I will be resitting the LII exam come March 2011. For those of you who are also retaking the exam, can you share how you are planning to prepare? I am debating my options on some issues, especially on the financial side of things. Specifically-- only four new readings have been added. Do you think it is wise to buy the CAIA Knowledge Series LII book still? Also, are you planning to purchase the course provider materials again or just use the old books? Which do you think is the best course provider for LII? I would appreciate any comments. Thanks!
I was able to find the 4 new readings by simply googling for them.
Could one of you please list the 4 new readings if it’s not too much trouble?
Four readings have been added: Büyükşahin, B., M. S. Haigh, and M A. Robe. “Commodities and Equities: A “Market of One?” The Journal of Alternative Investments. Winter 2010. Rinehart, J. “U.S. Timberland post-recession: Is it the same asset?” Pages 11-30. R&A Investment Forestry. April 2010. Lo, A.W. and M. T. Mueller. “WARNING: Physics Envy May Be Hazardous To Your Wealth!” Journal of Investment Management. Second Quarter 2010. Esch, D.N. “Non-Normality, Facts and Fallacies.” Journal of Investment Management. First Quarter 2010.
That’s great; saved me (and maybe others) a bit of work. Thanks!
Captain Windjammer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That’s great; saved me (and maybe others) a bit of > work. Thanks! I didn’t know that you moved onto CAIA after CFA. What do you think of the program?
Joan, I flunked L II this time, and will be retaking in March also. The MC was ok for me, but the essays were complete and utter bullsh!t. I failed strictly because of that. They essentially blew up 2 throw away paragraphs into 2 10 pointer essays, lovely FML. This time, I’ll be reusing Uppermark, and just picking up the four new articles, since the main text stays the same. This time however I’m basically going to try to change my brain, and somehow pick up the skill of eidetic imagery. This way when they blow up 2 sentences into 20 points of essays, the CAIA will be no match for my photographic memory.
Bankin’ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Captain Windjammer Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > That’s great; saved me (and maybe others) a bit > of > > work. Thanks! > > > I didn’t know that you moved onto CAIA after CFA. > What do you think of the program? I think the materials are fascinating and very well done. I thought the Level I exam was really easy but I’ve read mixed reviews about the Level II exam.
Hi dbfinley, I completely agree with you about the essay portion. They blew up trivial sections into huge essay questions that I did not have the answers to. I am going to need that skill of eidetic imagery as well. haha… I am still trying to figure out how to approach the essay portion this time around. Regarding the 4 new articles, I was also going to just pick up the 4 but I realized that there were some practice questions at the end of the readings! I think I want to get a hold of this somehow as well, so that I don’t miss out on anything. What do you think? - Joan
Joan, Yeah I mean I’d have to look over what the practice questions were from last year, and see if they popped up at all. If I recall, the CAIA practice q’s weren’t that helpful. My plan for multiple choice is fine but I’m really just going to have to go through and try to find every essay question possible. Uppermark didn’t offer nearly enough, but then again I can’t imagine any test prep company could have possibly guessed the minute details they would test. Between now and the test I’d like to start maybe an essay q of the week, with full explanation on this board. I think this could be helpful and hopefully this way we could try to cover every angle.
Has anyone received the notes from Uppermark yet for March 11 exam?
dbfinley, I think that is a great idea and would like to participate. cfaboston28, Uppermark hasn’t shipped their materials yet; they are supposed to go out this week.
I think the best approach to the essay questions is to look at the flash cards. The questions on the flash cards in my opinion are closest to the minute details that CAIA LV II tested in the September exam. Let me know your thoughts everyone.
au2006 Exact strategy i took - my essay answers were literally copies of what the flashcard gave and i passed CAIA lvl 2 scoring in the highest tier in the essay section.
Retakers, Did you guys do the CFA or are you currently enrolled in the CFA program? Which levels did you complete before flunking level 2 CAIA? I’m taking level 3 CFA this June as well as Level 2 CAIA in March and kind of wondering what you guys thought. If you passed level 2 CFA but flunked level 2 CAIA I’ll be a little concerned. I’ve heard a lot of people calling CAIA Level 2 just as hard as anything the CFA throws out there in 2 and 3 and wanted to know your opinion on that.
dbfinley, LFM3RJ, I’d like to participate as well. au2006 , tfyim Did you use flashcards from Schweser or Uppermark? Also, do you think it is necessary to memorize the minute details on the flashcards?
Joan, 10000000% yes. The ethics question I had in my essay was fair. The other two, holy crap, unless you basically memorized every line of text you were f’ed. The first essay I posted is a broad easy one, kind of a warmup. But ideally every week we’ll get more and more minute. You really do basically have to memorize every line, and I think au2006, and tyfim have a good idea with notecards. I kind of tossed mine aside last year, but will be using extensively this year.
dbfinley, I used Schweser for the Sep exam, and I have to agree- I also didn’t use the flashcards extensively. But from what I remember, the questions (other than ethics) were very specific. I don’t think they would have all been in the flashcards because it was more application in nature rather than definitional. I have to revisit and see. But I was wondering if Uppermark had better flashcards in comparison to Schweser?
tfyim Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > au2006 > > Exact strategy i took - my essay answers were > literally copies of what the flashcard gave and i > passed CAIA lvl 2 scoring in the highest tier in > the essay section. tfyim, do you mean L2 flash card from schweser or uppermark ? Has anyone made their own flash card in outlook(Task) or in blackberry ? Anyone interested in working together to make them(electronic version), so that everyone could save some time ?
Hi, I used flashcards from Schweser and i would advise people not to waste time making their own flashcards. I believe that the battle is won or lost in the essay part and i do not anticipate people to have difficulties in getting through the multiple choice questions. Note that i structured my essay answers in short paragraphs (like bullet points) since i found it easier to get my point across as well as easier to recheck my answers. I do agree with Joan with regards to the flashcards being more definitions rather than applications, but in saying that, knowing the definitions are definitely a good foundation to build on. Good luck all