Band 8 - where do I go from here

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ata04

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I had a tight slap on my face with exam results, haven’t lost hope though and i hope I can make it in Dec 10. Any guidance on focus areas will lift my spirits. I had only referred to CFAI books for June exam and this was my first attempt. I’m Maths graduate which makes low marks in QM more painful…
Item SetQ#TopicMax Pts<=50%51%-70%>70%
-Alternative Investments8*–
-Corporate Finance20-*-
-Derivatives12*–
-Economics24-*-
-Equity Investments24–*
-Ethical & Professional Standards36-*-
-Financial Reporting & Analysis48-*-
-Fixed Income Investments28–*
-Portfolio Management12-*-
-Quantitative Methods28-*-
Cheers
 
Definitely to drill Ethics and FRA hard, you must get 70+ in these 2 to pass.
CF and Quant in L1 are not that hard but they are heavy-weighted, so get 70+ as well.
Finally, derivative and AI are important in L2, so better get 50+ in L1.
 
Thank you for your inputs..much appreciated
 
Do not despair…failing with a band 8 for the 1st sitting is not bad at all…looking at your score breakdown, had you gotten >70% for FRA and Ethics, you’d probably passed…thus, put a lot more focus in these 2 topics as well as in Econs and Quant and I’m sure you will pass Level I in the next sitting…all the best to you!
 
Honestly, you need to think about the reasons why you failed, if you put in 200 hours plus and still didn’t pass then maybe its time to walk away and accept its not the course for you. Remember II is a million times harder than one.
Having said that, if you think that your preparation was lacking in the first place, then by all means try again and do things differently.
Bottom line is that its only up hill from here. If it’s too much at this stage you are going to be fighting a losing battle.
 
quit complaining and get out there and start studying. no short cuts. ready set goooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
 
I don’t understand the haters. Why would a person tell anyone to quit the CFA? What advantage is there for the naysayer?? Let the guy write it again.
 
Honestly I’m surprised he got band 8 with those scores, only 2 sections were >70%, and 2 sections were <50%
Anyway, my advice would be to forget the CFAI texts for everything except ethics. The prep providers are much better at explaining the material, I think.
How long did you study?
 
I just wanted to give a small info on my background and why I want to pursue CFA.
I am a maritime and seaport consultant in a maritime advisory firm and regularly carry due diligence studies for several investment firms except for detailed financial analysis. (In trailing twelve months I managed five projects for the world bank) Although I do carry out revenue, cost forecasts and financial analysis but they can be considered basic for a CFA charter. Rigourous Financial training is the missing link in the my resume and I had always wanted to pursue CFA, which is alsoa sought qualification for new recruits in my firm now.
I was very sure that I would clear this hurdle but now after going through this forum and the examination itself I realise that I messed up with Ethics/Alternate Investments (read only during last two weeks). In the QM section, I did not focus on hypothesis testing and sampling sections and there were atleast 6-8 questions from these chapters alone.
I seek guidance from this forum on how to focus now on FRA/Ethics/Derivatives & AI in terms of focus on Text books/EOC/question bank (elan or schweser)?
Thanks in advance!
 
Keep with it…I’d recommend the Schweser 3 day online review and their mocks to give you the edge…I used them after reading through the CFAI materials and they made the difference for me…Remember, you only fail if you quit…
 
the keys for me would be FRA (especially the effects of using different accounting methods on financial ratios), ethics (actually learn what is in each section not just what is right or wrong), quant is not just in the “quant” section - loads of the quant stuff shows up in many other sections (corp fin, fixed income, port mgmnt). If you get those three sections down (FRA, ethics and quant) you have a pretty damn good chance of passing.
 
Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
- Alternative Investments 8 * - -
- Corporate Finance 20 - - *
- Derivatives 12 - * -
- Economics 24 - - *
- Equity Investments 24 - * -
- Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - *
- Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 - * -
- Fixed Income Investments 28 - * -
- Portfolio Management 12 - - *
- Quantitative Methods 28 - * -
Your score band: 8
I have the same problem, in a dilemma to go ahead for Dec L1 or not. I thought the June L1 was easy. I got tensed and fell heavy on the dis tractors, any suggestions on my score.
 
I say go ahead, full speed, do it now when the material is still fresh. The CFA exams have this tricky way of leading you into thinking “oh, this is so easy, piece of cake”. True, compared to L2, L1 would REALLY feel like a piece of cake, or more like a reading-comprehension and formula testing exam.
To get there though, you have to pass L1. So do it now, get it all out. If you don’t feel at ease using the CFAI texts (too convoluted, too much, scary volume of reading), use a third party provider. I used Stalla. Others used Schweser. It worked for the majority of us, and the investment IS worth.
 
Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
- Alternative Investments 8 - * -
- Corporate Finance 20 - * -
- Derivatives 12 * - -
- Economics 24 - - *
- Equity Investments 24 * - -
- Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - * -
- Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 - - *
- Fixed Income Investments 28 * - -
- Portfolio Management 12 - - *
- Quantitative Methods 28 - * -
Your score band: 8
I spent a lot of time on FRA. and completely skipped Derivatives. I remember sitting there on exam day, thinking I really had a chance of passing this. But turned out this way.
 
bigspydee Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
> - Alternative Investments 8 * - -
> - Corporate Finance 20 - - *
> - Derivatives 12 - * -
> - Economics 24 - - *
> - Equity Investments 24 - * -
> - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - *
> - Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 - * -
> - Fixed Income Investments 28 - * -
> - Portfolio Management 12 - - *
> - Quantitative Methods 28 - * -
>
> Your score band: 8
>
> I have the same problem, in a dilemma to go ahead
> for Dec L1 or not. I thought the June L1 was easy.
> I got tensed and fell heavy on the dis tractors,
> any suggestions on my score.
I passed in June, so here’s my 2 cents:
- Work hard on FRA, getting >70 is key
- Keep the ethics score >70 as well
- Get at least one (or more if you have the time) of fixed income, equity, or quant >70
- Improve on alternative investments. Although it doesn’t worth much, it’s only 2 study sessions, and when you’re close, every question counts
 
Since everyone is asking opinions on whether to continue or not…I want to pick the minds of people here as well…I have shown my score breakdown below. All advise would be much appreciated! I haven’t started reviewing yet. And from the looks of the above posts, I gather people will saw to charge forward and take it.
Looking forward to your opinions:
<=50% 51%-70% >70%
- Alternative Investments - - *
- Corporate Finance - * -
- Derivatives * - -
- Economics - * -
- Equity Investments * - -
- Ethical & Professional Standards - - *
- Financial Reporting & Analysis - - *
- Fixed Income Investments - * -
- Portfolio Management * - -
- Quantitative Methods - * -
My score band was 9
Thanks!
Rishi
 
Pull your socks up. Get the retaker discount from Elan and get at least the Eleventh Hour and mock exams if not one of their larger packages. All three of you were close to passing last time around. Armed with the experience of having taken the exam before there’s no reason why you won’t pass in December with a little more effort . Good luck
 
Give it another shot. But, the next 2 levels are MUCH harder, so do a self inventory and make sure you really want this. If you do, you CAN pass.
 
Thanks! We’re definitely armed with experience. I didn’t realize the importance of reviewing and was scrambling to finish the syllabus. I should’ve reviewed and revised what were already my strong points and should’ve gotten a lot of practice. This is certainly manageable if you stick to your schedule. Let’s do this guys :)
 
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