L2 - Syllabus Continuity (For Retakers) question, material, understand, will, 2011

ashycal

After spending $$$ on Schweser material I was not able to find the time to study for this years L2.

I'm thinking about using my 2011 L2 notes to start studying with this autumn, before moving onto the 2012 CFA books next year.

I really don't want to shell out again, but my question is whether i would be wasting time reading 2011 material? Surely the material can't change that much?

(Obviously i will still learn stuff reading 2011, just want to understand the degree to which it will help me pass 2012)

cheers

mp3bu

I definitely recommend using CFAI books and not schweser or any other material. CFAI books and mocks are the best for preparations I wasted my time on Schweser and Id be SOOOOOO lucky to pass borderline (10% chance maybe) .. Im glad i did read a bit in CFAI books because it did help me a lot in the real exam.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 1, 2011 at 06:59AM by Bilal.

d2rockstar

I disagree and sometimes think people recommend using the CFAI books in order gain an advantage over others. The reality is that at least 90% of what is in the CFAI is in Schweser, which is by far enough information to pass and is laid out in a concise and easy to understand way. The CFAI books on the other hand are long drawn-out text books. Even if you read 100% of the CFAI text there is no humanly possible way to retain the information and be able to determine what is important for the exam and what is not. I recommend reading schweser and using the CFAI texts as a reference and do all of the CFAI EOCs. I read all of the CFA texts and hardly retained anythihng until I went back and reviewed with Schweser.

thommo77

You’ll need to check finquiz.com when the 2012 syllabus is released. They usually have a good comparison where they highlight any changes in the syllabus.

hassan

Bilal,

Before you condemn schweser, pls provide a single LOS that was not addressed by Schweser. I would recommend doing CFAI EOC questions for sure to get a feel for what are the areas that are emphasized by CFAI curriculum writers. Usually the exam writers are on the same page as curriculum writers (may be the same group???)

dmrktrading

Woot the old "Schwesser vs. CFAI" argument. Good thing about this one is that we can have it again, and again, and again.

I've used both - Used Schwesser the 1st time (fail), CFAI 2nd time (we'll see). Here are some "facts":

-Schwesser and CFAI both contain what you're supposed to learn.

-Schwesser material (in aggregate) is about 75% as thick as CFAI.

-CFAI will have - somewhere in the reading - the exact answer to every single question that's on the test.

-Schwesser will have - somewhere in the reading - the concept you need to get the test answer right, but you'll have to think about it and figure out what "the trick" is that CFAI readers probably already caught.

Here's some more that I think is valid:

With Schwesser, you think you're saving time but you aren't (especially if you fail). You can do 250 hours with Schwesser and 250 hours with CFAI - different approaches, but in the end it's the "pound of feathers vs. pound of bricks" question. Schwesser is, hands down, the "pound of feathers" everybody who searches for that "time saving method" is looking for. It's still a pound, people. You have to learn it regardless.

ohai

The LOS don't change too significantly each year, so you wouldn't likely be wasting your time looking at 2011 Schweser for the 2012 test. Take a look at the 2012 LOS when they come out though and identify the changes so that you don't end up studying anything that's no longer in the curriculum. You're probably safe looking at some of the major concepts that won't change though like the different equity valuation methods and most of financial statement analysis.

giorgio10

yeah, make sure u nail every single of the new topics that get added over the 2011 syllabus....they are very very very likely to appear!