Recommendation on the Official FRM Part 2 Exam Readings

[cdbsmith]

Hi David,

I just registered for the FRM Part 2 Exam and am ready to get going on my preparation for the exam. I also purchased the BT Part 2 Professional Exam Prep Package as it will be my main source for exam prep. However, I'm on the fence about purchasing the official GARP FRM Part 2 Exam Readings.

As you know, between the exam registration fees and exam prep materials, the cost can be high. That said, I will do what I have to do to pass the exam! As such, I would appreciate your perspective on the official FRM Part 2 Exam Readings. Do you recommend that I purchase the Readings? Or, should I just rely on the BT exam prep materials?

Thanks,

Charles

 

[Nicole Seaman]

@cdbsmith,

It really depends on you as an individual.Some people have found that the Bionic Turtle materials alone are sufficient for what they need to prepare for the exam. Others have said that they used other GARP textbooks to help them out. Our forum is very useful for these types of inquiries. There is a lot of feedback on there from people who have taken the exams already and they are very helpful. Here is an example of one thread from our forum that may help you: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/frm-level-2-feedback.7445/#post-27307.

 

[cdbsmith]

Thanks @Nicole M for the response.

Having read the thread from the link you provided, I'm not sure I got a definitive opinion on either option. But, I did get a strong sense of what I may be up against on the FRM Part 2 Exam.

One thing is for sure, the level of difficulty on the FRM Part 1 practice questions from BT was in many ways more difficult than the actual exam. In fact, I was feeling pretty good about things until the exam proctor announced that there was only five minutes remaining for the exam. I literally had to blindly guess on the last 15-18 questions to ensure that I answered every one.

I left the exam that day feeling pretty defeated and angry with myself as I totally forgot to bring my watch, and therefore, had no way of tracking my time. Well, to my amazement, I received a congratulatory letter from GARP stating that I had passed the exam and could go forward with registering for the FRM Part 2 Exam. So, I'm living proof that exam takers should answer all questions because you never know, and there is no penalty for incorrect answers.

Anyway, I think I will start with the BT material first. That way, if I feel that I'm not adequately grasping certain concepts, I will just purchase the official FRM Part 2 Readings.

I hope it all goes well for me.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Charles

 

[Pflik]

go with your gut... you already passed part 1.

I'm up for part 2 myself too... I tried to do it without the readings, but i really felt i needed the books as a reference. The notes are my primary source of info, but i did feel that i really needed to have the readings, especially when some things are unclear.

However, having said that... i found the questions in the reference material quite useless... (expect those of John Hull's book), The questions of bionic turtle are by far better for preparation. Although I must say, i was getting really nervous while making the practice questions as the seem to be much harder... but it did really help with the exam because i finished that under 3 hours and had lots of time to go over the questions i wasn't able to answer.

 

[cdbsmith]

go with your gut... you already passed part 1.

I'm up for part 2 myself too... I tried to do it without the readings, but i really felt i needed the books as a reference. The notes are my primary source of info, but i did feel that i really needed to have the readings, especially when some things are unclear.

However, having said that... i found the questions in the reference material quite useless... (expect those of John Hull's book), The questions of bionic turtle are by far better for preparation. Although I must say, i was getting really nervous while making the practice questions as the seem to be much harder... but it did really help with the exam because i finished that under 3 hours and had lots of time to go over the questions i wasn't able to answer.

Thanks Pflik!

That's exactly what I decided to do. Out of curiosity, I inquired about the 2014 readings and learned that they will only be available as hard copies. No soft copies will be available this year! I do not understand what drove this decision. I need the Readings in soft copy form as I travel extensively for work and not be able to carry large books with me while on the road.

Bionic turtle - can you do some digging on your end to see why only the hard copy form is available, and GARP even plans to offer the soft copy form?

Thanks,

Charles

 

[XQRS7]

The section on current issues in Financial Markets. It's very short. Is this all the reading required for 10% of marks?