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

sgupta0827

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

busterbluth

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.

ruchita

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.

Chuckrox

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.

bchadwick

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???)

giorgio10

AMCC you are right about each LOS being covered by Schweser. However, the depth of coverage of each LOS is not the same as CFAI. There are some 'terminologies', definitions, and occasionally even a few examples/sections that arent covered in Schweser - for example, Ibbotsen-Chen was a major topic of discussion after CFA L2 2010 as there was apparently an entire item set on it, and that never features on Schweser. In fact, despite the omission, Schweser has ommitted the item this time as well (2011).

I gave the L2 this June for the first time, and used only Schweser, but really covered it well and multiple times, and did all the mocks etc. I'd say the exam was decently tough, and there were a few things that I couldn't place, and just thought that I'd probably missed out on them because I hadnt done CFAI. However, post-exam, I found out that there were a lot of people who had combed CFAI, and still found some 'new stuff'.

Frankly, after having spoken to a lot of people who've taken the exam previously, I feel its quite possible to pass L2 with either Schweser only, or CFAI only, or a combo of both. However, it ultimately boils down to the amount of time and dedication you put in. There is no substitute for that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 1, 2011 at 07:51PM by meshed.

zbird2134

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.

laurab

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.

redskins44

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!