2011 Band 10er . . . seeking advice on Ethics and AM failing, only, advice, children, 2011

dece2011

I've been a member of the board for a few years and really enjoy the informative and comical posts. Was hoping to put CFA L3 behind me after failing in Band 5 last year, but only improved to the infamous Band 10 in 2011. I have two young children (5 and 1.5 years) and am hoping to put my fam out of the misery of CFAdom in 2012 on my 3rd and final attempt at this beast.

My achilles heels in 2011 (and last year) were Ethics and the Am section.

For Ethics, I've never been able to get in the 70%+ category on any of the three levels. I even suck when doing the CFAI examples (usually getting about 2/3 correct). For all of you Ethics studs out there, can you share what helped you master this section of the exam?

In terms of the am section, I feel very comfortable with the material, but find it hard to grind out more than a couple of sentences in bullet point format given the time constraints. It sounds like practicing the old (and still relevant) portions of the am section over and over again in timed sessions is really important. Have also heard about the Creighton camp, but the cost might be an issue. Any additional advice people can provide RE: mastering the am session would be greatly appreciated.

For what it's worth, here are my results:

Essay Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
1 Portfolio Management - Individual 15 - * -
2 Portfolio Management - Individual 23 * - -
3 Portfolio Management - Institutional 26 - * -
4 Economics 23 - * -
5 Portfolio Management - Asset Allocation 20 * - -
6 Fixed Income Investments 19 - * -
7 Equity Investments 22 - * -
8 Portfolio Management - Risk Management 16 * - -
9 Portfolio Management – Performance Eval. 16 * - -


Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
- Alternative Investments 18 - * -
- Economics 18 - - *
- Equity Investments 18 - * -
- Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - * -
- Fixed Income Investments 36 - * -
- Portfolio Management - Execution 18 - - *
- Portfolio Management - Individual 18 - - *
- Portfolio Management - Risk Management 18 - - *


We have divided the full group of candidates who did not pass into 10 approximately equal score bands. Your score band below shows how your overall score on the exam compares with all other failed candidates.

Your score band: 10

- bdoggles

luckygiftvn

^Agreed. I went over the ethics section twice and would say that most of the answers came down to one key word in the relating sentence.

thecfawannabe

Well, I've always laughed a little during the ethics section of all the levels, especially level 3. The writing level was very high. Made me feel like I was taking the GMAT again. I found it to be nothing more than a reading comprehension test. Sure, you need a grounding in ethics, but if you rocked the GMAT verbal, I doubt you're having trouble. If you didn't, well, it will be an uphill battle. I suspect those that score 70 or less in ethics go right back to studying ethics material when time probably would be better spent with a GMAT verbal prep book. Did anyone else feel this way or am I losing my marbles?

Iginla2011

I've always had trouble with ethics. The best way to study for it is to do the questions at the end of the reading, especially the item sets. I found those to be extremely tricky.

NO EXCUSES

John10

I thought ethics was really tricky this year but somehow I got >70% so I guess I did something right. I agree with the above suggestion of setting aside 15 - 30 minutes each day for ethics and GIPS. Although I wouldn't mess with it until the last month. For me, that's one of the topics that is best just to cram in your short term memory. I only used the CFAI text for ethics. Just go over the standards and every application numerous times. You'll start to pick up on key words or phrases they like to use that will help you identify which way they are going.

I also went to the Creighton boot camp and would highly recommend it. It will definitely help with the morning portion. They do a great job going over past AM exams and discuss not only the material, but ways to tackle the questions and lay out your answers to maximize the points. It was costly, but it was definitely money well spent, especially considering I don't have to pay for the exam again. Start saving up now for it. Or just ask your family to get it as your Christmas gift!

If I had to do it over, the materials I would use in order of importance would be:

Past AM exam questions
"Blue Box" examples in CFAI text
EOC questions
CFAI Mock and sample exams
Schweser mock exams
Other Schweser material

hoangvu90

darlia - Hoping to get to the point where Ethics is all black and white for me. I still see shades of grey when answering these questions -- going with the most anal answer / strictest interpretation should be a good start.

