P1.T2 Miller Question Sets general question

[CoinDrop]

Hi,

I was drawing complete blanks on a number of questions then realized some are drawn from previous year's readings that are not assigned for 2014.

Are those meant to be used for reference only for material also relevant for current year or is GARP known to test on material that may be somewhat related but not covered by current year readings?

I'm trying to trim down my to-do list and would appreciate if anybody could shed some light on this. Also I'm unable to locate the 2014 Focus Review, can somebody tell me where I can find it?

thanks

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

That Miller is my next edit but it won't change drastically (error corrections + some usability improvements). Yes, the prior questions are included for reference, but in this case they happen to be highly relevant if not essentially equal in value. If it's too much, note they are sequenced in reverse chron; eg Miller chapter 3, is Miller, then S&W (previous), then Gujarati (even further back).

The AIMs for econometrics have barely changed in recent years, so it's not as if Gujarati or Rachev is irrelevant, or even less relevant. The concepts are consistent over the reading, wrt stat, distributions, probabilities. If you want, you can skip the older references (e.g., Rachev), as the listings are organized in reverse chron. But my upcoming revision will definitely retain them due to their persistent relevance. (personally, I think Gujarati is more relevant than Miller, as Miller's calculus has not seen testing yet but .... ) . Re: 2014 focus reviews, I'm not doing those until the second semester (before the Nov exam).

 

[CoinDrop]

Thanks David for your prompt reply, it's good to know I shouldn't be skipping those!

 

[filip313]

Hi,

I have done the Miller question set (T2.301 - T2.308). For some of the exercise is required to calculate integrals and derivatives.
I understand that they are pretty basic and that they support the comprehension, but my understanding is that there are no querstions in the FRM part 1, which requires calculus of derivatives and integrals. Is this correct?

Many thanks

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi @filip313

I am not personally aware that GARP has warrantied there will be no applied calculus on the exam; can you share this source if you are aware of some such guarantee?

However, I do agree that Miller's usage of calculus is unlikely to see near-term examination in P1.T2 econometrics; e.g., for upcoming May, if the goal is merely to pass the exam, I certainly would not spend time learning calculus freshly. I'm ambivalent about Miller: I'm glad that the FRM introduces applied calculus from a learning perspective, but to make a point consistent with yours, previously assigned Gujarati is simply more relevant to a candidate whose goal is primarily to pass the exam (hence our continuing inclusion of him). Further, let's consider your point from the historical question database: to my knowledge, there has been not yet been asked a single question on the actual FRM, to date, which required the candidate to perform differentiation (or anti-differentiation/integration). To me, that's your near-term answer

That's different than saying: calculus doesn't matter. I would never say that. Prepared candidates will acutely understand how important is an understanding of first and second partial derivatives to many of the testable concepts. For example, bond duration, option delta, marginal VaR all invoke derivatives (from the perspective of calculus, these concepts barely differ except by way of their asset class context). I've often argued that the single most important ingredient in risk measurement is the first partial derivative.

I hope that helps!

 

[filip313]

Thank you for the explanation David!