sethneha

[sethneha]

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okay @dollface.  

for me videos works.

[sethneha]

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Thanks Ganesh (@gansub) for the heads up and sharing your prep strategy.

[sethneha]

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Thanks @Zee and @Bear

[sethneha]

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@Hasan

Q-Bank effectively means Level II format type questions that is – Vignette based question. Yes, EOC questions count the most (even if they are of Level I format questions). CFAI offers Topic Based Quizzes online. Do them in and out.

@tempo

To answer for both Best material and Vignette type questions sources- I  had used IFT (amazing awesome videos out there!), also used its notes & slides, old notes of Elan Guides and the Curriculum.

Extensively practiced Vignette (Item-based) questions from CFA examples, EOC, Online topic quizzes, IFT, Adapt Prep Ques and Fin Quiz. These are the ones I used in and out and worked for me during the exam day 🙂

All the best!

[sethneha]

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Zee said:

Bear said:

Any Idea how far off roughly band 9/10 is from the MPS ?

Hi @Bear – according to analyses that we’ve done in the past, the failing bands are about 1.5-2% apart, and it’s closer in the Band 9/10 range. You were likely about 2 item set questions or 6 essay points away from a just-pass.

Hi Zee,

I want to know does 6 essay points means a Full essay question or just the sub-parts ? or could have got just six more point right out of 180 and could have jumped from Band 9 to Pass ?

Apologies if it’s too stupid or naive question , just passed Level II exam so taking and learning all that I can to prepare for Level III. Still getting oriented to the new format and areas.

Thanks.

[sethneha]

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@ensenmason‌ i would say – relax!

don’t rush for level 2. it’s HUGE and very taxing. you may get burned out very quickly if you hit books now especially after June L1 attempt. had it been December L1 attempt then yes by all means start studying. but till the results come wait.

if you still want to go through then go over Inventory , Lease chapter from FSA, Ethics Standards, fixed Income, equity, Corp fin, PM basics, . do those topics that carry forward to Level 2 so you refresh through it. BUT now going through books, don’t start checking and thinking about what questions you got in exam and might have got wrong! nothing worse than hitting panic button especially when you can’t even do anything about it now!

[sethneha]

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@boneill25 as far as i know, CFAI doesn’t release the actual MPS. what you read, was estimated by 300hours themselves post results. CFAI only releases the pass percentage. am i right @Sophie ?

So. the Level II MPS for 2012 was 58-63% and for 2013 was 65-67%. and as you can see it’s not consistent over the years. The official candidate pass rates released by the CFA Institute, was 42% in 2012 and 43% in 2013.

[sethneha]

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hi @Sh90,

first of all which material are you using to study – CFAI books or via a Study provider’s material ?

1. If it’s through provider’s material then it’s already in a concise form covering all relevant topics and explanations. i wont take guarantee for Scheswer Notes as i always found both for Level 1 and Level 2 that some topics are missing in their notes but they cover those topics in their mocks and also in CFAI mocks. so you may have to match them with LOS being tested.

For Level 1, i completely used only CFAI books, that time i didn’t know any other provider apart from schweser, i did take their books but hardly ever used them until CFAI books stopped making sense to me.
from my experience of using CFAI books, i can say it worked for me without making notes.
i did make for Economics and Fixed Income, those have been my nemesis from day 1, i had made long huge notes covering chapters in and out with all diagrams cause i couldn’t understand them from huge CFA books and i needed in simple points. for rest topics, i highlighted main points, marked, wrote forumulas and practiced in the CFA books itself.
and before exam, went through the summary at the end of chapter and those highlighted points.

2. Making notes depends on person to person – how you study, are you comfortable to read from books or want it on your own handwriting ? or want summarized version of everything at end to go through not leaving a topic out.

initially for me understanding Derivatives theory in Level 1 was a pain, i just couldn’t get through those paragraphs, so i wrote all of that theory on MS word in bullet point wise and then got through it! i made through Level 1 in first attempt solely by reading and re-reading the CFA books multiple times and only doing EOCs, getting >70% in almost every section. i solved the CFAI mock just a day before the exam.

i used same thing for Level 2 attempt and failed big time. only after my first stint with Level 2 i realized, that it was different ball of game and needed different strategy to study and pass, and what practice questions and mocks meant.

3. i would say, don’t spend too much time on making notes, understand the topic fully in and out. if you do want to make notes, then just cover the gist of that topic and the important formulas related to it.

i was tempted to make notes for every topic and sub topic in Level 2. i literally stopped myself cause i knew it’s not worth at the end of month when i am juggling with mocks, reviewing that i am so freaked out to even look at these notes!

