Tuesday 28 August 2012

Level II vs Level III - A talk with a Charterholder

As always he was kind, comprehensive and very much calculated in each and every word coming out of him. The basic difference he cited in preparing for level II and level III was the portfolio perspective. Level II was much more of a hardcore stuff dealing with mechanics and tools while Level III was kind of managerial in which the everything is considered in relation to the broader picture - The Portfolio. Apart from the other details like old examination questions are available for LIII, the exam does not only comprise of item sets but essay or rather structured response, according to him, was an addition distinct to Level III another major difference is the historic pass rate for LIII. Probably the 70% distinction does not apply here and there is a good chance for students to pass scoring < 70%. Though MPS is never disclosed but generally its an understanding that scoring above 70% is considered to be Pass for Level I & Level II. I can recall while preparing for Level I & II, I used to put myself into the stuff & mostly tried to think from examiner's perspective so that I could cover all the aspects which I potentially find testable. Focusing on Portfolio Perspective and acting like making judgements from the question according to the scenario painted could better help in passing the exam. And I think I must do it from the beginning. Reading 23 is almost done I hope by next week 2 more readings will be covered. Stay tuned!

4 comments:

  1. Nice blog however i disagree with the ending conclusions. CFA exam checkers (Morning Sessions) got pre-defined answer templates from CFA Institute , what they look in answer is that have you used the financial terms or not or have you described the true context. They are not gonna put their credentials on stake over our judgement. CFA institute expects us to think & answer like a CFA because after Level-III they see a CFA in us. For passing Level-III you should be very strong on Concepts & able to transform that on paper in a precise manner. Wish you all the best for Level-III and do keep us posted.

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW IT'S nice blog for Level II, Level III CFA exam.

    Schweser

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would like to recommend another few free CFA question bank and simulators that may
    be useful for anyone attempting your CFA exams. Some of the useful (and
    free!) resources are:

    http://www.trial-exams.com (they are offering free access to all exam volumes now)
    http://sites.google.com/site/cfaquestionbank/(web-based exam questions database but without a simulator)
    http://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/ace-exams/id381041217?mt=8 (iPhone CFAP Exam simulation app)

    Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow ... this is a great blog .... I am planning to take my CFA level 1 in june 2012. Thanks for the blog.

    Btw can i get your mail id ... because i have few doubts that i can mail you if you are free.

    Thanking you ,
    Sharath A

    sharath.a1990@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete