I was supposed to take it in NY in December but my firm offered me a position in London. I had to move there the week before the exam So I failed. I hadn't time to think about CFA.

I passed

I passed, but I know about 6 people who didn't. Most of them didn't put in the required time and neither did I, but I guess that I just got lucky. Anyone planning to take L2 in June?

I'm taking L2 in June, but the material really looks like L1 to me (except Black-Scholes and a bit of Eva...) Did you hear of the CAIA? Is it any good, or just buying a title from some new organisation?

there is alot of overlap between the two levels, esp. in accounting/corp fin, but the derivatives, quant, and economics are much more advanced. the equity valuation go beyond the ddm method into fcf, etc. i would definitely be careful not to underestimate it. there is some overlap and alot of the l2 concepts are based on ones from l1, but i found l2 to be significantly harder, not only in the material but its application. a much deeper understanding is required.

The general concensus among my friends that have taken L2 is that it's a lot more difficult and requires more conceptual understanding, as opposed to the pure memorization that is typically sufficient to pass L1. I have heard of CAIA, but I don't know anybody who's taken it yet. It seems like it's a relatively new thing that's trying to jump on the AI bandwagon. Has anyone here taken CAIA? Any ideas on its usefulness? Do people in the industry take it seriously? Most of my HF friends have never heard of it...

Is CFA important for quant? heard that many quants think the exams gimmick.

Well, I am also taking L2 this summer...Now stuck at the new 4 sections of accting >_<

I passed L1 and so did a friend who took two weeks off work to study for the exam. Another friend failed, and two more didn't even bother showing up for the exam. The exam was more challenging than I expected, especially in terms of the time constraint. People sitting the exam in the future should be aware that they will often ask two questions in one, and have answers like A) Yes, Yes B) Yes, No C) No, Yes D) No, No.Looking forward to L2 in June...

I don't think that CFA is very helpful for a quant. The exam is tailored to financial analysts, so not exactly a quant focus. Also, it is increasingly being used by developers and such to try and break into finance, so the value may even be diminishing as the number of test takers and charterholders is increasing. An advanced degree is still a better bet for quants and if it takes 250 hours per exam to pass, there are probably much better ways for you to use 750 hours.Does anyone know if the pass rates on the exams out of registered test-takers, or actual? I noticed that there were a lot of empty seats at my exam and have heard of a lot of people just don't show up because the don't have a chance to pass.

I talked to HR of an IB and according to him, the pass rate released included no shows.. so I guess more than 36% passed. But this hat not yet beeb confirmed by the CFA themselves. I am planning to take it this year. A couple of good friends took it last year and all of them passed except one. According to them it is not a difficult exam. They all come from Math and Physics background and said that a difficult exam is one in which regardless of the time you invest studying, you still have to pray to pass. They told me the time invested was around 200 hours and the exam was easy. However, they said that had they not invested that much time, they would have never managed to pass. It is a matter of covering the topics. According to them, those who do not pass is simply because there did not manage to cover all the topics in detail and took everything for granted.It this the opinion of the forum as well? cheers,