Any get their study packages or books yet? As usual Uppermark is still updating their materials. I got my Advanced Core textbook last weekend and have only started reading what interests me most. Currently busy with job hunting, but hopefully can get through 1st read of Adv Core this month.
Anyone else?
I quickly scanned the material and took the test in september and nearly passed it. (I am a CFA level 3 failer so have a decent background in a lot of the material already) I failed the Hedge Funds section pretty bad as well as the Miscellaneous material. I was “Average” in everything else except for Ethics where I was “Outstanding.” Funny, since I failed level 3 CFA ethics in June. In any case, I reckon no more than 100 hours of study and an easy pass. For now at least, the organization clearly wants to grow.
Tikka, are you taking Level III again this year?
With just over a month to go to the L2 exam, I’m only 40% of the way through the Shwesser notes. I definitely need to pick up the pace. If these telephone books are the condensed version, I wonder how long the original readings are ?! Maybe I shoulda skipped the notes, and gone straight to the Secret Sauce & practice problems.
I haven’t made up my mind on Level 3 yet. This is because I really want to be able to commit to it if I’m gonna try for it. I was pretty ready last year and had a bad day and failed. I figure I’ll have to work hard for at least a month just to get that same level of preparedness. Right now I’m uncertain if I can do that. As for CAIA level 2, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna pass and that it won’t take that much to do so. The test is way more forgiving then the CFA level 2 and 3 in my opinion. The questions are certainly hard, but I don’t think you are held to the same high standard in terms of who passes or not. I’ve been through the schweser notes now and done the questions. On pretty much everything. If I didn’t have a CFA background this stuff would go right over my head and I would be essentially memorizing the pages rather then trying to understand the material. It’s actually nice, because the two complement eachother well. Example: CFA teaches you everything you need to know about a First Order Auto Regressive Model but doesn’t really bother to show you why you would ever want to use one or why they might be interesting (ok maybe very briefly). CAIA doesn’t tell you what these things are, but they show you why they are interesting and where you would use them. Taken together I find it a lot easier to understand these things as I have a context as well as an explanation. Not just some stupid question like, “Which of the folllowing formulas represents a possible AR2 equation,” as the CFA would do. I’ve got the schweser practice exams. I’m frankly a bit worried about getting enough quality questions. I found Schweser for level 1 really did not prepare me to pass that exam. The questions were so dead easy in both the study guide as well as their practice exam. I know from taking the test that the real questions are pretty challenging.