Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Countdown: Five days

Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

Monday, May 30, 2011

Countdown : Six days

Standing there alone
The ship is waiting
All systems are go
Are you sure?
Control is not convinced
But the computer
Has the evidence
No need to abort
The countdown starts...

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The final countdown - 11 days more!

The exam is coming. On 5 June 2011, I will be sitting for the final installment of the CFA examination. This has been an extremely long journey over three years. The opportunity cost has been beyond measurement. Over these three years, my kids grew up significantly both physically and in maturity. I did not have much time with them to play and chat due to work and exam commitment. It has been extremely exhausting both mentally and physical. This reminds me of road march during National Service except that the CFA exam is a mental road march over there years.

The final installment of CFA exam is very different from the first two. It is very much qualitative than quantitative. It focuses more on application than mere reciting of formulae from the brain. I believe those who are not in the financial sector will find Level 3 to be very taught as it is the first time huge amount of materials are consolidated for application.

The following are my scores so far:
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 1 AM – no score, practice only
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 1 PM - 65%
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 2 AM – no score, practice only
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 2 PM 78%
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 3 AM – 61%
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 3 PM - 68%
CFA 2010 Level III Real AM Exam - 77.2%
CFA 2011 Level III Mock PM Exam - 73%

For the final week prior to my actual exam, I intent to do the following:
Read GIPS
Read Asset Manager Code
Read Ethics
Read Formula sheet
Read IPS Templates
Read through all examples in the CFAI text
Read through undone real pass year papers


Update (26/5/2011):
CFA 2009 Level III Real AM Exam - 76%
CFA 2010 Level III Mock PM Exam - 73%

Update (29/5/2011):
CFA 2008 Level III Real AM Exam - 62% (lost 18 points or 15% because of time)
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 1 Exam 1 PM 78%

Update (2/6/2011):
Schweser 2011 Practice Exam Vol 2 Exam 1 PM 82%