May 2013 Exam

[otherwisee]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for a prep course for the FRM to take for the May 2013 Exam. I know that sounds very far off as there aren't many materials or people looking at the year 2013.However this community seems very active and open to answering many questions. As of right now seeing how active the Bionic turtle community is I am leaning towards this product.
Now onto the more pressing question about this prep course. If I purchase the materials in August and plan to take the May 2013 exam would most of the material still be relevant enough not to purchase any 2013 material?

A bit of my background...
Currently I'm a tax accountant who works at a investment bank. I am also taking my Masters of science degree in taxation(I have taken corporate finance and an international finance course for my electives) and will be finished in December.I don't think it will be helpful for me to start studying for the FRM until after I'm done as summer courses as they are pretty intense with a compact schedule. I will be taking my last course for my degree in Sept-Dec, but since it is only one course and I usually take two courses a semester, I want to take the time that I would usually spend on my second course to spend studying for the FRM.

A little bit of what I plan to do in terms of studying:
Purchase a Prep course on Sept 1 and around 10-15 hours a week until Dec.
Jan-May 2013 Ramp up the studying to about 15-20+ hours a week.
This would probably bring me to about 400 hours of studying hopefully.
My mentality is that no matter how many classes I have taken in school I will be looking to study for this test as if I have no finance background.

Please let me know if I should tweek my broad schedule.

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for a prep course for the FRM to take for the May 2013 Exam. I know that sounds very far off as there aren't many materials or people looking at the year 2013.However this community seems very active and open to answering many questions. As of right now seeing how active the Bionic turtle community is I am leaning towards this product.
Now onto the more pressing question about this prep course. If I purchase the materials in August and plan to take the May 2013 exam would most of the material still be relevant enough not to purchase any 2013 material?

A bit of my background...
Currently I'm a tax accountant who works at a investment bank. I am also taking my Masters of science degree in taxation(I have taken corporate finance and an international finance course for my electives) and will be finished in December.I don't think it will be helpful for me to start studying for the FRM until after I'm done as summer courses as they are pretty intense with a compact schedule. I will be taking my last course for my degree in Sept-Dec, but since it is only one course and I usually take two courses a semester, I want to take the time that I would usually spend on my second course to spend studying for the FRM.

A little bit of what I plan to do in terms of studying:
Purchase a Prep course on Sept 1 and around 10-15 hours a week until Dec.
Jan-May 2013 Ramp up the studying to about 15-20+ hours a week.
This would probably bring me to about 400 hours of studying hopefully.
My mentality is that no matter how many classes I have taken in school I will be looking to study for this test as if I have no finance background.

Please let me know if I should tweek my broad schedule.

Hi otherwisee,

Thank you for your interest in bionicturtle.com!

1) If I purchase the materials in August and plan to take the May 2013 exam would most of the material still be relevant enough not to purchase any 2013 material? Honestly, you could purchase the contents now that the May exam is cleared. Upon purchase you would have access for 365 days from the date of purchase. Ex: If you purchased today, 5/23/12 you would have access until approximately 5/23/13. This would give you an opportunity to begin reviewing the contents from 2012 (as well as previous years) and starting to work on the thousands of practice questions we have to offer. Unfortunately, the official 2013 contents will not be available until early 2013. GARP doesn't provide the syllabus and 2013 curriculum until December/January timeframe. No provider would have 2013 contents available until that same timeframe. Ultimately, I think you could purchase now and get added benefit from doing so. Don't just take our word for it, you can view what others have said here: http://www.bionicturtle.com/about/testimonials

2) Please let me know if I should tweek my broad schedule. I'd recommend that you view this thread on preparation time necessary: http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/how-much-time-is-required-to-prepare-study-for-the-frm.4980/

Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
Suzanne Evans

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

A little bit of what I plan to do in terms of studying:
Purchase a Prep course on Sept 1 and around 10-15 hours a week until Dec.
Jan-May 2013 Ramp up the studying to about 15-20+ hours a week.
This would probably bring me to about 400 hours of studying hopefully.
My mentality is that no matter how many classes I have taken in school I will be looking to study for this test as if I have no finance background.
Please let me know if I should tweek my broad schedule.

Hi otherwisee,

To add to Suzanne's reply (we sell a one-year subscription precisely to avoid timing dilemmas), with respect to your plan: regardless of the prep provider (and even, frankly if you used no prep provider), I totally support this plan. Candidly, the challenge is always to "just do it;" execution seems to be common hold-up. We will be starting our "structured email" supplement, I think in July, which I intend will be something that can be backlogged and utilized to support a plan like yours.

