kungpow9960

kungpow9960

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
    Participant
      • CFA Charterholder
      Up
      5
      ::

      As I always say, here are my two cents (apply the appropriate discount rate):

      Re: Flash Cards: Make them yourself. I didn’t make them or use any for Level I and if I had to do it over again, I’d definitely make my own and use them. I bought Schweser flash cards for Level II and they were OK, but not great. They are made according to the LOS, which is good but still sub-optimal, I’d argue. What you want for Level I in particular are definitional flash cards. So, “debt to equity ratio” on the front and the formula and maybe a sentence defining it on the back, as an example. So when you get to the exam and they ask “which of the following is closest to the correct debt to equity ratio?” you’ll have instant recall of that card and do the problem in 15 seconds, banking those extra 65 seconds for the harder stuff.

      I ended up making my own flash cards for both Levels 2 and 3. Here’s my method in brief, but do what works for you and what you can get done. There’s no point to try to make hundreds of cards if you don’t have the time; you’ll only waste valuable time. I did it the old fashioned way: with a pen and hundreds of note cards. It takes a lot of time to make them, but once you have them, they’re invaluable. So valuable that even now that I have my charter and will never need them again, I kept them and stored them in a closet. And writing them all out is helpful (or was for me, at least) in cementing the concepts in your mind. Between 2 and 3, I probably made well over 600 cards. Probably more, because I stopped counting them for Level 3 around 350. I bought a little box specifically for index cards from Staples and organized the cards by topic area. I used the big cards for 2, but smaller 3X5 for Level 3 to make sure I put only the critical info on the back.

      Once you have them, or as you complete sections, run through the cards when you have spare moments. For me, I took a section with me each day for my 20-30 min bus ride to and from work. Sometimes I’d run through cards at lunch. At night when I was studying, I got in the habit of ending my evening by running through some cards from a completely different section than what I had been reading or problems I had been working. Weird tip: say them out loud. I found that when I did that, they stuck more. Weird, don’t know why. Close the blinds so neighbors don’t see you talking to yourself!

      Ethics: Don’t bother with flash cards. It’s not about memorizing every statute because the focus is on applying the Standards, not regurgitating them. What I did was I’d read one Standard per day from the curriculum. Read the whole thing and all the examples they give you. Doing this, you’ll get through the whole Ethics section is something like 20 days (give or take if you read one Standard or two, etc.). Then start working the problems at the end and do them all. If you’ve got Schweser or some other prep service, work every single Ethics problem they offer you AFTER YOU WORK THE CFA CURRICULUM. That’s critical because I found the Schweser problems were not as hard and the exam day questions much more in tune with the CFAI questions. Going back to the reading: after your first read-through, start over again. Between now and the exam, you’ll be able to read the whole thing 3-4 times, working problems along the way. That should solidify it in your mind. Take a little bite at a time.

      Finally, Formula Sheet: YES. But try to make a primary and secondary sheet. If you think a formula is super critical and is likely to be on the exam (*ahem* *ahem* variance of a two-asset portfolio) put it on the primary sheet. Anything not as critical goes on the secondary sheet. With your flash cards, review it frequently.

      Hope that’s helpful in some way.

      Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
      Participant
        • CFA Charterholder
        Up
        4
        ::

        @Dan, I was in your shoes last year. I was on Level II…don’t know if you were taking Level I or II, but the principle applies all the same. I studied hard last year and was doing well on the practice exams, but bombed FSA on exam day (<50%) and so ended up in band 10 failing. It was incredibly demoralizing and I walked away from everything CFA for about a month. But, once you come back to it, try to take your results this year and see where you lost points and how you might fix that to pass.

        Look, you were very close to passing, like I was, and with a little more focus on certain areas, you’ll pass next year. I know that’s cold comfort now.

        For me, I saw how poorly I did on FSA and realized, “Jesus, if I just had studied harder on that, I’d have passed!” Frustrating, but encouraging simultaneously. So I structured my study plan around becoming obscenely good on FSA and Equity and Ethics. The rest, I studied, but the second time around, it’s a lot of refresh. It affords you the time to hammer on whatever sunk you this time around. I practiced FSA item sets at least two or three times a week beginning in March and was nearly automatic by exam day. I went from <50% in '12 to >70% in ’13 and passed.

        Don’t lose hope. Try not to be too discouraged and most of all, use this year’s results as the basis for your blueprint for kicking the hell out of this exam next year (or in December, if you’re on Level I).

        Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
        Participant
          • CFA Charterholder
          Up
          4
          ::

          My two cents (apply the appropriate discount rate): Do June 2015 for Level I. A couple reasons:

          1. It’s a tighter study schedule than you might think. There are 99 days until the Dec Level I exam. That means you have to register, get your books (I’ll assume you do the e-book to save a week on shipping the physical books) and read the entire curriculum and do all the sample problems (and more!) in 99 days, starting today. 300 hours/99 = just about your 3 hour per diem study time. That’s assuming you hit that mark each day, every day, including holidays, etc. That’s not a single day off from studying, which I would not advise. It’s a recipe for burnout and the worst thing is to burn out with 3 weeks to go before the exam, just when you need to kick it into overdrive. This is like the baseball season: you want to be playing your best baseball in the three weeks before the playoffs. See: Boston Red Sox, 2011.

          Obviously weekends will have greater study times and your per day studying should increase as the exam nears, so the math is very back of the envelope. That time includes any review or additional materials like Schweser Notes that you might need to read and work through. This also does not include practice exams, which I’d highly recommend so you can get the cadence of doing one problem every 90 seconds down. Each exam takes a day, obviously, since they’re each a full length CFA exam, so subtract out at least three days and preferably five. Plus you’ll want to take at least that last Friday off from studying to mentally rest and prepare for the exam day.

          2. If you take level I in December and pass, you will naturally sign up for Level II in June. If you rush through Level I and don’t get those basics down (which I think can be done and still end in a passing grade on Level I), Level II, which is already the most difficult of the three levels, will be that much more difficult. Speaking personally, I don’t see much upside from killing myself studying from now until next May, only to have a high(er) chance of failing Level II in June 2015, and then taking it again in 2016. Which would have happened anyway had I passed I in June 2015 and then taken II with a full head of steam in June 2016 (and theoretically passing).

          Especially since it doesn’t sound like you intend to take Level III until after your executive MBA (I’m guessing that’s a one-year program?) and you may not have the work experience required to receive the charter anyway. Why try to push through it from essentially a cold start?

          3. From a purely financial point of view, while you don’t have to pay the program registration fee again, you do have to pay for the exam fee again. And that runs something like $600-$700 these days, I think. Some of us (myself included) were lucky enough to have worked for firms that paid that for us, but it sounds like you might be shelling our your own dollars, which are always more precious than someone else’s.

          Like I said, these are just my opinions and I’m not saying it’s impossible or that you shouldn’t do it. But I would say you should at least give these things some serious thought before pulling the trigger. It’s a long road from signing up for Level I to standing over the corpse of the slain Level III exam. Like Ali standing over Liston after knocking him out.

          Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
          Participant
            • CFA Charterholder
            Up
            4
            ::

            I agree with @policedog and @zee as well. The self tests are somewhat useful, but you shouldn’t put too much stock in the scores themselves. Best thing, in my opinion, is to use them as a measuring stick for your understanding of the material. Especially if you feel it’s easier yet you’re getting low scores. Dissect the solution and see where in your attempt to solve the problem you went wrong. Or identifying, as @policedog said, how they’re tripping you up and what to look for so you don’t get it wrong in December/June.

            I would advise also not to have a running average score going because that shouldn’t be your focus. You run the risk of focusing only on getting that number above some numeric level and that’ll drive you crazy. I know that’s easy for me to say!

            The practice problems are there to help you learn the concepts and methods for solving the problems, so getting them wrong is actually fine.

            Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
            Participant
              • CFA Charterholder
              Up
              3
              ::

              Speaking just for myself, I always take the first two or three months post-exam to step away from reading anything finance-related outside of my job to let my brain refresh a bit. But, if that’s not your style, I’d recommend (in no particular order):

              “Capital Ideas: the Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street” by Peter Bernstein is a great read in modern financial history, IMHO. He also wrote “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk” which is a deep dive into how the concept of risk has evolved over the last few centuries.

              “The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton Christensen is excellent for thinking about industry structure and how it can be changed from below.

              “The Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith because anyone who’s going through the torture of the CFA Program should read this to explore one of the underpinnings of the CFA curriculum.

              There are others, but these were all enjoyable and challenging, while also being helpful in reinforcing CFA concepts in various ways.

              Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
              Participant
                • CFA Charterholder
                Up
                3
                ::

                Two calculators is key, without a doubt. I used the same two TI BA-II Plus (one Pro, one not) for all three levels with no issues. In fact, I used the Pro only and never needed to bother with the back-up. So each Memorial Day I would replace the Pro’s battery just to be sure (I use it at work too, so it gets fairly regular use).

                Two warning stories: first, two years ago a guy I work with brought his old, expired passport to the exam by mistake. They didn’t let him take the exam and he had to explain that to his boss. It’s now a legend among us here in the office. Don’t be that guy. Check the passport.

                Second, when I took Level III, a guy was going around to every candidate right before the exam started begging to use a calculator as he had only one and had forgotten it at home. That was a Level III candidate who should have known better. Don’t be that guy. Just bring two calculators.

                Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                Participant
                  • CFA Charterholder
                  Up
                  3
                  ::

                  I would absolutely second the above suggestion of reading the CFA curriculum for Ethics. Read the whole thing. The questions will typically hinge on knowing the rule well enough to make the reasonable judgment about the case study. I’d say 1/3 of the Ethics questions have no straightforward answer and you’ll be guessing. If you know the material and CFAI’s interpretation cold, the guess becomes more educated.

                  To that end, I would always start reading one section of the Code & Standards a day until I was done. I think that takes about 20 days (maybe?). If you start now, you can read through the whole thing at least twice, maybe three times. This makes the material digestible but you’re also being comprehensive over time. Just my two cents.

                  Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                  Participant
                    • CFA Charterholder
                    Up
                    2
                    ::

                    First piece of advice is become comfortable with the item set format. It takes practice to get good at them.

                    Another piece of advice I’d say is worth noting is something other posts have touched on as well and that’s focusing on the biggest sections by exam weight. But I’d add that you should do an honest assessment of what topics you’re best at, what you’re not so great at, and which ones interest you the most. Then create a study plan where you focus on your strength areas and the big topics like FSA and Equity, so you’re putting the most effort towards areas where you have the best chance to get the correct answer. Better to get >70% on FSA and Equity than <50% in those and >70% in Econ, for example.

                    In my case, I left derivatives until the very end of my studying because I knew that a.) they’re not interesting to me and b.) it was tough for me to wrap my head around them. Why spend a lot of time studying a topic that would likely be 10% of the exam when I can hammer pension accounting, which I know will be there? I put that time towards FSA. It worked out in that derivatives my year was only a small percentage and covered topics I was relatively OK with. And the FSA section was something like 35-40% (can’t remember exactly) and I crushed it because I had focused on FSA a lot. The combination of luck (derivatives) and preparation (FSA) meant I didn’t have to take Level II again.

                    Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                    Participant
                      • CFA Charterholder
                      Up
                      2
                      ::

                      I would agree with what @christine and @Sophie said. I think you would be far better served passing Level III and getting your charter at this point than spending lots of hours on a website. Finishing the CFA Program will demonstrate a passion for investing as well as motivation/drive, and ability. Plus it shows you can learn on your own and on the fly. All of which will be important because entry level research jobs involve a lot of heavy lifting, so to speak. You can use the charter to deflect concerns about your lack of direct modelling experience, but that’s a different posting, I think.

                      That being said, I think developing a website where you post models and stock theses, etc., will also be useful in moving from the back office track you’re on now to a more middle office role. The reason I say that is it shows initiative and passion again. The website can serve the role of a photographer’s portfolio: something that showcases your work for potential employers to see. However this should complement examples of how you have used your technical and analytical skills in your current role. Unlike the movies, there are few Gordon Gecko’s hiring Bud Foxes based on little more than a website with good models (or tips about airline union negotiations!). But it would be an interesting differentiator and something you can highlight in your interviews when you have them.

                      So maybe work on the website until you start studying for Level III and then get that charter!

                      Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                      Participant
                        • CFA Charterholder
                        Up
                        2
                        ::

                        @jessmat: Sounds good. Glad you found some of my ramblings helpful. Good luck!

                        Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                        Participant
                          • CFA Charterholder
                          Up
                          2
                          ::

                          In my opinion, the curriculum gives you everything that could possibly be tested on the exam. The test prep providers like Schweser give you most of the things that they feel have a better probability than not of being on the exam. Moreover, the difference is in depth. The curriculum is not concerned with brevity, so it will drill deeper into some topics than others without regard for the reader’s sanity. Level III option strategies is a great example of this, but there are lots of others.

                          The curriculum is what, 3K pages long or something per level? Schweser Notes are something closer to 1/3 to 1/2 that in length. There’s just no way for all the topics to be covered in that short amount of space (adequately). So, some things will be left out and none of the topics will be discussed in as much detail as what you’ll get from the curriculum. Calculating the duration of a swap, for example, is nowhere to be found in Schweser’s Level III books, but the curriculum discusses it at length. It may or may not show up on the exam, and Schweser takes that into account when they decide what to include.

                          That being said, the providers are great at taking very complex topics and boiling them down into actually applicable tenets. You also get lots of additional questions to practice and the sample exams, among other resources. I used only a provider for Level I and it was fine. But I probably went 75/25 provider (test prep plus an additional  third party three-day seminar focused solely on FSA) to curriculum for Level II and then reversed that ratio for Level III.

                          Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                          Participant
                            • CFA Charterholder
                            Up
                            1
                            ::

                            I think it’s fine to break up your first one or two or three practice exams by session. Do a morning session one day, then the afternoon the next or whatever. I always did these initially un-timed and spend the time on the questions I got wrong by looking in the answer key to understand what they’re asking, why I got it wrong, etc. That is extremely beneficial if you do it in a focused manner. Doing one problem set then getting up and getting a snack or something and then coming back to another two or whatever, however, is not as good. You want these to be focused, in depth practice sessions to maximize your time at this point.

