Course Study Plan Guide

[Passer-by]

Thanks for your reply! I have another question, so what are the differences between the updated videos and 2017 videos for those learning objectives haven't actually changed for 2018? Is it ok to watch the old ones before the updates are released? Thank you!

 

[emilioalzamora1]

Hi @Passer-by

as I have already explained many times in the forum: there is literally NO EXPIRATION DATE for David's videos incl. notes/forum comments etc.. This also holds true for let's say 98% of all topics in financial risk management.

As an FRM you are expected to know all topics inside out.

David makes continuous changes/amendments (always aiming to improve the learning experience) to his notes/videos so you are well advised to study everything to be well prepared.

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Thanks for your reply! I have another question, so what are the differences between the updated videos and 2017 videos for those learning objectives haven't actually changed for 2018? Is it ok to watch the old ones before the updates are released? Thank you!

Hello @Passer-by

We've left the older videos published in the study planner, as they contain very relevant content. You will notice that the older videos were published before 2017, so you will find that some of those videos may contain learning objectives that have been removed from the curriculum, or that some of them do not include learning objectives that have been added to the curriculum. We will continue updating the videos for the remainder of the year, but until those are published, you can study from the materials that are currently published.

Thank you,

Nicole

 

[Karenly]

Hi Nicole,

I can see most of the review videos (and questions) are related to material from the 2012 FRM exam. Is there a summary of the list of changes between the 2012 curriculum and exam and the 2018 one? It would be very helpful. Thanks!

Regards,
Tom

Hello @Passer-by

We've left the older videos published in the study planner, as they contain very relevant content. You will notice that the older videos were published before 2017, so you will find that some of those videos may contain learning objectives that have been removed from the curriculum, or that some of them do not include learning objectives that have been added to the curriculum. We will continue updating the videos for the remainder of the year, but until those are published, you can study from the materials that are currently published.

Thank you,

Nicole

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hi Nicole,

I can see most of the review videos (and questions) are related to material from the 2012 FRM exam. Is there a summary of the list of changes between the 2012 curriculum and exam and the 2018 one? It would be very helpful. Thanks!

Regards,
Tom

Hello @Karenly

Yes we provide a curriculum analysis xls here, which compares each year since 2012: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/2017-2018-curriculum-change-analysis-spreadsheet.13307/. Our focus review videos are from 2012 but many of the concepts are still relevant for the current exam. Our practice question sets study notes, and instructional videos are all updated for 2018 for the most part.

Thank you
Nicole

 

[Karenly]

Hi Nicole,

Thanks. A couple more questions, are there only 7 instructional videos (not 8) for the FRM II? In addition, can you advise why there is no Global Topic Drill or instructional video for the Current Issues in Financial Markets. Thanks.

Hello @Karenly

Yes we provide a curriculum analysis xls here, which compares each year since 2012: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/2017-2018-curriculum-change-analysis-spreadsheet.13307/. Our focus review videos are from 2012 but many of the concepts are still relevant for the current exam. Our practice question sets study notes, and instructional videos are all updated for 2018 for the most part.

Thank you
Nicole

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi Karen, Yes only 7 (pretty sure we've posted that above somewhere). Current Issues swaps out entirely each year (e.g., too fast for GARP to write any PQ themselves). I wrote the set T9.800 to .807 to give coverage. IMO, there's no utility is GTD or video unless/until GARP adds some stability to Current Issues. Related, we are submitting massive feedback to Committee/Trustess this week that includes my recommendation that Current Issues "slow down" so that GARP and EPPs can achieve some mastery. In the meantime, we have no substantive prospective clarity on CI (again, not a single practice exam question has been written for the frenetically swapping CI). So I'm just not keen to waste our limited resources. GTD makes no sense to me at all, given I already wrote detailed reading-by-reading questions. I hope that answers your question.

 

[Karenly]

Hi David,

Thanks for your reply. How should candidates best prepare for the Current Issues section?

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

@Karenly We have the same Study Guide and LOs that you do. I definitely wish we knew more (I've asked GARP for what I call "prospective clarity"). GARP has never really written any T9.CI PQs. I did spent a lot of time on our questions that I wrote for CI: they are my best effort to give CI careful coverage. So I think (I hope) that the readings + our questions should be good prep!