DeeVee - I actually started at the end of the questions in the am session and worked my way forward doing the easier questions first. The individual and institutional investor questions put me behind on time last year so I didn't want to repeat that.

riyaz - I think you hit the nail on the head. I've always done quite well on the multiple choice questions at each level of the exam. My problem is the am section and it's very hard to prepare for the essays since the feedback mechanism is subjective. For example, it's difficult to know how many points are allocated for steps versus answers, how much is allocated if steps are right but calc is off, etc.

Which guides do you recommend RE: concise answers?

Have used the CFA question papers in my studying, but will probably go back more years now that I have the time to do so. Will also try some of the Schweser practice exams. Working full-time with a long commute and being a good dad to the little ones is awfully time consuming so it's been tough to hit every bit of study material in the past. Fortunately (and unfortunately) I now have the time to focus on additional material for 2012.

To answer your question I am a mortgage reporting analyst.

hhummel - Thanks for sharing your process. I passed L1 & L2 on the first tries and found L3 to be significantly more difficult and different. As riyaz pointed out, you need separate study preparation for both the am and pm sections. The L3 am session is as much about test taking strategies (time management, showing your work, etc.) as it is about the material. I would really focus on every bit of material related to the essay section that you can get your hands on because it is nothing like the item set questions on L3 pm and the entire L1 & L2 exams.

bkballa

I just passed the L II, so I can't help you on the AM, but my method is a little different from what most people seem to do, so maybe this will help.

I've never used any of the 3rd party aids, because I didn't want to spend any more money on this program than absolutely necessary. I was surprised when I took the L I that everyone else was using them.

I cycle through the CFAI materials.

Cycle 1: Carefully read the chapters, and highlight the useful information. Do some of the problems, but save most for later cycles. The challenge with having so much material is peaking too early; I find I just forget the problems if I do them too early. The goal is to understand the material, but not to memorize it. I maintain a strict schedule to finish this cycle 6 weeks before the exam. The exception is ethics, which I save for the end.

Cycle 2: Go back over the materials, take notes on the highlighted sections and do the problems. Taking notes helps consolidate the ideas in your head and the problems will expose parts of the text that you missed. This takes about 4 weeks.

Cycle 3: Review your notes, keep doing problems and start on the practice tests. Make a cram sheet and cram the formulas. Now the cycle is down to a day or two.

Cycle 4: Read the ethics sections and do those problems. I try to do this in the days right before the test, because I find it difficult to commit it all to memory very far in advance. Ethics is more holistic than, say, swaptions. Having just read the materials might give you an edge, especially the more picky and less intuitive parts. I find going over the same material over and over becomes rote, so I no longer really see the implications. But the CFA test designers relish the implications!

The risk with my method is that it's back-end loaded. If you get the flu the week before the exam, you will be wiped out.

I hope this helps. Everyone's head is different, and we've all had to figure out what works best for ourselves. Good luck and crush it!

therecruit

bdoggles,

I'll make few comments to help you. Please don't take anything personally.

The good news judging from your afternoon score is, you do know your stuff and had potential to pass this year itself, but unfortunately, your preparation was probably not properly focused. I feel I could have done some things better too, but luckily I don't have to worry about it since I passed.

Since you did not get >70 in even a single question in the morning, I am going to say, you are probably not using the right technique to answer questions. Also, I suggest, trust yourself and trust the guides that show you how to write concise answers. They don't care if you write long incorrect answer. They want to see short concise to the point answers. Also, practice how to show the steps. CFA L2 passers are used to doing quick mental calculation right on the calculator. That won't work in the morning session. You have to show your steps, which means you have to practice.

Also, don't focus too much on memorization. Memorization is required for few questions but not worth it. Focus on topics during your study by question. L3 requires separate preparation for morning and afternoon. I did not follow this because I did not know. But now you do know because you tried the exam and I am telling you. Given that you did not get > 70 even in signle Q in the morning, I am surprised you even managed band 10. You must have done really well in the afternoon. Again shows you have what it takes, you just need the right guidance and training. I like Schweser practice exams and past CFA question papers were useful. I felt this years L3 AM paper was easier than previous years papers they publish. However, without doubt it's one heck of a tough exam.

Good luck!

BTW, what do you do? Are you an analyst?

noel

Another thing is you could include GIPS as well in your daily review of 15 to 30 minutes.

tikfed

My apologies for couple of typos. -- Thanks