Question: Study tactics

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ekatuva

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I am new to FRM and would like everyone’s advice on how to break the ground for this year’s November exam.
I hear no books are provided with the exam registration, so you have a choice between GARP textbooks, BT and Schweser (plus some others). For those who decided to purchase textbooks from GARP how large are the readings? Could not find any sample texts from the website… Also I hear many people prefer BT over Schweser for this particular exam. Would utilizing BT materials be sufficient to pass Part I? I had passed L1 of CFA exams and just sat in for L2 earlier this month.
Appreciate all feedback.
 
I don’t have the official readings, but according to the source, they are 1053 pages long, or an average of 21 pages per reading.
I’m preparing for the Novemeber exam with Schweser and BT (tier 2). Schweser has ~ 950 pages, but that includes almost 100-150 pages of practice questions across all 4 books (including explanations). So net you’re looking at 800-850 pages of reading,
BT notes are ~ 500 pages, but they’re really just notes. I think that as long as you don’t have the official readings or a very solid background, you will leave a lot of gaps. The videos fill most of the gaps left in the notes, so if you go for a tier two package then BT might as well be sufficient.
IMO, the reason most people rave about BT is the practice questions (they’re usually harder than those on the exam). Schweser’s on the other hand are rumored to be easier.
 
Do not expect the same quality of FRM Schweser Notes that you see for CFA ones. Schweser is new to FRM and yet not matured to quality notes. Many times, I felt gaps in what they have covered and some topics were too briefly covered.
As pointed out by orang3eph, Practice questions are also not great for Schweser.
BT - Notes are average. Practice Probs great and the forum support - totally superb.
BT would definitely be a good choice. If you have the time to supplement that with some concentrated Core Readings (not all) and some portions of the Handbook, that should be sufficient.
Else, if you are short on time, you can go for Schweser Notes, BT Videos and ques.
 
I purchased BT and I regret it (I’m at the end of Topic 2 for Part 1). The notes are awful and way too concise. The practice questions are hard (that is good) but sometimes they refer to stuff now shown in the notes (wtf?) and to tables from the official readings not included in the notes (again, wtf?).
You really need a strong background if you want to use BT only. You could also (note : if you don’t have the experience, it’s not an “also”, it’s a “must”) supplement with GARP readings or Schweser.
I honestly don’t get the raving about BT materials. Go to their site, download the notes sample and see if you like them.
 
Hi. I suggest you express your problems to David in the forum also. Their response is generally pretty good.
I agree that the notes are just summary of the ppts. So not so great. BT is more known for its videos!
Well if you are not having a strong background and are facing a problem with the problems, I’ll suggest a diff approach to you. I presume you are appearing for P1

- Buy three books (or prints of ebooks) - Hull, Stats and Bonds.
- Study the relevant chapters from these thouroughly and brush up your basics of finance (CAPM, VaR etc - you can refer to the study guide for details).
- This will cover approx two-third of the syllabus.
- Use BT for videos, practice problems, forum and excel sheets (if you have opted for Tier3)
- Now, depending on your comfort level, you can buy Schweser notes (or not) or maybe the review notes
- Practice with exams
Best!
Tahi wrote:
I purchased BT and I regret it (I’m at the end of Topic 2 for Part 1). The notes are awful and way too concise. The practice questions are hard (that is good) but sometimes they refer to stuff now shown in the notes (wtf?) and to tables from the official readings not included in the notes (again, wtf?).
You really need a strong background if you want to use BT only. You could also (note : if you don’t have the experience, it’s not an “also”, it’s a “must”) supplement with GARP readings or Schweser.
I honestly don’t get the raving about BT materials. Go to their site, download the notes sample and see if you like them.
Click to expand...
 
Hi -
Appreciate if you can mention the complete names of the books you mentioned below - Hull, Stats and Bonds?
Thanks in advance
FeRMioN said:
Hi. I suggest you express your problems to David in the forum also. Their response is generally pretty good.
I agree that the notes are just summary of the ppts. So not so great. BT is more known for its videos!
Well if you are not having a strong background and are facing a problem with the problems, I’ll suggest a diff approach to you. I presume you are appearing for P1

- Buy three books (or prints of ebooks) - Hull, Stats and Bonds.
- Study the relevant chapters from these thouroughly and brush up your basics of finance (CAPM, VaR etc - you can refer to the study guide for details).
- This will cover approx two-third of the syllabus.
- Use BT for videos, practice problems, forum and excel sheets (if you have opted for Tier3)
- Now, depending on your comfort level, you can buy Schweser notes (or not) or maybe the review notes
- Practice with exams
Best!
Click to expand...
 
Have a look at the Study guide - you will know what books I am talking about.
Options Futures and Other Derivatives - John Hull
Fixed Income Securities - Bruce Tuckman
Stats book as per the Quant section (they tend to change this every alternate year) - ot any other good stats book.
 
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