Level 2 Exam Format

The exam format for level 2 is quite different from level 1. In addition to having to do item sets, the CFAI does not give exact weightings of each topic in the exam.

Altogether there are 20 item sets; 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. Using the exam weighting guide, I have made a table showing what the exam structure could look like:

AM Session

Ethics	Quantitative Methods
FRA	Fixed Income
FRA	Alternative Investments
Equity
Equity

PM Session

Ethics	Corporate Finance
FRA	Derivatives
Equity	Portfolio Management
Equity
Economics

Two item sets in each session have been left blank because the weights for each topic in the exam are ranges (apart from ethics which is set at 10%). This means these items sets could be any four from the following topics:

Quantitative Methods	Corporate Finance
Economics	Corporate Finance
FRA	Equity
FRA	Equity
Derivatives	Fixed Income
Derivatives	Fixed Income
Alternative Investments	Alternative Investments

The first thing to note is that FRA and Equity together make at least 35% of the exam. Possibly up to 55%! These two subjects are definitely the most important, and getting a high mark in these can help immensely in passing.

The other thing to note is that every topic has the potential of being heavily tested in the exam. Quantitative Methods and Economics could possibly be worth 10%, and the others (apart from Equity and FRA) could be worth 15%. No topic can be ignored. There is no way to predict which topics will be tested more than others.

I took the same approach towards level 1. I didn’t neglect any area, even when I knew there were sections worth only 5%. I will take the same approach to level 2 and when it comes to revision time I will cover every topic as if it were crucial to the exam. And they are: 5% could mean the difference between passing and failing.

Today I finished study session 8. I will aim to finish corporate finance by thursday. It’s strange how I can spend four days on one topic, whereas it took me two weeks to get through FRA, which is about the same length as corporate finance. I’m not complaining though. I’m behind my study schedule so I need to get through some topics very quickly…

75 days until the level 2 exam.

One month checkpoint

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while. I’ve been quite busy at work lately. I have not been neglecting my studies but I’m not moving at the pace I would like to be. The good news is I’m still keeping up with my schedule. The bad news is I had a week in reserve when I started studying. That is completely gone now..

I finished the first book last week and finished Reading 24 today. So far, FSA does not seem too hard. It has just built on what was in the level 1 curriculum. This section is worth 15%-25% of the exam so even though it has been easy so far, it’s an area I need to know extremely well.

One thing I have been neglecting is questions. I have decided to get Schweser’s QBank for level 2 instead of Analystnotes. This is because I have heard Analystnotes are nowhere near the same quality as it was for level 1. Also I don’t want to be in the same predicament as last time a week before the exam.

I have not been doing many End of Reading questions in the curriculum either. From now on when I have a break at work I will work on these, instead of reading through the curriculum (which is what I’ve been doing).

I’ve been studying for a month now. I’m warmed up and need to put serious effort in. So far the material has probably been the same level of difficulty as the level 1 material, except I have half the time to cover it. I have heard fixed income is quite hard, and the biggest section of the exam (equity) was my weakest part in level 1. I now see why you are given postcards to give out…

85 days until the level 2 exam.

End of the month

I didn’t do as much study as I had planned, mainly due to personal things. Today I finished Reading 16 (Trading with the World) and I still have time to start Reading 17 tonight. I can catch up to my original schedule as long as the readings for FSA are not too long or hard. I guess I will see how it goes…

Economics does not seem very hard so far. They are just concepts you need to read and understand. There is no maths either which is a welcome break from the stats in Quant. I have a feeling there is a lot more maths to come in the future readings though...

I haven’t joined analystnotes yet, or bought any other QBank. I’m settling for the end of reading questions so far, but if I don’t do questions regularly for the readings I’ve already covered, I’m sure to forget the stuff I’ve done. The bad news is that my computer’s playing up and I’ve needed to reinstall windows a couple of times this month. Anything I download could potentially be wiped. Maybe I should just get it fixed?

Have you been doing questions from a QBank on a regular basis after you’ve completed a reading? If so, how often and how many questions do you do for each reading? I think it’s a fine balancing act because if you don’t do any questions, you’ll forget the important material, but if you do too many, you wont have enough time to get through the curriculum. I remember near the end of level 1, I wasn’t even doing the end of chapter readings in an attempt to finish the curriculum with enough time for revision. I don’t really want it to be the same this time..

97 days until the level 2 exam.