2019 materials for 2020 Part I exam

[JonathanJanka123]

Hi,

I intend to take the Part I exam in November 2020, however I already bought 2019 Garp study material this summer. I already started to use it to prepare for the exam along with the Bionic Turtle material (which I bought in July). Consequently, my question is :

I read that, since 2020, GARP replaced their materials with their own internal readings. So, there are noticeable changes in the LOs such as the Vasicek model etc. Does the 2020 reading materials differ that much significantly from the 2019? Could I continue learning with the 2019 materials? What is the best approach? I read that the ebooks are 'free' when you register for the exam ( which I can do in May, for November).

I am quite worried if I am using the wrong material with 2019...

Thank you in advance for your answer.

 

[Evangelia_Mintzai2]

I don't have the old GARP material but the Bionice Turtle hasn't updated all the material yet. It seems to me that a lot of things have been rearranged, put in different chapters, and more emphasis is given in topics that other times wasn't (such as cyber risk). I am studying now the foundations and there are new Financial Disasters such as the Volkswagen scandal. I haven't seen anything about it in the videos or any questions. My best bet will be to read the new original books , now for free with e-book version. Reading the old books might cover 90% of the material but you have to read it again with the new books.
It will seem overwhelming because they don't have the same structure as the notes. Eventually, do the mock exam and the end of chapter questions. There is nothing else you can do at the moment.

 

[JonathanJanka123]

I don't have the old GARP material but the Bionice Turtle hasn't updated all the material yet. It seems to me that a lot of things have been rearranged, put in different chapters, and more emphasis is given in topics that other times wasn't (such as cyber risk). I am studying now the foundations and there are new Financial Disasters such as the Volkswagen scandal. I haven't seen anything about it in the videos or any questions. My best bet will be to read the new original books , now for free with e-book version. Reading the old books might cover 90% of the material but you have to read it again with the new books.
It will seem overwhelming because they don't have the same structure as the notes. Eventually, do the mock exam and the end of chapter questions. There is nothing else you can do at the moment.

The ebooks are free whenever you register for the exam. As I am aiming for the exam of November 2020, the earliest I can register is in May. However, I am thinking about still learning with the 2019 material until May.. but I am curious whether that approach could waste my time or whether it can actually cover >90% of the required knowledge.

 

[Nicole Seaman]

The ebooks are free whenever you register for the exam. As I am aiming for the exam of November 2020, the earliest I can register is in May. However, I am thinking about still learning with the 2019 material until May.. but I am curious whether that approach could waste my time or whether it can actually cover >90% of the required knowledge.

Hello @JonathanJanka123

You can still study the 2019 materials. Obviously they will not include any of the new learning objectives or new readings that GARP added, which you WILL need to study, but much of the previous 2019 materials map to the 2020 materials. We created an XLS here, where we mapped each learning objective from 2019 to the 2020 curriculum: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/2019-2020-curriculum-change-analysis-spreadsheets.22938/. Column F shows the mapping details.

We have also updated many of our materials to reflect the new learning objectives. We will continue to update the materials between now and the November exam, but it would benefit you greatly to use our study materials if you would like to use the most up-to-date materials. Our subscriptions are valid for one full year, and that includes all of the updates that are made during that time. You can view our study packages here if you are interested: https://www.bionicturtle.com/shop-courses/. I hope this is helpful!

Nicole

 

[JonathanJanka123]

Hello @JonathanJanka123

You can still study the 2019 materials. Obviously they will not include any of the new learning objectives or new readings that GARP added, which you WILL need to study, but much of the previous 2019 materials map to the 2020 materials. We created an XLS here, where we mapped each learning objective from 2019 to the 2020 curriculum: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/2019-2020-curriculum-change-analysis-spreadsheets.22938/. Column F shows the mapping details.

We have also updated many of our materials to reflect the new learning objectives. We will continue to update the materials between now and the November exam, but it would benefit you greatly to use our study materials if you would like to use the most up-to-date materials. Our subscriptions are valid for one full year, and that includes all of the updates that are made during that time. You can view our study packages here if you are interested: https://www.bionicturtle.com/shop-courses/. I hope this is helpful!

Nicole

Thank you for your message Nicole. I did in fact took a look at the spreadsheet. What I noticed is that it seems that many of the new Learning Objectives are already covered by 2019 materials, such as the QA-1 and QA-5 per 2020. At least it looks like that just by judging the sentences of the LOs. It rather seems that the really significant changes lie within Foundations of Risk Management, especially the cases.

I have the intention to apply and register for the November exam of 2020. Registering for this exam can be done in May. And waiting until May gives the advantage that the books are 'free' and coming with the registration instead of paying an additional 300-400 USD on only the books..

For a good head start, I am considering to have the following approach from the official GARP notes:

- Quantitative Analysis, Financial Markets and Products and Risk Valuation and Models of 2019 materials until May 2020. At least should read all 3 books by then. That's the goal.

- From May to July 2020 refresh those three books by especially comparing 2019 and 2020. What did I miss out?

- From July to Augustus 2020, learning Foundations of Risk Management (2020 book).

- Augustus until November 2020 exam, repeating sections and keep refreshing. Furthermore make practice questions from new book and 2 practice exams from GARP.

My initial thought, is that it seems like a reasonable plan. However. I am somewhat stressing out that 2020 is so much different than 2019 implying that I am risking to waste my time with 2019 and just learning the wrong topics. Most of the stress stems from the fact that I did and cannot see the 2020 text in order to compare.

While I have a Finance background, still there remains a insecurity as I cannot pin-point the difficulty of the exam and the difference between 2020 and 2019 (besides the LOs). Which demotivates me to even start learning, while on the other hand I am quite eager to conquer the FRM certification.