Topics Didn't Show up in AM Sessions Earlier ?

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cfapasss

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Hello Gladiators!
Befor jumping into the topic, as a motivation to keep on the momentum for the time left until the exam day, just keep telling yourself one thing: I DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS SH*T AGAIN!
Back to the topic.
We know that CFAI usually tries to change the topics in the AM session exams in a yearly basis. I mean, have we revised back the 10 years (or more or less) old AM exams, we rarely find overlap in topics (except maybe for Individual and Instituational questions).
To be more objective, why don’t we through here some of the highly important topics that 1) could be testable in the AM session and 2) haven’t been tested previously (say last 10 AM exams).
I know we have lots of topics and lots of readings and lots of questions types, but lets focus on the most important and highly weighted areas.
Well, this is effectively could be done if we go through many old previous exams. So, this thread could be most effecient 2 or 3 weeks before the exams (unless some of you guys went through 5 or 6 old AM sessions so far). I would start posting as soon as I have gone through some exams.
Again, I know.. high subjectivity, wide topics, many opinions..but this could be benfecial.
Regards,
 
Implementation shortfall and VWAP comes up nearly all the time!!! Pros/ Cons and calculations needed
 
As it applies to level 3, in one old exam the had you compute what was simply a leveraged return. Fast forward a few years and they gave you the leveraged return question but asked how much was borrowed initially.
If you understood the leverage concept you got the question correct on the first exam.
If you knew the CFAI-specific leverage formula, you could plug in the output and solve for the variable for the second exams question.
So does practicing old questions help? I say yes, but the concept and related topic tested is the key. You cannot just learn how to answer the question if it is presented the exact same way.
It may be an old exam question testing the fed model. This tells me the fed, yardeni, and 10-year avg are all equally likely to be tested.
For level 2 I learned that the CFAI somehow manages to test a huge portion of the curriculmn, and I assume they will at 3. Repeated concepts or not. I went through the curruclumn after taking level 2 and was flat-out shocked how they managed to touch on so many LOS. You cannot game these exams.
 
Havent been tested in AM before, pretty much other than this anything can appear in AM.
1. GIPS (they did test this sometime in early 2000)
2. Ethics
As to typically repeated stuff, there was a thread from TRH in 2013, where he talked about many such topics. I will try to find that for your reference. Unfortunately I didnt bookmark it.
 
There are tons of repeating topics over the years.
My recommendation– go through AM exams over the last 6+ years, and make a note of what is being tested in each Question for that particular year. You will start to pick up on some “patterns”, and can even guess what specific topics are more likely (and just as important, not likely) to be written on the upcoming exam.
 
Thanks Tozerrt, but I heard CFAI will try to distort the patterns?
But idea is interesting. Let me try to see if I can find any pattern for the past 15 years AM exam.
 
This strategy seems destined to fail.
Just practice practice practice and you’ll be fine. There are no shortcuts
 
Guessing what’s going to be on the AM is deadly. Study eveyrthing as best as you can and what happens is what happens
 
This year Econ has a separate weightage 5 - 15% unlike earlier when it was part of portfolio management without any separate weightage. so what is the likely impact ?
This year Ethics has a weightage of 10-15 % both for levels II and III. Earlier it was 10% i think. So if CFAI chooses to assign a 15% weightage- CFAI does like to play around with topic weights in my experience- then how likely is it that here will be 2 Ethics item sets in PM and God forbid… one question in AM?
 
I like Galli’s approach above. Just keep practicing and ensure that you know the material inside and out. I think it’s sure to be a waste of time if you try to get in the heads of the test designers and seek to predict questions. Let’s all just focus on the exam material and crush this one!
 
First topic I expect to see is for concentrated positions (strategy whether to sell..monetize..how to reduce hedge cost..etc) .. it is a relatively new topic in 2014 and if hasn’t been showed up last year then it could show up in the exam
 
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