Six resources and practice aids to help you prepare for the CFA level 2 exam in 2023
In this article today, I will be sharing based on my personal experience six tools/resources to practice for the CFA level 2 exam.
1 - End of Chapters Problems
The first place for you to practice once you are done covering all the readings is to practice the EOC problems of the CFA curriculum. These are great practice materials for you wanting to apply whatever you have just learned. They come mixed in difficulty. Some are easier and some are a bit more challenging. The main goal of these problems is to ensure you have digested the materials you have just gone through.
2 - Blue Boxes
While you are going through the CFA readings, you will probably notice examples in blue or white boxes, these are critical for your learning. These examples are there to give you real-life examples of financial concepts and to give you a flavor of what real life is. Some of these examples are financial events that happened in the past such as the 2008 mortgage crisis, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and etc.
If you are someone who is reading the books or skipping all the readings, make sure not to forget the embedded problems; they are excellent to clarify your knowledge and to solidify it.
3 - CFA Website
Once you are done with the books, it's time to move onto the CFA institute website where you will have access to different resources, especially to the 1000-1200 problems. The CFA website is built as an ecosystem. It has cue cards, it gives you a relative position based on the overall participants, and it tells where you are proficient and where you need improvement. These problems are a MUST. They are much more difficult than the problems you see in the curriculum readings.
4 - CFA Mock Exams
The CFA institute will provide you with several mock exams. Do not ignore them. They are very reflective of the difficulty you may face in the exams. Complete as many as you can. Time yourself and see how long it takes you to complete them. Do these exams on a PC as if you were writing the exam in the actual exam center.
5 - Mock Exams from other Approved Service Providers
If you have time, I suggest purchasing additional mock exams from other approved service providers such as IFT, Mark Meldrum, and Financial Help 123. I have used Schweizer for the CFA level 2 preparation and I felt their mocks were pretty difficult and helped me to get additional practice.
6 - Aswath Damodaran
Last, but not least, and if you have time, I suggest watching the video lectures of Aswath Damodaran. He is a finance professor at NYU who teaches corporate finance and valuation. His lectures are a great supplement to your studies. He is detailed, easy to follow, and concise. You can't go wrong with him!
These are all my suggestions based on my experience. I took the exam in 2021 and a lot may have changed but one thing always stays and that is PRACTICE.
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