Where's the beef, L2?

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40yoCFAcandidate

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My early observations on L2: I am not yet seeing why L2 is widely viewed as a big jump from L1.
My studies so far, I read last year’s 11th hour guide from Wiley in order to get a lay of the land. My initial reaction was that it looks a lot like L1. I have completed my base review of Equity, and it isn’t too bad (read surprisingly easy). And it is the biggest part of the exam?!?
I have eyeballed FRA, and again, mostly L1 again. But (un)fortunately, I an a CPA and have worked many years in both public and corportate accounting so FRA is an area I should do well in. I just need to be aware of any IFRS diffreneces and learn random formulas like DuPont so I don’t lose any points here.
Ethics: same material as L1.
And that’s half of the exam, say what? Where’s the beef? If you can nail the above half, you can probably muddle through the rest and be fine.
Other observations: At first blush, Econ, Derivatives, and Alt Investments all look tougher than L1 to me. Perhaps a lot tougher. So maybe this will be a sticking point for me.
Fixed Income, portfolio, and Corp Fi look the same as L1 to me, so far.
So, what am I missing? That the vignette format adds difficulty? Fewer questions gives you less leeway on just skipping sections. On both the CPA exam and L1 I intentioanlly skipped certain topics based on an internal cost/benefit analysis. Maybe that is riskier on L2 as you may get a full vignette on something you skipped?
Or maybe my mind will change on this as get further on? Thougts?
 
After you study swap valuation and pricing embedded options in bonds, bump the thread and tell us what you think.
Oh- and make sure you take some practice exams so you know exactly how much you don’t know.
 
You may be right, Greenman72. Whatever you just described soulds a lot tougher than anything in L1. I can imagine spending a lot of time trying to get comfortabel with it. And then still missing questions on the exam.
But the whole derivatives section is only about 10% of the exam. Maybe an alternative path is to spend the Deravitives hours making sure you nail FRA and Equity, I mean nail them (near 100%), and just know the basics of derivatives to scoop up the gimme quesitons and guess on the rest. With the tougher sections have lower weightings, and easier higher weightings, this may be an option for some.
 
The LOS’s individually are not overly complex, the challenge is maintaining a detailed working knowledge of every nuance and applying it critically under exam conditions. Being strong in FRA will be a bonus for you but don’t underestimate the depth of the curriculum.
 
I have to agree with bostoncfa2014 - perhaps the biggest challenge (and there are several) is the sheer breadth and depth of the material. Taken alone, no one section is particularly difficult - it’s staying on top of it all at the same time.
However, I think you’ve also hit the nail on the head with a couple of your own observations. The vignette format is actually far more challenging than I anticipated when I studied for Level II (and failed) earlier this year. Also a potential problem is the lower number of questions - the allowance for a few topic areas you don’t know so well is much narrower. LIke you, I did some triage when studying for Level I and more or less skipped a few topic areas (hello, economics!) and the strategy worked well for me then, but completely backfired in Level II. Again, the fewer questions means they are only testing a very small percentage of the overall material for each topic. If it happens to be one of the topics you skipped or really didn’t understand, you’ll quickly be in trouble.
Good luck!
 
I have found econ to be easier than L1 as its is less material and the FX stuff is relatively easy. Econ L1 has just so much material its ridiculous. I am through Quant, Econ, 1st SS of FRA and feeling ok. Its def not going to be easy but seems managable. If you fall behind it can be trouble and I can see timing being an issue I really need to pound out some vignettes.
 
Yes, the content, or even the calculations are not overly difficult. The real difficulty comes from the sheer size of the material you need to know, and know it quickly during the exam. Also, the way a vignette is worded can throw you if you misread or misunderstand what the question is asking for. Even the derivitatives section can be relatively straight forward with enough practice. And that’s really the meat and potatoes of Level II. Practice, practice practice. I failed Level II band 9 last June and I think a big part of missing the MPS was not getting enough practice questions mocks done.
 
As a fellow L2 candidate, I thinks its safest to comment on this after June 4th……….
 
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