Read the questions: Reading Skills & Exam strategy for CFA, FRM etc [continued]

Reading the questions is very important especially in Ethics, focus on these areas in my mock exams taken by the coaching institute:

Post Exam experience:

1. Do each question of Curriculum and Scz
2. Memorize each formula (everyone knows this, but believe me it is imp)
3. More tiny and cliche points
4. Each line of Scz
5. Small things
6. Small difference in options

Some general Strategy:

• Play time bound game
• Improve your reading comprehension skills
• Look at triggers, adjectives, extreme words and short down your answer to violation vs no violation
• Do short calculations by hand, don't worry about Calculator
• Least likely still a thing that gives trouble
• Ethics is about identification about breach with respect to the rules
• Ethics is like law, intention and acts if any goes wrong you will be punished
• Astrology, photocopying is all banned
• Soft dollar is something very interesting that you must know
• Confidence is the key in this exam
• Cash means cash in FRA, dont read it wrong
• In ethics read the entire case slowly to understand which is primary violation, this depends on your reading skills 
• Lease likely vs most likely 
• Maintain the same energy level, and keep energy level very high
• never take yourself in extreme pressure scenarios by not following the time bound game
• not let any negative thoughts come into your mind
• Leave the extreme tough questions for the last
• Many questions are straight from the book like FSA (in the internal exams)
• Your leg and back might pain so keep them healthy
• etc

Exam is like any other exam.

Raw List of Topics:

• Why subsidies causes loss
• Intersection of marginal cost and average cost
• technical analysis
• ratios
• spot rates
• expectation theory fixed income
• nopat
• portfolio
• sml cml
• jenson alpha portfolio
• tym vs ror current rates
• baesal 3
• ltcm
• basket of currency
• Swedish society website
• Capitalization
• 10k, 10q, 20f US and other things regarding reporting of USA
• Harry Markowitz introduced MP
• Black box trading, high freq trading, nano second information processing
• foreign trade and currency 4 trillion high freq trading
• hisotry of galeon group
• difference between all durations
• portfolio of bonds
• role and detailed modeling of how rating agency rate
• Rating agency downgraded sbi
• silver and gold manipulation by JP morgan
• SAS exam
• Excel most advanced modeling
• Debt structure being changed
• CAPM-CEU frequency
• secured and unsecured
• real or inflated
• Bloomberg terminal
• contra account
• treasury stocks
• After tax margin
• cash margin
• CFA L2 batch starts on 30th Oct
• secured vs unsecured loan
• capex
• LBO leveraged buy out
• Mosaic theory
• is it 5 times?
• after tax margin
• Philip curve long run unemployment remains same (all factor vary, vs one factor)
• minority interest
• reform to put real values
• all good movies on federal reserve
• nasdaq is otc?
• Revise regresson and its application for beta
• diverisfied and undiversifeide
• b vs SD are they of portfolios
• why is market most diversifiable
• different type of margins (derivatives and the table)
• international eco and reporting in l3
• comprehensive income l2
• slope remains same diff
• scenario analysis (sensitivity+best case+worst case)
• sql for selection
• baskets in der
• growing dividend discount model
• capitalization 100/20
• valuation on of inventory
• imparement of assetss and non tangible assets
• forward rate agrremant
• exchange vs swap vs option in derivatives
• currency swap
• CFO depreciation / impairment / capitalization of long termed assts
• tough questions of calculation of good will where other company has good will etc
• issuing bond at different rates and calculations

Economics:

• taylor
• phillip
• M2 mesure
• Laffor curve
• HHI index for monoply
• Symmetry principle
• CPI numerical calation

Companies in Hedge funds:

• Northern trust
• jp
• tesa
• RRD
• DE Shaww
• deulottee
• copal

Research areas:

• degree of freedom, and mathematical Equations used
• Citibank Suzlon deal
• Hedge funds India and USA
• Analysis for merger done by IB
• find Equity holders?
• CFA for hedge funds
• technical analysis
• mutual funds usa in india
• mymv margin maintainence, different type
• boa india
• spv legal and ratings
• greek frm
• oversubscribed
• Euro printing
• NASDAQ, OTC
• freddy and fanny
• credit rating
• nopat
• cfp
• credit ds
• RBI website
• option pricing
• ve nture capitalist vs angel investors
• business plan
• SWOAT
• frm var 2
• best journals in finance
• 'Nonlinear Markov games

These are list of topics I will slowly expand.

