Folks, for those like me who are taking level 2 again this year, are you buying the Schweser books again. I know the test bank is somewhat helpful but I am debating about the books considering the material changed a little. Would appreciate your advise on this as I would like to know what the masses are doing. Thanks.
I am not buying any additional books this year. I have last year’s books obviously as well as the CFA books they provide.
Same here. I’m not rebuying the Schweser books. I’ll tough it up and read CFAI books.
Truth be told, one of the reasons I failed was because I used Schweser instead of the CFA books, and those sections that I missed were covered very badly or incompletely by Schweser, so Id use CFA anyway.
What are the CFAI books? Are those the books that come free now as part of the registration process?
I’m not using books this time…the test is a lottery. I figure I’m due.
My only concern was that there are 90 new LOS’s added. I will probably just get the test bank software and Schweser Book 6 to practice some test. If I fail this thing again, It will take away any motivation of attaining a charter
Guys how helpful was SchweserPro in your preperation? How would you compare the questions to the actual exams… Good luck nxt june!
I agree Caspian. Lots of things that were barely mentioned in Schweser were highly tested in CFAI!
I am taking Level 2 again this year. I was quite disappointed for not passing the previous round. Based on the indicative results released by CFA based on the performance achieved in each area, I basically managed to pass overall as I got over 50% for most if not all topical sections, and above 75% for most. Even after considering the weighting given to certain areas, I definitely passed based on a normal 50% passing mark. However, the fact that I failed probably means that most people in my sitting did much more better than me. So I was not as good as the other candidates as they must have pulled up the passing mark. I hope I can pass it this time around. Really want to get this done with once and for all! I am definitely not repurchasing the books a second time. The CFA Level II syllabus has not changed in a fundamental way. I believe that most formulas and core underpinnings have not been altered within a single year. As a working professional, I really do not have the time to read through all of the books provided by CFA. Besides, they are much thicker. And, they are certainly not free of charge! In providing the books, they have marked up the examination registration fees! I find it crude of CFA to compel all of its students to purchase it’s books. Even if they want to do so, they should not charge such a hefty sum for 'em!
2nd (and hopefully final) attempt at LII. Close one last year. I’m using only the CFAI texts (already completed Volumes I-IV). Last year I used Schweser Notes because I was a December '06 LI candidate and there just wasn’t time for the CFAI volumes, besides Schweser proved more helpful to me passing LI than did CFAI. So, assuming I’m finished with Volumes V and VI by late February, I plan to buy three products I’ve never used before: 1) Schweser QBank 2) Schweser Book 7 (or whatever the stand-alone exam book is called) 3) All of the CFAI online practice exams I’m receptive to advice from other folks. I’ve had to reevaluate my methodologies since last year’s disappointment. At Level II, the only easy day was yesterday.
I re-purchased Schweser. I don’t “blame” them for my fail last year. Sure there were some topics that were covered a bit lightly, but who is to say that I would have put additional time into those topics if I had used the CFAI books? I think Schweser does a good job of trying to make some lemonade out of lemons. When I started Level 1, I started by using the textbooks and taking notes from them, just like college. You know what I ended up with? A really bad set of Schweser notes. After about a month of that nonsense, I bought the Schweser notes. I will use the CFAI texts for additional help and questions. Good luck, all.
I’m not sure if this is of any help. I took the level 2 exam 2 years ago when CFA Institute didn’t create their own books. Most of the people who took the exam stated that most of the questions came from the review questions from the assigned text books. I’m not sure if this was the case for last years level 2 exam. I would assume the CFAI has an interest in making sure people who use their materials pass the exam and the people that use third party vendors materials perform poorly on the exam.
i am also going to make my 2nd attempt at level 2,i totally agree schweser was a bad idea for level 2…i passed level 1 with schweser but i am not going to risk it this time…i think it is also good to read the CFAI books to get the complete undestanding of the topics as schweser is always very exam centered…
if, your like me, it will take months to read the CFAI material. I am doing l2 again and have purchased schweser as well. yes, i failed on PM (and i could do with doing better- period) and it was not covered by schweser all that well BUT schweser do do a good job. My plan is to use the schweser material then skim the CFAI to make sure i miss the pot holes that will definitely come up as damn exam questions. So Schweser for the vast majority of the time as it synthesises the information for me.
see u will end up reading both …CFAi books and notes…what i mean is theer is no short cuts available…i might be wrong…but this is what i am doing…i am doing the CFAi books first and then in the end i shall do the concept checkers from notes…
I am reading Ethics, eco from CFA, as i scored above 75% in FSA & equity last attempt i will follow schweser there, but for derivatives& especially Portfolio i will take CFA. Fixed income i will switch b/w cfa n schweser as i was poor at it last time. Quant will take at last depending on time. Please suggest if some better way is possible.
i got above 75% in FSa and Equity…and less than 50% in Derivatives and stats…but i want to do CFAI bookjs for the whole curriculum…its just that i am too scared to flunk again…dont want to leave any loop hole
my 2nd time as well and I used Stalla last time, so I called them on their guarantee…very worth it as I got the whole dang program for $345. But I’m using the CFAI texts to start with and will supplement with Stalla online, Schweser Q bank and Book 6
Now, listen to me. 3rd time LII taker… don’t listen to those failures that passed LII the at the 1st or 2nd attempt… Would love to go through CFAI books again, but due to time constraint, Schweser will have to do. But I am planning on doing the end of CFAI chapter questions rather than Schweser concept checks. Probably more representative.