Exam Feedback November 2016 Part 2 Exam Feedback

zzz

New Member
Any charterholders here? After completing both FRMs part 1 and part 2 on the first try this year (heavy thanks to BT), I am hungry to revisit CFA (still have not cleared level 2).

Any recommendations? There is no BT service out there and scheweser has failed to get me over the hump. Should I just stick to the real books? To fair I have never tried them, I was always looking for shortcuts....

I owe FRM success to reading the full books and BT.

My firm really pushes getting CFA, so there are always analysts asking for advice. This is what I tell them/what worked for me for Level 2 (FYI it took me two tries to clear it, first time I got scoreband 10). I read all the CFAI material and wrote down every equation on flashcards and any time there were comparisons e.g. IFRS vs. US GAAP I would make a flashcard with the highlights of those differences. I did roughly 60% of the QBank questions and as many practice exams as I could. The biggest change I made the 2nd time around was doing every end of chapter problem from the CFAI books the week before the test. This really helped me solidify the concepts. I honestly think you could pass Level 2 with just the Kaplan books but you need to do the CFAI problems. They are much more in depth.

I do agree that for CFA Level 3 you should use the CFAI books. I didn't even touch my Kaplan books and passed on the first try.
 

UnderRighter

New Member
To all returning candidates, please share any tips or tricks that helped you pass !!! ps: I went thoroughly thru all the material at least once, practice questions, mocks. Thank you everyone it would help me very much !!
I went through Schweser notes and found it good. Because of work load, could not refer any other material, but schweser was enough.
 

fjc120

Member
My firm really pushes getting CFA, so there are always analysts asking for advice. This is what I tell them/what worked for me for Level 2 (FYI it took me two tries to clear it, first time I got scoreband 10). I read all the CFAI material and wrote down every equation on flashcards and any time there were comparisons e.g. IFRS vs. US GAAP I would make a flashcard with the highlights of those differences. I did roughly 60% of the QBank questions and as many practice exams as I could. The biggest change I made the 2nd time around was doing every end of chapter problem from the CFAI books the week before the test. This really helped me solidify the concepts. I honestly think you could pass Level 2 with just the Kaplan books but you need to do the CFAI problems. They are much more in depth.

I do agree that for CFA Level 3 you should use the CFAI books. I didn't even touch my Kaplan books and passed on the first try.
thanks!
 

Part 2 Student

New Member
To all successful Nov 2016 Part 2 passers and David Harper--is it worth it to purchase all original textbooks (instead of GARP books, which are simply an anthology) for 1) better understanding of the curriculum and 2) end-of-chapter questions for more practice?
 
Im also a CFA Charterholder and can agree with those comments above that the CFAI materials are great for all levels...especially 2 and 3. I studied mainly from the official books and supplemented here an there with some videos from Irfanhulla and some study notes from GoStudy for L3
Hi S666, I passed part 1, with flying colors.. but got stumped in part 2 due to Market Risk.. purely studied Schweser, now planning to take up BT for practice exams and quizzes .. any recommendations on how you studies MR ??
 

Siqueue

Member
To all successful Nov 2016 Part 2 passers and David Harper--is it worth it to purchase all original textbooks (instead of GARP books, which are simply an anthology) for 1) better understanding of the curriculum and 2) end-of-chapter questions for more practice?
Um, no. I don't know how many books there are in total (I never looked at any originals) but I'm pretty sure there were quite a few with a single chapter, maybe two, referenced. Buying them all would be very expensive, particularly as you'd have build an extension on your house to fit them all in.

If there are topics you are particularly interested in then picking up the source text might be an investment but I can't imagine that anyone is interested in any book from topic 3... No offence to the operational risk people out there :p.

Before you buy anything though take a look at the Resource section that BT have put together for us (I found this only about three weeks before the exam, annoyingly): https://forum.bionicturtle.com/resources/

In order to pass the exam I really don't think any material other than ONE of FRM books or BT are required - though in my experience following the BT notes is a much easier path to passing than the official books.
 

Part 2 Student

New Member
Um, no. I don't know how many books there are in total (I never looked at any originals) but I'm pretty sure there were quite a few with a single chapter, maybe two, referenced. Buying them all would be very expensive, particularly as you'd have build an extension on your house to fit them all in.

If there are topics you are particularly interested in then picking up the source text might be an investment but I can't imagine that anyone is interested in any book from topic 3... No offence to the operational risk people out there :p.

Before you buy anything though take a look at the Resource section that BT have put together for us (I found this only about three weeks before the exam, annoyingly): https://forum.bionicturtle.com/resources/

In order to pass the exam I really don't think any material other than ONE of FRM books or BT are required - though in my experience following the BT notes is a much easier path to passing than the official books.
Thank you very much, Siqueue!
 

berrymucho

Member
To all successful Nov 2016 Part 2 passers and David Harper--is it worth it to purchase all original textbooks (instead of GARP books, which are simply an anthology) for 1) better understanding of the curriculum and 2) end-of-chapter questions for more practice?

As indicated by Siqueue, besides costing a fortune, and if your goal is to have a better understanding/practice you'll need 10 years to read/study them all completely... :)
That said, in my opinion Hull's book OFOD is a very good desk reference to have handy no matter what, beyond the FRM prep. I don't regret spending the money on the hard cover copy.
 

fjc120

Member
Was manager name your manager or yourself? I put my manager's name but then filled the same thing out for supervisor?
 
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