CFA exam level 2 is not an easy ship to row!
First of all, it's considered one of the toughest levels out of the 3 required to complete the CFA program. Secondly, this is the level at which you start getting some serious competition.
Let me congratulate you first for powering through the level 1 exam of the CFA program. If you have accomplished this, you are probably in the top 40% of people that applied for the CFA program.
To know more about what's waiting for you in the 3rd level, click here.
However, the going only gets tough from here on out.
Level 1 of the CFA exams is where most students end their CFA journey, so when you are studying for level-2, just know that you are competing with the most dedicated of the lot.
The knowledge that you gained in the 1st level will also be crucial in the second level, as this time, you will be able to apply that knowledge in questions that comprise case studies and vignettes.
This exam judges you on your practical knowledge and your ability to apply the information that you have learned in real case studies.
Everything about the CFA level 2 exam in 2022
For those of you who will be giving the CFA level 2 exam in 2022, this information is important.
After the incessant (and free) rescheduling of the CFA exams that happened in 2020 and 2021, this time, the exams are expected to happen on their scheduled dates.
This year, the CFA level 2 exam is scheduled on the following time windows in 2022:
- Feb 22-26,
- August 30- September 03
- November (exact dates not yet released)
The registration for exams in each of these time windows must be done either 3 months earlier for standard registration, or 6 months earlier for Early Registration.
For the year 2022, the early registration fee for the exam is $700, while for the standard registration, the fee is $1000.
For more in-depth information on the time schedules and fees constraints for the CFA level 2 exams, consult the chart given below.
Paper pattern and preparation strategies for CFA level 2 exam
While the CFA level 1 exam comprised only of MCQs, the level 2 exam consists of vignettes accompanied with MCQs.
The exam is held in two sessions each of 132 minutes.
There will be a total of 88 questions randomly assigned in each of the two paper sessions.
The major topics covered in the CFA level-2 are similar to the level 1:
- Ethical & Professional Standards
- Quantitative Methods
- Economics
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Corporate Issuers
- Equity Investments
- Fixed income
- Derivatives
- Alternative investments
- portfolio management & Wealth Planning
However, unlike your CFA level 1 exam, you will be treated to a surprise in each session since the above topics will be randomly assigned to each of the sessions.
The exams will greatly test your practical knowledge, and whether you can apply investment tools and concepts in contextual situations.
As a general rule, the candidates must focus on practicing questions and should devote more time to the practice than on learning the concerts.
A well-practiced and steady hand can do you wonders in exam sessions.
According to the CFA Institute, on average, candidates devoted 325 hours of study for the level-2 examination.
Thus you should aim to at least reserve 300 hours of study for your exam prep.
You could do so by dedicating a fixed number of study sessions of small-time durations to manage your time resources.
Generally, it is seen that small study sessions lead to higher productivity and retention of concepts.
Thus, it’s a viable idea to fix 90-100 study sessions of 3 hours each.
That should be sufficient for you to breeze through your CFA level 2 prep.
Concluding note
Remember! Practice is the key to this examination.
You will be judged on application-based vignettes and questions, so you need to make sure that you are familiar with the different contexts in which the concepts can be applied.
Around 50% of your total CFA level 2 exam preparation should be dedicated to practicing the questions.
Considering 132 minutes for 44 questions, you have got about 3 minutes for each question. Aim to solve those questions in half of that time to reserve time for the review process.
This information piece is brought to you in association with jobaaj.com
