rhuang2

[rhuang2]

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Thanks!

[rhuang2]

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Nope, except a long term required return of 14% plus a 25% near term growth rate given, there’s nothing else. That’s exactly why I thought the question is poorly formulated — how am I going to magically assume a higher rate. I’m going to send an error report to Kaplan (again…). Thanks.

[rhuang2]

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It’s a very long passage, but to shorten it, here it is: 

Firm 2 is a major software manufacture that has a consistent track record of paying dividends that is related to its earnings. The firm is projected to have a growth rate of 25% for the next five years and has an estimated required rate of return of 14%. The valuation of Firm 2 will be included in a research report targeted toward common investors. 
Q: Would it be appropriate to use a DDM to value firm 2? 
A. Yes
B. No, DDM is only used when an investor takes the perspective of a major shareholder
C. No, because the dividend growth rate is higher than the required rate of return. 

I just figured it’s rather a trick question that required me to assume I can assign a higher rate of return in the beginning. I would be surprised if the CFA institute uses this type of trickery so it should be Kaplan’s problem. At least I think all the questions were fair on Level 1. 

[rhuang2]

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ah, I see, the question wording got me confused as I was thinking it was saying the behavior delta instead of re-balancing by adding puts. Thanks!!

[rhuang2]

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Passed, 3 sections under 50%, 1 section in the middle, and the rest over 70%. Work email isn’t working so I can’t forward the results from my phone to paste. Will get to it when it works. 

[rhuang2]

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Have you guys done all the CFA institute exercises online (those that requires amortizing good will or intangible asset)? I find some of those beyond difficult and almost impossible unless I’m an accountant. Compare them to Kaplan’s Qbank and mocks, the latter seems like a joke as I can pretty much get about 70-80 consistently for the Kaplan stuff. Wonder how difficult the real exam is gonna be….. sigh….. 

[rhuang2]

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I completely agree that some stuff was not on the Kaplan books at all. Overall I feel Kaplan did a poor job preparing me for the exam this year compared to level 1. Is there anyone else who used it and feel the same way? I don’t feel either exam was harder than the other. I’d say about 33% of the questions in either exam I was half guessing….  🙁

[rhuang2]

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daharmattan1 said:

Agreed with @Christine. I used Schweser with online supplements and it worked fine. Currently giving http://www.cfaexamlevel3.com a whirl for an alternative (and free) source of summary notes as I coach a couple friends through L3. Advantage of 3rd party notes IS the condensed version. L3 is about broad connections between material, and not having to wade through overly detailed readings from the original curriculum works well as a time-saver. As with L1 and L2, the secret is going to end up being practice problems and sample exams

How useful did you find cfaexamlevel3.com? Do you think using them exclusively along with the official books is sufficient? Thanks! 

[rhuang2]

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1. I put in about the same time, but my experience shows it’s NOT about how many hours but how well you understand the material. Someone posted a comment here that says CFA lv 1 is a mile wide but 2 feet deep, whereas lv 2 is a mile deep but 2 feet wide. That’s so true. 
2. I used exclusively the Kaplan Schweser material and completed 80% of the question bank — didn’t even open the official books. 
3. I did the six mocks from Kaplan and analyzed my mistakes and try to review those sections again. Then I did the official mocks which aren’t as helpful in my view. 
4. Search on this forum and there’s a recommended order. Always save ethics for the last. 
5. I went over everything once but focused more on why I made the mistake. Again, understanding is real important. 

The time series material in Lv2 will be difficult for you if you aren’t familiar with it. Fortunately my MFE degreed helped a lot on that. 

[rhuang2]

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Pass!

Q#	Topic	Max Pts	<=50%	51%-70%	>70%
–	Alternative Investments	18	–	*	–
–	Corporate Finance	36	–	*	–
–	Derivatives	36	–	–	*
–	Economics	18	–	–	*
–	Equity Investments	72	–	–	*
–	Ethical & Professional Standards	36	–	–	*
–	Financial Reporting & Analysis	72	–	*	–
–	Fixed Income Investments	36	–	–	*
–	Portfolio Management	18	–	–	*
–	Quantitative Methods	18	–	–	*

What are you guys planning to use for level 3?

[rhuang2]

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Thanks, I’ve filed a report with Kaplan. I feel their study  material is not as good as they were a couple of years ago — lots of errors. 

[rhuang2]

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good luck to everyone on the exam. Thanks

[rhuang2]

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hairyfairy said:

I used Kaplan for L3. Definitely could have been better, but it did the job!

I felt that the Kaplan text seemed to have missed out a lot of the L3 syllabus. Especially evident when taking essays, I often come across a question that I had no clue about, and reading the CFAI syllabus helped.

I see, thanks. Did you open the L3 official books at all?

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