 

[Flashback]

I have started in February preparing for both, P1 and P2 in November. Thus far, have read all Schweser books for the first time, made the notes and currently I'm finishing my first round through BT Qs for P1 and P2 with revision (a bit more than 700 of them). My overall score is about 48 %, median exact 50 %, with lowest about of 42 % in Quants and highest of 58 % in OpRisk management. I'm struggling with many questions.
Someone said that BT is, given difficulty level, a notch or two above the real exam. Thus, should I aim about 65 % score in BT to be ready? Thoughts? Tank.

 

[Flashback]

I just wanted to know if such low score normal at first round and what is the other's experience? Today I finished all and last two chapters, Invest management and Current issues improved my overall score a bit.

 

[Karim_B]

I just wanted to know if such low score normal at first round and what is the other's experience? Today I finished all and last two chapters, Invest management and Current issues improved my overall score a bit.

Hi @Flashback
Doing both parts in 1 day is impressive, so given the amount of material you've been through and how fast you've done it, I wouldn't be worried about low scores this early in the game since you have 6 months to keep practicing.

Check out this thread which is related to practice exam scores & actual exam results. From this post down there are some tips you might find useful:
https://forum.bionicturtle.com/thre...and-actual-exam-result.7650/page-5#post-59939

Just out of curiosity, why did you opt to take both parts together?
Thanks
Karim

 

[Flashback]

Thank. The other candidates’ progress bar is what I was looking for. Currently still in “Building Big Picture” phase.
Yes, the depth of material is overwhelming, not the volume of material. I’m a CFA Charterholder so this is no such shock. The volume for both is not larger than for 1 CFA exam.
Why 2 in 1.
1st to save the money on plane ticket and accommodation costs since the exam is not in my country.
2nd, I just want to avoid studying in December and January which is Annual Financial Reports preparing and Auditing core period.
Last but not least, I want the certificate ASAP.

 

[jean.kavalakat]

Dear all

I have registered for FRM 1 exam in November.I have started my preparation but I am finding it quite challenging due to my hectic schedule at work 100% and my family life with 2 kids.I work in the financial industry.I would like to know if I can take a chance by concentrating solely on the Bionic Turtle notes+ question sets and watching the videos which I find very good. I do have the GARP books but I find it time consuming and a bit dry from time to time.

Looking forward to a good plan

Thanks a lot

Jean
Geneva,Switzerland

 

[Karim_B]

Dear all

I have registered for FRM 1 exam in November.I have started my preparation but I am finding it quite challenging due to my hectic schedule at work 100% and my family life with 2 kids.I work in the financial industry.I would like to know if I can take a chance by concentrating solely on the Bionic Turtle notes+ question sets and watching the videos which I find very good. I do have the GARP books but I find it time consuming and a bit dry from time to time.

Looking forward to a good plan

Thanks a lot

Jean
Geneva,Switzerland

Hi @jean.kavalakat
I'm in the same boat as you and just relied on BT as my primary source, referring back to the GARP materials from time to time when an acronym wasn't explained or I struggled with a topic. It would have taken too long for me to read through the GARP material as my primary source.

My wife felt like a single mother since I had to put in lots of time, but I know there are others on the forum who've managed to be more hands on with the kids while studying I need to learn how to get through the material faster.

I don't have a study plan to recommend, but I think the BT material will suffice.
Best
Karim

 

[jean.kavalakat]

Hi @jean.kavalakat
I'm in the same boat as you and just relied on BT as my primary source, referring back to the GARP materials from time to time when an acronym wasn't explained or I struggled with a topic. It would have taken too long for me to read through the GARP material as my primary source.

My wife felt like a single mother since I had to put in lots of time, but I know there are others on the forum who've managed to be more hands on with the kids while studying I need to learn how to get through the material faster.

I don't have a study plan to recommend, but I think the BT material will suffice.
Best
Karim

Dear Karim

Thanks for your note.I feel better now . So you completed your FRM 1?

Regards,

JJ

 

[Nicole Seaman]

The following is a study tip from HangOnLittleTomato in our May 2018 exam feedback thread: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/may-2018-part-2-exam-feedback.13919/page-22#post-61479

Background: degrees in economics and statistics, 5+ years in derivatives/risk mgmt

Study time: <2 months, 3-4 hours/day

Study method: read GARP books, do book examples and past GARP mocks. Do daily BT questions.

