I’m in, I’m started getting back into it
I am in too!
Going to kick off my studying for good this Monday.
Will use th CF notes and cookbook problems for my first pass.
Beginning to study today officially. Third attempt. I’ve used TIA before as well as Crystal Clear. This time I am using RF/CF. I think the barrier to pass so far has been me rather than the prior study material. Nonetheless, I am throwing the kitchen sink at getting past my final exam!
Amazing how I forgot everything in 8 short months…
Has anyone done the end-of-chapter problems in Bodie as part of their studying? Are they worth doing?
I did a bunch of them way back in the day, when I was studying for this exam. I think they helped my understanding somewhat but there’s a lot of variation in how useful they are & how relevant to the exam. I want to say I had a list put together by someone else (Goldfarb, maybe?) of some of the better (read: more relevant) problems so I could skip the less useful ones.
That was several editions of BKM ago, so even if I could find that list now it probably wouldn’t be very helpful to you, kind of like this post.
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Is anybody using a study guide/seminar/whatever that does a good job of explaining how to solve problems in a spreadsheet environment? I’m using CF/RF, and while the videos are good for learning the material, it doesn’t really do much in the way of spreadsheet strategy.
Hi jooni,
Feel free to shoot me an email at michael@casualfellow.com. Happy to answer any questions you might have on spreadsheet strategy.
Thanks!
Michael
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Hi Michael, will do, thank you.
Edited later to add the email I sent, because I think it’s a topic worth discussing with other test-takers:
The reason for my post is that I don’t think any study materials out there right now (at least that I know of) use the spreadsheet environment when teaching the material. The way the CAS is testing the material, I’m concerned that approaching the material as if it could be solved via paper/pencil/TI-85 will leave me underprepared. This was my experience with Exam 8 this past sitting where I used TIA, and that seminar had not been updated to reflect the type of questions we are seeing in the CBT environment.
(I actually wrote to the CAS that the questions that they had asked were clearly non-solvable by pen/calculator, even though their FAQ for the fall 2021 sitting claimed that the exams were written as if they were still paper/pencil. Their FAQ for the spring 2022 sitting clearly states that the questions will be geared towards the CBT environment.)
For example, in BKM Chapter 7, the source text encourages us to download an Excel file where the mean, standard deviation, and a correlation matrix for 10 securities is provided, and a calculation of portfolio variance and efficient frontiers is demonstrated. Obviously this could not be done in a pen/paper environment, and so it was not discussed in your seminar. However, with the new testing environment being in effect for several sittings, and with the CAS now explicitly stating that larger data sets will be used in exam questions, this is much more of a fair topic to be tested.
I also recall a later topic where setting up matrices of this type definitely helps to solve certain types of problems, and I recall learning some spreadsheet set-up tricks and formulas to approach certain types of problems (mortgage backed security problems, for example). I wish your seminar would delve into these types of approaches and strategies, since you do such a good job of teaching the material itself.
There’s no way we can plot efficient frontiers or CAL, CML in the CBT environment right?
No graphing, but they could ask you for a series of points or an equation.
I took the first exam 9 sitting in the excel environment in late 2020. Crystal Clear’s manual comes with access to a google drive with some problems in google sheets. Her manual already has some questions that require a lot of computation beyond what may have been reasonable on paper/pencil and it was helpful to practice these in a spreadsheet, and also see her answers on a spreadsheet. The manual is fairly inexpensive so it would be a good supplement to a seminar and maybe she has added more in google sheets since that time.
Hi jooni,
Thanks for the feedback. I think you make some excellent points and I agree that study manuals/seminars will need to continue evolving to adapt to the new CBT norms, especially in terms of original practice problems.
In terms of specific areas within the CF/RF seminar that address some of your concerns, please take a look at RF BKM 10-1 and RF BKM 10-2 for examples around matrix calculations. In addition, you can find more complex excel-focused problems in the “RF Extras” section of the course.
As for spreadsheet tips/tricks, I think that’s a great idea and it’s something Steve and I are looking to create in the near future.
I responded to your email directly as well, but wanted to make sure I covered both forums.
Thanks,
Michael
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Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to respond. I haven’t gotten that far down the syllabus, but I’ll definitely check it out.
Are graders trained to recognize matrix calculations in excel? And any other functions, tricks we can do in a spreadsheet?
Suppose we have identified a portfolio with positive alpha. What do we do to turn that knowledge into an arbitrage opportunity?
Positive alpha means portfolio is underpriced. So should increase the amount you’re investing into the portfolio
If you do just that, your investment is not risk free. you have to short a portfolio with the same beta to get a risk free arbitrage return.
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This thread has been way too quiet!!
I’m feeling like I can get at least a respectable fail. Not sure about passing though.