If you do want summarized notes covering all topics with formulas, then get hold of Eleventh Hour Guide by Elan Guides. rest focus on covering topics and head to EOCs and do mocks.

i hope this helps.

[sethneha]

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i took Level 2. it was fine. how much fine that results would tell..

i don’t want to get into how it was – compared to AM/PM or how many i guessed or not. cause i am tired of speculating and expecting and CFAI throws me off on the result day. it really doesn’t matter till it says that “Congratulations! you have passed Level 2!” till i see that for myself, it’s irrelevant how it did go. until i pass, whether it’s band 10 or band 5, it’s all same.
though, honestly, i have been counting my number of rights in every section since saturday night, pleading just this time, things change and it’s a Pass for once and all….!

[sethneha]

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Has anybody tried Fitch learning mock ? how is it ? is it worth the money ? and can the mock be downloaded or is it only on online mode?

[sethneha]

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@Dubinka yes, for 2014 they gave the same mock as 2013. in understand that. but i would say just do the mock again. Fresh. it worked for me. it really doesn’t matter if the mock content was same given u don’t remember the questions or answers.

and trust me the Mock Exam Seminar they had put up for Mock 1 of 2014 is AMAZING!! they haven’t put for Eco, Portfolio Mgmt and Quant. but rest 7 subjects are bang on revision. That is some intensive review. i am eagerly waiting for Mock 2 seminar too. It takes a lot to come up with an intensively exhaustive seminar like that. Peter has done all 7 subjects videos and he has covered everything in great detail. He didn’t only cover the case studies in context but all important and relevant points regarding that chapter in question. Hats Off to them for that and i simply enjoyed my review session.

Also, i compared my answers to the same mock what i had marked last year (as i retain my mocks and marked on the paper itself) and to what i answered now. To my surprise, i got the same questions wrong this time what i had got wrong last year! and what i needed was someone to explain me what and where is that i go wrong and fill the gap in between those and that’s where the Mock exam seminar did its work more.

Just give a try. may be you too can learn from it.

@Sophie,thanks for clearing that.

[sethneha]

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Thanks alot for the compilation.

i have one question: i have got study package from Elan Guides that has 2 mocks and they are superb, no doubt in that. i want to know what is the third mock offered by them ? is the 3rd mock needed to be bought or available with the study package ?

[sethneha]

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I took my 2nd mock from CFAI site under exam conditions and got 70% ! first thing, after checking the score is i am writing this post! Thanks a ton to 300hours blog to keep pushing on why the practice exams are important and just keep doing it.

this score is such a boost to study more! i still can’t believe it cause given the agony it comes while doing those endless case studies during the mock time. it’s a pain to sit for 3 hours doing mocks thinking i-did-this-before-but-right-not-sure how it’s going.

and one most important thing i worked on last week and i think that’s showing its pay off is to Review the mock given in the way it was mentioned in this post by Christine 300hours.com/1/post/2014/04/got-a-really-low-score-on-your-practice-exam-heres-4-reasons-to-not-worry-how-to-improve.html#.U2p2nfmSwSM

@christine‌ wrote in the post “Isolate the questions where you had wrong answers, and answers where you weren’t sure of (but may have gotten right anyway). Categorize them into (1) careless mistakes, (2) misunderstanding the question or (3) not knowing the material enough. Categories 1 and 2 are easy enough to rectify with practice and diligence. But from category 3, make sure you identify the topics you know you’re weak in, and spend the next few days honing in on these topics.”

this sunk to me so much that i went over the last mock that i had already reviewed to re-review by this way. i literally marked on each question in this category wise esp the 3rd category (but got them right anyway) and re- solved the question then i realized dude! there’s so much meat in one mock only!

Thanks a lot @christine‌ for all your tips. from today, no matter what happens, i am not backing away from this beast called Level 2!! will nail it for sure!! 😀

[sethneha]

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@Alex_Dolson‌ yes i did this way only. and it worked!

@MockTurtle‌ yes, the options in the item set ends up in different order so to punch the answers back, you just need to coordinate with the ones you marked in paper and with options given. the questions remain same at least for Level 2 mocks.

[sethneha]

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@Maroon5: yeah you are right, these are the explanations:

Que 1. Answer: A

Since the company is profitable and expects to retain all its earnings, equity and hence total
capital will increase over the 6-year period. In the line with the constant debt-capital ratio, debt levels will rise

Que 2. Answer: A

ROIC = NOPLAT / Invested capital

Working capital is expected to grow in line with earnings, which implies that ROIC will remain
stable. However, net PP&E is expected to decline because depreciation is expected to exceed capital expenditures. Therefore, total invested capital will grow at a slower rate than earnings, implying an improving ROIC.