Pass score: 11111 (frankly unexpected, i expected to just about make the cut)

Thoughts: just reading the books cover to cover was not the most efficient approach, though the book questions helped. I didn't struggle with concepts so YMMV. Ops risk and Basel material was extremely boring. (I don't see the point of testing whether one has memorized the correct multipliers for capital ratios etc) i enjoyed the current events papers. What helped the most was reviewing carefully all the questions i couldn't answer at first, and understand/memorize as necessary. I also wrote up the equations and key concepts on a piece of paper. Going over that on the day of made a difference. I haven't done many BT questions. Overall impression is that they are often harder and in-depth, sometimes unnecessarily so. They helped, though I found the GARP questions much more relevant to the actual exam.

 

[Nicole Seaman]

From @willyong in the May 2018 exam feedback thread: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/may-2018-part-2-exam-feedback.13919/page-22#post-61502

One aspect that hasn't been discussed so much is time management, and knowing when to cut your losses. Your studies almost never go according to plan, because life. I passed 1,1,1,1,1 but even up to 4 weeks before the exam I thought I wasn't going to make it because there was just so much material to cover.

Pacing yourself is an art - I kept to my schedule for a few weeks, then things started to slip.. and slip. I'd furiously try and catch up and fail - the problem was that I was trying to do too much (make summaries, read and remember, do questions etc.) but I wasn't necessarily understanding what I was reading because I was just doing. After credit risk, I decided that I would just stop and start from the back. I worked my way backwards through each chapter as it was more engaging and less daunting to complete the current readings which were an easier and more fun read. Of course, there's a sequence the material is laid out but the surprising effectiveness of this technique is that it enables you to raise questions on materials you may not quite understand and then connect immediately when the more fundamental material is presented.

I used Schweser for the readings then BT for the questions, mocks and some readings to shore up areas I didn't understand under Schweser. BT notes are compressions of the original readings but are still summaries. Schweser presents some original material that BT doesn't, especially on the academic literature. Having access to both will help a lot but the amount of reading can be overwhelming.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Having working experience (which I do) helps immensely, so if you're experienced in risk management, you can rely on parts of your job training to push you along (or even challenge the readings!) On the other hand, I have had no practical experience in certain topics so it was a struggle to make the concepts real and tangible. Those are the areas you need to focus on learning and also where the BT forum really shines - if you have a question, it's likely someone else would have asked that question before too. And if not, @David Harper CFA FRM will come to the rescue!

 

[Nicole Seaman]

From Bilal Ehsan in the May 2018 exam feedback thread: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/may-2018-part-2-exam-feedback.13919/page-21#post-61312

Guys the thing which matters is the clarity of the concepts and how you test yourself by solving maximum questions from different sources. Solving same questions again and again won't help you unless you understand concepts.
I appeared for level 1 in nov 2015 and studied for 2.5 months. My result was 2,1,1,1. I totally depend upon on Schweser
I wasn't able to appear for level 2 due to some personal issues. I started preparing in Feb 2018 and cleared on my first attempt.
My result is 1,1,2,2,1. This time I relied on Bionic and Schweser both .
I believe the key is to practice as many questions with concept understanding .
If you don't then there is no advantag3 of solving questions.
Make sure you understand concept whether from Schweser or BT or from Google.
Engage yourself in discussion and ask as many questions as possible
Also for me Garp mock exam is very important . There were many questions on the same concepts .

 

[Nicole Seaman]

From stephenjohn in the May 2018 exam feedback thread: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/may-2018-part-2-exam-feedback.13919/page-21#post-61314

You may find the below useful as a strategy (which is what I employed in order to pass part 2).

*Concentrate on doing BT's questions and asking the people on the forum with regards to anything that may not be clear. (I did this all the time). Furthermore, I would make notes of the questions that I found the most difficult. Even though you may know an answer, working through the logic step-by-step is still useful.

*Create your own sheet of formulas for each of the 4 main topics and construct notes around them. This may include the assumptions behind some of the formulas, or model classification such as the model types for the interest rate trees. It may take some time but I found it useful for revising the key points.

*Apologies if it sounds obvious but unless, it’s a new topic I wouldn't bother reading the syllabus again. Having said that don't do what I did and not take the current issues section seriously. I sat the exam in November 2017 questions were not always obvious to me. As a result I got a “3”

*On a lighter note, if you are like me and you are fond of beer, then cut it down to a minimum. I had to do this in the final few weeks leading up to the exam as it was turning my memory into jelly. Seriously I was struggling to remember an awful lot of basic stuff.