The four authorized calculators (as pointed out at http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/resources/examdetails/policies/calculator.html) are: 1. Texas Instruments BA II Plus 2. Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional 3. Hewlett Packard 12C 4. Hewlett Packard 12C Platinum Which one should I get? I have heard that the HP 12Cs use Reverse Polar Notation while the TI BA II Plus models use the more conventional format. Among the TI models, I have heard that the Plus Professional version has some capabilities that are needed for the Level II exam but are not in the Plus version. Also, I have heard that changing the battery in the Plus Professional version is easier, a very important feature during the exam. And yes, I will buy an extra battery and bring it to the exam. So at the moment, I’m leaning towards the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional. What do you think?
I bought the Plus Professional as my main calc and bought a regular Plus to have as a backup during the exam if the PlusPro batery dies. It was only like $30 for the regular Plus, and that is an investment in lowered anxiety and safety, plus not having to worry about losing time changing a battery mid-test, that I found to be well worth in having a redundant calculator.
Original 12c is great
I just used my BAII Plus that I had throughout my undergrad program. I had the BAII Plus professional, but unfortunately, someone stole it while I used the restroom at the library one day. I’ll probably get another, but the Plus itself worked great for the exam.
TI BA II Plus Pro
TI BA II Plus Pro I used this for the Dec L1 exam. I have also have the HP 12C and although I like the feel of the buttons and the RPN the Plus Pro has some key features that give you an advantage. - the ( ) function can save you a lot of time when ordering calcs. The 12C does not have a similiar grouping function - nPr and nCr not on 12C - discounted payback period not on 12C - the back one space funtion --> so if you miskey one number you can backspace and fix rather than clear - the 12C is slow - for some reason the 12C expensive ($80) All the hard core finance geeks seem to use the 12C. So if you want to look cool around your office, get the 12C. If you don’t already know RPN, stay away from the 12C. Otherwise I recommend the Plus Pro.
I won’t matter much. You will be shocked at how little you use your calculator on the actual exam.
I had the BA II Plus (not professional). It was the cheapest and it worked perfectly fine.
Pick one and learn how to use it, you have plenty of time. As long as you can do basic math and time value of money problems on the calc, you’ll be more then fine. You’ll use it very little, but you still need to bring a calculator. It’d be unbelievably stupid to show up without one and leave easy points on the table (yet some people do just that…)
Go with the BA II Plus. I borrowed the GF’s car this morning after a decent ice storm the night before. Of course she didnt have an ice scraper. I pulled the cover off my BA and chizzeled away a clear view. Worth every penny…
I used the original HP 12c and for me it’s perfect. But for me HP is for Econ/Finance people and TI is for Engineers (that’s how it was in college). I used to use the HP17BII in school and loved it but since it is not allowed by CFAI I bought the 12C. Got used to RPN in no time. In fact, I think I actually like RPN better.
If you ever programmed on TI 83/89/92/whatever else is new now, you wouldn’t want to pick up other calculator. So, it’s TI for me. That said, TI keys were incredibly unresponsive and annoying, and Reverse Polish does make a lot of sense.
Any significant differences between the BAII plus and BAII plus professional other than the easy battery change in the pro?
awkwan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Any significant differences between the BAII plus > and BAII plus professional other than the easy > battery change in the pro? Buttons are easier to press It calculated the discounted payback period I don’t own one. I own four BAII+'s (and use them all - one in each laptop back, one at work, one at home) and an hp 12c (don’t use it, I don’t like rpn)
- Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional
I’d say BA Plus since that seems to be the common one used and classes usually use that to teach.
HP12C is so unloved… the CFA google groups now have about 100 members and it seems that I’m the only one who uses HP12C! HP12C doesn’t need grouping because you are using RPN–it’s like thinking with a stack in your head–the question of operator precedence becomes moot.