The only random variable is the degree of change created by GARP in Dec/Jan, from 2012 FRM to 2013 FRM. However, P1 fundamentals tend to exhibit little churn, such that there is an overall fit with your plan, which you can anticipate making a "course correction" in January 2013 based on the 2013 FRM. In this way, in my opinion, while a head start is always great, the head start probably should emphasize P1 (which is generally robust to curriculum changes) but go no further prior to January, so I agree with starting the "ramp up" *AFTER* the 2013 FRM program has been issued. I hope that helps, thanks,

 

[Aleksander Hansen]

Will you be doing both Part 1 and Part 2?

I would strongly recommend and encourage you to get the Bionic Turtle Part 1 package now.
If you find you have extra time before your masters is done, great, otherwise you will have a wealth of material, and a better idea of what you have ahead of you.

If you start in September, and aim at putting in 400 hours you should be all set. I would suggest you also get GARPs core readings when released in 2013 as reference or more in-depth view at certain topics where your background might be less strong. Finally, load up on exercises back and front - work on David's exercises until you drop - not just from 2012 (and later 2013) but 2011 and 2010 as well. Being confident in solving and working through those exercises pretty much gives you a passing grade before you set foot in the exam center.

As for the other prep providers: don't bother wasting your money on recycled, "semi-digested", material and questions. It might come with a glossy laminated formula sheet, but if has no substance it's worthless.

 

[rony_frm]

Hi otherwise,
Whatever u do, dont forget to practice ALL of David's questions. doing otherwise will not be wise Infact its good that you start from Sept. you will have more time. people like me who started prep from Jan end-early Feb for both part 1 & 2 for may 2012 had to rush a lot and actually eneded up skimming only notes towards the end and not practicing all questions. So video-notes-questions, video-notes-questions....the way to go. skip videos if u know the concepts, read from GARP handbook (or borrowed Schweser readings) instead. thats fine. but no skipping questions. And dont waste your money elsewhere.

 

[Wai Pheng]

Start studying early and do lots of practice questions on Bionicturtle! It has great & comprehensive study materials, not to mention the great support in their forums too. All the best.

 

[otherwisee]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I will be ordering BT and GARP's core readings in the next week or so as per Alek's suggestions. I really will need the jump on this exam between work and school. In the meantime for the next few days of vacation I will be relaxing by reading a couple of books to get my mind off finance for a bit.

Btw Congrats Alek on passing. I may message you to ask what your studies were like!

 

[Suzanne Evans]

otherwisee,

Once you do make your purchase, please don't forget to utilize the study planner: https://www.bionicturtle.com/my-account/study-planner

(Note: You will only be able to view the study planner AFTER purchase.)

Enjoy your vacation!

Thanks,
Suzanne

 

[Tom324]

Hi - Appologies if I am thread highjacking (I'm not too familiar with the etiquette of this forum).

I too am considering the May 2013 exam. I was thinking of registering for both levels. Here is my reasoning:
1. I do not feel I have enough time to study for the Nov 2012 exam for Part 1, but I think I could put in the 400-500 hours for 1&2 by Mid May.
2. I will put more emphasis on 1 to make sure I pass that in May and try to put a reasonable effort into part 2
3. I'm hoping there will be some overlap/synergy between the two levels
4. My company will pay for each part twice, so even if I fail 2, I can take it again in Nov 2013 and the material will not change.

My background: Math undergrad, MBA in Finance, just cleared CFA level 3. Currently work as a portfolio manager in a long only asset allocation shop with some exposure to quant. I have about 4 years experience.

Now, for my question. If I order the Part 1&2, can I activate the Part 2 section later on? So, I would order the whole thing now, gain access to part 1 and begin studying now. I could then wait until December 2012 to activate level 2. This way if I failed part 2 in May 2013 I would still have access to BT until the Nov 2013 test. I wouldn't be using the part 2 before the December anyway.

Also, can someone explain the difference between the tier 2 and tier 3 products? (Sorry if this is a noob question - I searched, but couldn't find anything).

 

[ShaktiRathore]

Tom324 please refer these links these might help:
Hi,
Please refer to the following for more information. The products of BT are fairly explained in detail:
http://forum.bionicturtle.com/t...e-questions-and-your-assista.5344/#post-14837
http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/questions-in-regards-to-bt-products.5330/#post-14816
http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/questions-in-regards-to-bt-products.5330/#post-14780
thanks