                            However, I would strongly suggest moving to doing full practice exams by the third or (at latest) fourth exam you attempt. You can decide if you want to do these un-timed or not. I would then say you absolutely should be doing full length practice exams by the end.

                            The reason you want to get in the habit of doing the full length exam is that I would argue that a 3 hour exam is fundamentally different from a 6 hour exam. It’s one thing to finish a 3 hour session knowing you’re done for the day. It’s different to get up at 6am on a Saturday, get to the library by 8am, start your session at 9am, end at noon and then return at 1:30pm for a whole other session at 2pm that you also must do well on. Now do that with a bunch of other people who are all going crazy from stress and anxiety. Why would you want exam day to be the first time you’ve ever taken a full length CFA exam if you have the chance to do it beforehand in practice?

                            It’s like training for a 10K. Sure, you could probably get by with running some 4 mile runs and then rely on adrenaline to carry you the last 2.2 miles. But if you run several mock 10K races, the actual race day will be more routine.

                            Just my two cents. Apply the appropriate discount rate, of course.

                            Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                            Participant
                              • CFA Charterholder
                              Up
                              1
                              ::

                              Because of my work schedule, studying at night after work was my only option unless I wanted to wake up at 3 or 4am to study before getting to the office by 7:30am. Which would have been terrible (see: sleep deprivation).

                              During the week I would study at night 3-4 weeknights per week. I’d also study at lunch 4 days per week, which was about 30-45 minutes. So, on work days I was studying, I was probably getting 3-4 hours in per day in total. I’d usually take all of Friday off (lunch and the evening) and then take another evening off depending on the week (typically Tuesday or Wednesday). By giving myself all of Friday off, I was able to better avoid burnout. I spent most of the weekends studying, with my times on those days increasing as the exam approached. And by setting this schedule, I largely prevented myself from inventing reasons not to study.

                              Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                              Participant
                                • CFA Charterholder
                                Up
                                1
                                ::

                                This seems about right to me in terms of hierarchy of what is more and less applicable for CFA studying. I definitely think your point that individual results will vary is a great one.

                                For me, interleaved practice, distributed practice, and practice testing were the most effective. Being able to do a problem set in FSA and then switch right away to derivatives (or whatever) was key at Level II and III. Imagery was not helpful for me at all, while highlighting was somewhat useful in helping me focus my attention on notable concepts when I went back to re-read. I’d say mnemonics were also not helpful broadly, but I found them useful for some Level II concepts like remembering which exchange rate to use for a particular income statement item depending on whether you’re using the current rate method or temporal method. But those applications were few and far between.

                                Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                                Participant
                                  • CFA Charterholder
                                  Up
                                  1
                                  ::

                                  If nothing else, taking the exam will provide you with a barometer of where you were in terms of knowledge of the material and relative to your peers who took the exam. If you fail and end up in a higher Band than you thought you’d get, maybe you’re not too far off and you can try again next year (or in December) and have a better shot at passing. Conversely, if you fail and end up in a lower Band, then you at least have some evidence that maybe your valuable time and energy are better used elsewhere.

                                  Plus, you’ve already paid for the exam. Not showing up to take it means you’re abandoning all hope of seeing ANY value from that money. A failing score and results is still value add on some level.

                                  Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                                  Participant
                                    • CFA Charterholder
                                    Up
                                    0
                                    ::

                                    Agree with all this. It all depends on how you study most effectively. But I’d suggest starting earlier (pre-2015 certainly) rather than later. Since you’re doing Schweser, you could register soon and get your curriculum and do a read through in the fall at a slower pace, seeing where you’re picking things up more easily and where it’s just going in one ear and out the other. Then step away for the holidays to decompress. In January, get the Schweser books and start back up in earnest, pairing them with the curriculum.

                                    If nothing else, you’ll have a bit more confidence having already seen the material once in the fall, and the Study Notes and classes are helpful in pulling out the most important concepts. And there’s no pressure in the fall to rush through the books.

                                    Just my two cents.

                                    Avatar of kungpow9960kungpow9960
                                    Participant
                                      • CFA Charterholder
                                      Up
                                      0
                                      ::

                                      I agree with all of these and only would add a corollary to #9 (Don’t make your exam open book). I think if you want to make your first mock exam open book, that’s totally fine. But it should be only if you a.) have more than a couple mocks to complete and thus have the resources for this gradualist approach and; b.) have the time to do this, as it is very time intensive. You’re looking at well beyond the 6 hours allotted for a timed exam, obviously.

                                      I’d say only do it for the first one though, as you don’t want to burn precious mock exams on untimed, open book tests. That defeats the purpose of the mock exams, which is to replicate the real exam as much as possible.

                                      Just my two-cents. Apply the appropriate discount rate.

                                    Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)