Hi Guys, am I the only one loser who is so desperate to pass this level II? I have taken this exam for 3 times and every time I got a band 10. It is so close each time that makes me mad and angry at myself. The first time I took the exam, I just read the books once and even not completing the whole set of EOC but I got band 10. Second time I told myself I will nail it and studied like mad, even take 1 month no pay leave to study, come to the exam hall with full confidence and again I got band 10! Last year again I score over 80% in all the MOCK, practice exams, I did all Shweser papers, Ellan exams and all CFA official MOCKs but the results is still band 10! I really hate it but this time I don’t really know what I can do more, I am pretty sure I mastered the concepts and understand everything thoroughly but why the band 10 keep haunting me? I am really worry this time though, if it is again band 10, I will quit and feel like a loser!
^You did Schweser, Elan & CFAI Mocks scoring over 80% in each + EOCs and still couldn’t pass?!
This is NOT the type of stuff I want to read when I’m trying to pull in a late night study session on a Saturday…what are you doing differently now for your 4th time?
Dude, you can seriously do this! You need to make sure you understand the concepts ad detail. Not just memorise answers etc.
I have full faith in you beating this exam.
I really don’t know man, I walked out of the exam each time feeling like I would pass but in the end I got band 10. I keep feeling that there is a control over the number of candidates who will pass in each country/region, I know there is an oversupply of CFA charter holders in Toronto, seems like all the guys with CFAs moved here from rest of the world and many are struggling finding jobs, could that be the reason they moderate the pass rate? Maybe I am a bit paranoid but I can’t explain why I keep having band 10
Can you tell us what your actual results look like on each subject the last time you did it?
Band 10 is terrible as it is just 3 to 5 questions away from passing. The exam itself is beatable, but sometimes, you may have to first overcome the fear of failure.
maybe it’s just that band 10 people keep coming back (some sort of survivorship bias), but it seems like there are a lot of band 9/10 out there. Do you guys think band 9 and 10 actually constitutes 20% of failing group? Wonder if it’s a bit larger to keep them coming back to collect more money.
Can’t find all the old emails but got this one:
Item Set
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 - * -
We have divided the group of candidates who did not pass into 10 approximately equal score bands. Your score band below shows how your overall score on the exam compares with the overall scores of candidates who did not pass this exam. Your score band: 10
@escoleru your result is pritty close to few results I saw in last year results thread who passed. For sure you will thrash this monster this time around. All the very best, I will be very curious to know your result next to my result only to know you passed.
Favour : Would you mind sending me previous years CFAI mocks kuljeetsappal01@gmail.com
Coporate Finance, Derivatives & Fixed Income
You need to choose two of these, and focus on getting your score above 70! Corporate Finance is a relatively light reading, the biggest chunk of the calculation required is in Capital Budgeting. I will focus on securing an advantage on this.
With regards the Derivatives/Fixed Income choice - Derivatives, in my opinion may be easier to nail. This is probably because i see it as a chug and play, either you know the concepts of — pricing x instrument at the start and determining the value at some point — or you don’t. Derivatives in my opinion offers less bullshit.
Fixed Income is a bit too wordy, but has the advantage of having less readings. The only major calculations are on interest rate trees and rank durations.
It is a must to get your scores at a level comfortable above 80 in either Derivatives or Fixed Income & Corporate Finance.
FRA
Most people are likely to score average in this section, so if you score average, then you should be fine, just don’t get your scores below average.
Equity
Don’t spend any more time on this again. You have clearly mastered the required concept.
Portfolio & Quants.
These two readings should serve as an hedge, should in case you couldn’t decide between Fixed Income & Derivatives, make sure you focus on securing a score above an A in both Portfolio & Quants.
This is a numbers game man. You need to look for four major subjects and focus on scoring WELL on them. Band 10 shows you are pretty close - a couple of more questions and you will be fine. A good score on Economics and Alternatives at the expense of Fixed Income/Derivatives may however mean that you have been spending too much time on less relevant subjects than more relevant ones.
It will probably take twice the amount of time you will have spent on Fixed Income, studying economics. It may be the case that you enjoy economics more - however, fixed income offers more in terms of returns.
These are only my thoughts.
My guess is to nail Ethics. It’s known to be the maker or braker in terms of passing, and not getting > 70% might be your issue.
thanks everyone, this time round I do not have any expectation, I resign to fate!
why resign to fate after enduring more than 1000 hours of study time combined? what you need the most going into that exam hall is your spirit. You need to remind yourself why you are in this. Remember, you are that same champ who dealt a ruthless blow to the level 1 exam, you can beat this beast too!
One of the cruelest things CFA Institute has ever done is to start letting the candidates know how close they came . . . while still failing.
A sense of hope brings in the cash. I would be curious to know how many people, once failing, and not aware how close they were to passing, would sign up again. I assume the people in bands 9/10 are in the high %s of taking the test again where as those in the lower bands are more likely to capitulate.
From what I gather, there’s a large concentration of scores around the band 8-10 range. So people who get Band 6/7 might be shocked at how the heck they did so bad, but in reality it may only be a few questions separating them from a Band 9 because of the ton of scores landing just several questions away from each other.
For the OP a good friend of mine is going through what you are at Level 3, and it’s torture. I would heavily focus on blue box and EOC questions, know them cold, and make sure you are doing them because you know how. Not because you have done them so many times, you memorized how to calc them.
I don’t know how many of you here are retakers but the exam is designed in such a way that no matter how many hours you put in, luck is the most important factor to nail it. There are so many tiny things that will make or break! I have spent over 1000 hours in the past 4 years for sure but I can never say I will be able to answer all questions on the exam. The actual exam is very different from everything they released such as the mock or sample exams. If this is at least 2nd time you take it then you will know what i mean. Being through this torture makes me feel that the cfa is like an online game that sucks you in and sabotage your life, the majority of what you learn will never be applied in your job in real life
No I disagree. Luck is important, but is no way the most important. I believe it’s safe to say the people who scored higher definitely know the material better overall.
I think you just have bias towards the exam because you failed so many times.
I say… Just do it man. If u think its luck then it’s a probability game, take enough times will get u to pass. Be positive
I will do it for sure, I feel better today after reflecting on myself, I have a good job in finance that many people passing all 3 levels may not even get in. Being a charter holder or not I am already in good shape, will be more focus and work hard this time, I have nothing to lose. Thanks everyone for your encouragement!
OMG 