any thing. Worrying thing is, it is again going to show its ugly head in L3 curriculum too.