CFA Mnemonics Book from ACAP Institute

The only time I would borrow someone else’s mnemonic is when you have one or two things you just can’t seem to remember. I good mnemonic can stick for months, and may save you tons of time that you would have otherwise had to spend using repetition.

I swear by mnemonics and memory palaces, and they have been a big part of my studying. Of course, you have to hammer it in using practice problems, but memory palaces and mnemonics are outstanding “triggers” to help me remember things.

Some mnemonics are personal that’s for sure. But thanks for sharing your level 3 ones with us @padniaki, maybe you should start a level 3 topic on those then.

@padniaki mind sharing some of your mnemonics with us?

Well @Diya, one that comes to mind that is relevant to us (L3) is to help remember cognitive vs. emotional biases:

Cognitive:
After the gulf coast oil spill, BP (belief perseverence) needs to go to CHIRC(H) (Conservatism, Hindsight, Illusion of control, Representativeness, Confirmation) and repent.

An expert like Eugene FAMA (Framing, Availability, Mental accounting, Anchoring) never makes processing errors.

Emotional:

If you have an emotional bias you are a LOS(S)ER (Loss-aversion, Overconfidence, Status quo, Self-control, Endowment, Regret-aversion)

I think @diya is completely right, its better to create yourself then to use made by someone else. preferably in your own handwriting.

Save the money totally, you will need to party after clearing the exam in some buds 😉

The short answer is no!

Memorizing using mnemonic devices actually takes a long time because you have to remember the concept/formula you are memorizing and then the device that you are using to memorize concept/formula. If you usually use mnemonics then go for it but I going to guess that you don’t so it might not be a good idea. The time would be better spent doing revision and questions (especially if you are already crunched for time).

Also the exam tests you on comprehension of concepts so memorization alone is not helpful. Knowing the formula but being sure how it would be used and the underlying economics behind will put you at a disadvantage.

From my knowledge concerning mnemonics devices it work better if you yourself create them because what you find striking and absurd might not be to the person sitting beside you.

@CFAin80days, thanks for sharing this with us. I’ve actually never heard of it before. Depends on your learning techniques but mnemonics can be helpful.

But I’d have thought mnemonic creation are quite personal (what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another), else one wouldn’t remember it?! By spending time learning other people’s mnemonic (not just one but many of them), you might be better off spending time to understand and learning the concept/formula itself?

Save the money I’d say!

It’s definitely cool that someone put that together, though.

But again, these might not stick for anyone else, but they will for me. I also like to place my mnemonics within memory palaces, which adds a second trigger.

Also remember that the more outrageous/crude/obscene the memory device, the better (and I’m certainly not going to post any of my obscene ones!)