[sethneha]

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also, is the proportionate consolidation method tested in FRA in Level 2 (June 2014)?

according to the notes, we are using same method – equity method under IFRS and US GAAP for joint ventures. but the EOC questions had questions related to proportionate consolidation. i am kinda confused over this.

[sethneha]

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@christine Thanks a lot for the advice.

Sorry for late reply.. i digged myself in practice exams last 3-4 days and found out what topics need attention. I remember almost all subjects, fine tuning is needed. though i have completely forgot Alternative Investments and Economics :-S will have to hit these books again

Will put in all the pointers you have mentioned. Thank you again 🙂

[sethneha]

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hi,

I would want, Sophie, Zee, Christine to reply to this post.

i have completed the content, practiced from CFA book EOC ques, examples, Elan’s practice ques and the examples in their notes. and last night, i had prepared what subjects needs attention according to the Prioritization of Topics mentioned in this post : http://www.300hours.com/1/post/2014/04/8-results-boosting-tips-for-the-cfa-exams.html#.U00t7_mSx0w

i know practice exams is the key, and i have to give take them in the exam like condition. they would make or break the game.

but still i feel some thing is missing. Level 1 attempt was lot different, i remember taking only one CFAI mock before the week to the exam, all i did was went back to topics and just read them again and again. it is alot different at Level 2.

i think now that i have done the whole curriculum once, i feel i should take all topics with the perspective that ‘what kind of question can be made out of this’ and i should be able to answer or solve them in one go.

is this approach right ? please guide. this is my 3rd attempt to Level 2 and i want this to be the last and final one.
it’s a lot to read, solve and go through the whole syllabus again for third time, i wont have patience after this to do this all over again.

In June 2013 Level 2 my Band was 7 with subject categories as follows –

Less than 50% – Fixed Income, Ethics, Economics, Alternative Investments
50- 70% – Derivatives, Quant
Greater than 70% – Equity, FRA, Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance

the subjects that i think need most attention are: Equity, FRA, Corporate Finance with Derivatives, Quant, Alternative Investment and Portfolio Management too as strength, they should too be mastered to level to get above 70%.
and rest three subjects: Fixed Income, Ethics, Economics, they are such a BIG DRAG. I really dread to go through these. but i can’t discount Ethics. last both attempts i had <50% in Ethics.

This time, i have read all the seven Standards again following Soft Dollars, Prudent etc chapters, did each example from the CFAI Book and EOC. Please Please tell what more should be done to clear Ethics. i feel i can make every subject into a 70% but not Ethics, it feels whatever i do this one is still left. please tell how to handle and make it also into a 70%.

i feel the way i studied in last two attempts esp from April onwards, the approach should be more of questions solving oriented and productive in terms of how i get a question right over how many i got right. does that make sense?

Also, there are few more things that take my attention is-

1. which are the best mock exams to use?
i had in mind to use - 1 CFAI, 2 ELan Guides , and i know i should be taking atleast 5-6 exams but i don't know any other provider whose mock are representative to the real exam. please guide on same.

2. i have solved EOC ques and examples quite a time now that i remember the answers to the questions even before reading them...it's really a toll to re-read the questions as fresh and answer them.
what are other sources that i can use to do practice questions and that would be worth in terms of the quality of ques esp in vignettes

3. How to do i keep track of my progress ? in fact, how do i know if am progressing or digressing ?
should i maintain like a log book - what all exam papers or practice tests i gave, which all questions got right, and which one wrong and tally them when i re do if i could get the wrong ones right again.

and it's not that 24*7 i am into CFA books, there are days when i don't feel like even opening the book but at the same time i know i should be studying something (today was one such day) i kept feeling FRA or Equity some thing i should study but then the day went off. what to do on such days...

I am sorry the post became really big but i don't have any study mates with me to share these thoughts and discuss so i poured them out all here and i look forward to know what kind of approach should be taken.

Thank you so much.
Regards,
Neha

[sethneha]

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Hi,

is the 5 A Day Prep is only for CFA Level 1 candidates ?

when i click on this page http://5adaycfa.com/#products , under High Quality, Full Color Printed Cards heading it says – Covers all sessions and readings from the most up-to-date 2014 December CFA L1 Curriculum and under other two heading it doesn’t specify which CFA Level.

I am confused. please guide me to the CFA Level 2 flash cards by 5 A Day Prep.

Thank you.

Regards,
Neha Seth

[sethneha]

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@SpyAli, thanks for sharing the experience. it’s great!

i want to know how did you nail Ethics ? that’s my weak point that i flunked twice in level 2 🙁 both time <50%. one nemesis that now i am scared to even think of giving the exam again just cause of ethics..

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