Thoughts on this?- PhD in finance says he would pass all three levels without ever opening a book

CFA General
#41

I’d like his chances on L1 and maybe even L2. I think L3 morning session would likely eat him for lunch though. I’m sure the knowledge is there, but L3 morning is as much about knowing how to answer a question as it is what you know. I have to think that GIPS would be totally foreign to him as well. Not a big part of the exam, but a question or two might be the difference between passing or not. As others have said, ethics could be problematic as well, particularly when they get into specific standards.

#42

^ Even if you study ethics for 200 hours, you’ll still leave the exam center scratching your head.

#43

Could happen for L1, but only given a couple of conditions (and a lot of luck)

  1. He has a LOT of practical experience

  2. He’s taught most of the undergrad curriculuym - most faculty tend to teach mostly in one area (Fixed Income, PM, Security analysis, etc…). Unless he’s taught across the curriculum, he likely wouldn;t know a lot of the material in the oither areas.

  3. He’d have to have a lot af accounting background - most finance profs suck at accounting.

  4. As for L2 and L3, he’s obviously a d*ck. I know several finance profs (who even met the above criteria) who failed either L2 or L3.

So it’s possible, but I doubt it. I’d go with #4.

#44

What worked for me was going based off first instinct. Never hesitate or doubt.

#45

First off, no population no matter how large guarantees that at least one person will get 70%. Second, you can answer that question to any degree of confidence due to the normal approximation of the binomial distribution.

#46

The Prof.

probably has done a phd in "troll"ogy too.

#47

I’ve heard of PhD’s in Finance who have failed L1… then again, they put in vastly less hours than recommended…

#48

Would he pass? yes.

Would he get greater than 70 on all sections? no

#49

Fixed that for you.

#50

I may have a definite answer for this soon. A colleague has a MSF and Finance PHD and is about to walk into level 2 with zero preparation due to work commitments. I’ll let you know how he does. He acknowledges that he is likely to fail though, not as arrogant as the prof.

#51

definitely let us know what happens. How did level 1 go for him? Obviously he passed, but did he study?

#52

And did he pass the first time?

#53

Yes he passsed L1 first time, but he did actually revise, i’ve seen his Schweser books and they’re are covered in highlighter and notes. You’d have to be extremely arrogant to think you’d pass without any prep.

#54

Amen!

#55

I don’t know why so many people doubt people can pass with little or no prep time. I can’t and have admitted on many occassions that I put in at least 500 hours for each L2 and L3. It’s doesn’t mean that there are rocket scientists out there that can’t pull it off.

#56

While I don’t disagree with you necessarily, this is where S2000 plays his trump card… as he once was a rocket scientist. I think he would say that he couldn’t/didn’t pass w/o ample prep.

#57

the key is this: what’s the point of even posting “yes i heard of a guy who passed L3 with no studying”. is that a good message candidates should aspire to and therefore not study much ?

Someone will win the big powerball lottery every few weeks, does that mean someone shoudl quit their job, and dump all their savings into lottery tickets?

it does nothign to help candidates and adds 0 value

#58

the goal of this discussion is not to inspire candidates; it is to discuss the validity of a bold finance related claim

#59

agreed. There ARE crazy geniuses on earth that can pass without studying. It’s a fact

#60

I don’t know whether I would have passed without all of the time I put in to prepare, but I sure a heck didn’t want to chance it.

However, my experience is not remotely le dernier cri.