CFA Level II

I have the Schweser notes

by lager44 (Senior Monkey, 67 Points) on 3/4/08 at 12:23pm

I have the Schweser notes for Level 2 right now, they are a huge help compared to the lengthy CFA Institute notes.

I say stick with what worked.

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you CAN NOT pass level one

by ratul (Gorilla, 586 Points) on 3/5/08 at 6:14am

you CAN NOT pass level one on 1-2 weeks prep. That is the dumbest shit ever. There's a 39% pass rate playa, and underpreperation is the one of the reasons for people not passing this shit.

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cite your source?

by fafa (Baboon, 171 Points) on 3/5/08 at 9:52am

That being said, Ratul - the 39% pass rate is a little misleading, as nearly have of the people 61% who "fail" are no shows for the test because they're underprepared and don't show up for the test.
....................................
nystateofmind, where did u get this info? thanks!

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nystateofmind - re: Level II, private equity, etc.

by numi (Gorilla, 540 Points) on 3/5/08 at 3:13pm

Don't underestimate the amount of time needed to pass Level II - it is quite a bit more challenging than Level I. A lot of the stuff in Level I, I either learned in college or during my experience in BB equity research. Best advice I can give you is to take a lot of practice tests, do not procrastinate, and understand how all the key concepts relate to one another (rather than getting too caught up in the little minutia). I put in about 125 hours of study time for Level I and probably around 200 hours for Level II. You seem to be pretty on top of stuff so maybe it would take you about this much time too, but just don't let anyone tell you that you can "get by" doing a certain amount of hours...you have to figure out what's right for yourself.

Also, I second an aforementioned poster's suggestion to read AnalystForum.com. Actually, this is where I've posted most frequently, since given my experience in equity research, I've generally had more to contribute there (and in a similar fashion as WS Oasis where most people don't work in IB/PE, most people on AnalystForum also don't work in ER/HF and are trying to learn). However, you'll see me more on these boards now that I'm working in PE.

By the way, thanks again for your advice on the PE stuff that I asked you about a while back. I ended up taking a job at a large middle-market buyout shop and just started recently. I'm sure I'll be seeking your advice again once I get settled in, as far as what I need to do as a new PE analyst in order to (1) move up the learning curve quickly and (2) be seen as a leader and contributor rather than someone who just does what they're told, and I think a lot of this has to do with understanding what is important to deal teams, which is something I don't really understand yet. I'll make a separate post about this in the PE forum when I have a chance to collect my thoughts a little.

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Don't want to encourage bad study habits

by wingman (Baboon, 166 Points) on 3/9/08 at 3:15pm

Edit: Don't want to encourage bad study habits.

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Yes there's a score report

by donk33 (Monkey, 38 Points) on 3/6/08 at 11:58pm

Yes there's a score report indicating areas in which you scored over 70%, b/w 50-70% or below 50%.
The specific grades DO NOT MATTER, you only need to pass the exam.

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I hope no one considering

by randomwalk (Senior Baboon, 196 Points) on 3/9/08 at 3:53am

I hope no one considering the CFA program takes the war stories of Wingman and his coworker that seriously. I passed Level I in December given 4 months of study (Schweser) and an undergrad Finance degree and by no means was it easy. I worked with people who passed Level II and III last summer, both of whom recommended doing the full CFA curriculum rather than Schweser for anything above Level I.

Schweser was great, but Level I, as comprehensive as it is, can be passed with a very good superficial review of the material such as Schweser, but I'm not banking on that to pass Level II and will take my sweet ass time.

Lame as it sounds, the CFA isn't designed as a program for people cramming to pass a test (here's looking at you CPAs), but rather for people who want to expand on their Finance background to gain professional credibility and refine their knowledge base.

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The need to pass ethics to

by jdm05520 (Chimp, 13 Points) on 5/29/08 at 1:22pm

The need to pass ethics to pass the exam is a common misconception. A former exam grader told me that failing ethics will not cause you to fail the exam. However, anyone who is slightly below the pass/fail threshold that does really well on ethics generally passes. I know several people who have failed ethics on every exam and now have their charters.

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