Test taking Strategy for CFA (June 2012 CFA Level 1 strategy: results and analysis)

Strategies and Game plans for taking the exam (personal opinion, apply at your own risk)

June 2012 CFA Level 1 strategy:

1. Starting with Financial Statement Analysis & Economics (Scz + Core readings 15*2 hours)
2. Then corporate Finance (Scz + Core readings 10 hours)
3. Alternative Assets (Scz + Core readings 8 hours)
4. Derivatives+Fixed Income+Quant+Portfolio are in FRM (hence can be diluted)

Feb 2012: Economics / FSA / Alternative assets
March 2012: Corporate / Portfolio
April 2012: Quantitative / Derivatives / Fixed income
May 2012: Other exams

June 3 2012 Exam

Introduction: Often it is said that Election are won not by performance and good governance but by good political management. Similarly exams are cracked not just by hard studies but exam management that includes time management, psychological management, other soft issues. Hence sooner or later one finds his way by his own ways of playing.

Proposed order of Attempting:

1. Ethics (2 min / question)
2. Eco
3. FSA
4. Equity
5. Derivatives and Alternative Income
6. Corporate Finance
7. Fixed income
8. Quantitative Analysis (1 min per question)

Other important issues to take care of:

• The reason to attempt questions in this order is that Ethics is v imp to pass the exam, and eco is something that I am new to. FSA being the longest section and again new to me goes at No.3. Finally Quant and related subjects are moved to end as I can do them with less energy and can do them in short time.
• I am thinking to follow this or just the reverse, but the problem is that in the last 30 minutes mind become drained and I cannot focus on tough and long questions of Ethics and FSA, hence to do the tough first and easy at the last.
• A point to note here is that we don't need an overall good score, rather we need to have 70% accuracy in the exam in all subjects. Where the key to pass is do good in ethics & FSA (ignoring quant as it is easy for me).
• Also the questions which you have reduced to 50-50, should be marked so that in the end you can pick between the 2. It is good to keep them in record. Also marking questions properly as sometimes the line on a/b/c is not good to make a distinction. 
• If you don't practice even questions you know will take more time.
• Fear and Negativity should not slow you down in the exam. These are psychological barriers.
• Hence one needs to break down exams into time bound games and have a strategy on sequencing. 
• Reading LOS and thinking we know it might be a good idea as questions are directly made form them.  Questions are directly made from a statement of LOS that find this thing, no indirect or tricks involved.
• Least likely catch and reading errors killed me. 
• Petty terms like Payback period, profitability index (of Corporate Finance) can create trouble, although they are very easy but you need a good memory. Same happens in economics with laffar curve, etc 
• It is a lot about Data interpretations as redundant values are given with lots of junk data.

Read the F Question:
Cash is real cash in CFs
Go long, means do it on paper
(A post on this topic exist: Check the list)

Last 15 days strategy:

1. Read each LOS carefully and read it from Scz as questions are directly picked from there.
2. Old CFA mock for years 2011,2011,2009 and also the free paid mock at the CFA website.
   Beside this you can check the mock of Scz.

Common things:

• If we are given NI and elements then we must remove the effects
• Reference word is important
• Interest expense in the bond questions need to be done with common sense
• The wordings are very important

List of silly mistakes. There are list of silly mistakes available on internet which you can see my list goes as follows:
Warrants are not to be added but the different amount causes dilutions.


Conclusion: Finally decide on a plan that suites you well. Be positive and practice to tame your mind.\

25 Days before the Exam

CFA FRM SOA: Learn Finance to understand Credit Stock and Derivatives

Aim:

CFA FRM: Learn Finance with easy and practical approach to understand Credit Stock and Derivatives.
Also helpful for those people preparing for CFA/FRM.

Logical/Analytical + Memory + English + Hard Work = CFA

I will try add some presentations on on docstocks, scribd, and add some forums, and also add some youtube videos on this site.

Join my free virtual classroom discussion session for CFA & FRM free at:
http://www.wiziq.com/course/708-CFA-Classes-Discussions-Study-Group-for-Self-Prep


CFA: Portfolio Manager, Equity Research
FRM: Risk Manager, Derivative Risk
FI: I think CFA but no course
Investment: CIIA
MSF Q / M Stat: Quant, Derivative Quant, Currency Quant

Ideal: CFA + FRM + MS Q = Quant
Or
MBA+CFA= Great Fin career (fin but non quant)

Areas of Quant Research are in Derivative and Fixed income. Example Interest option derivative, and check Interest Rate Derivatives it is one of the biggest market like Forex and involves a lot of activity.

Credits:
V. Mittal