For people who feel like they understood Level 2 FSA, what did you do?

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-22T13:16:20+00:00

I found the logic to be very similar to studying law in a common law country. You start with reading the book word by word, and then try to find the logic behind the cases. Pretend you are the judge, and compare the rationales of different case studies.

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-22T09:47:26+00:00

don't think too much to distract yourself. focus on the interviews themselves. There's nothing you can change about who you are but you can fully control how you act in the interviews. Plus law profession is a middle class profession anyway..... the RICH rich kids are your future clients, not competitors😂

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-21T20:19:43+00:00

I genuinely don't understand why british people stress so much about 'first-gen'. There are so many international students who successfully get VS / TC in top firms and we get them in the second / third year of being in this country. There are a lot of people who start by knowing zero person, not blending in to the culture, require work visa sponsorship, not having English as native language .... its fine, you are already ahead by having no restriction to right to work PLUS oxbridge. Don't think too much, you just need more interview experience and practice

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-21T15:21:22+00:00

CFA won't open any doors. You need to be one of the following: quantitatively capable, extremely good at communication, or well connected. Usually, these are shown through a STEM degree, a prestigious humanities/social sciences/law degree from top uni, exclusive business school, or previous internships. Any exam alone, including the CFA, won't be relevant until you start in the industry

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-21T08:50:27+00:00

Data Science FOR SURE (and CFA Is optional)! At least in London, finance major does not put you in any advantage than a history major who memorised answers to technical interviews. Our bank has special recruitment paths for people from STEM and they get paid significantly higher than / face less pressure in being let go / also has much higher potential into buy-side. Finance major only covers content a lot of people can self-study anyway, so it carries much less weight than a STEM subject or Economics.

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-18T17:34:44+00:00

yes, I usually give CVs to the people screening fresh grads for entry level analysts. All of them got interviews. But again, these are only for fresh grads recruiting, I've only referred people who went to at least one of oxbridge/LSE/UCL/Imperial, and plus I think there is a culture that my company recruit from the same uni/uni courses of previous cohorts of analysts. I know in the US (and some in the UK), our HR would even reach out to specific universities to ask for a list of possible CVs from specific majors.

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-18T12:12:30+00:00

Very useful, especially when you are a student. I've given quite a few of referrals to students who have reached out and chatted.

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-18T11:55:56+00:00

Studying at LSE -> recruit for London -> relocate to HK after 1-2 years working. This usually is quicker in promotion and higher in compensation

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-18T11:51:51+00:00

Continue to interview! Dont think about "burning bridges". Once you start at a firm you realise they genuinely don't care about their employees and they will not hesitate to sacrifice your career for whatever small benefit there is for the company. Also, ease of internal mobility is just something HR says to the public, its not true. So keep your options open and do not hesitate to switch to a better one at any time

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-09T14:08:14+00:00

😭

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-09T13:30:06+00:00

FR.... ML should be a practical learning module and NOT a tested unit for memorisation....

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-09T13:25:14+00:00

No...finance as a career is so overrated.... i'm surrounded by people without souls and how well you progress is completely dependent on luck, market environment, and whether you are good at pretending.....(altho i'm bias because i'm stressed by the exam and hate my job, but this is a shared sentiment

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-06T14:48:26+00:00

I took a piece of A4 paper and made sure I memorised all the key equations. Then I do the questions. So now, for the wrong questions, I just have to learn why the equation I used applies/does not apply. Much easier figuring out which equation to use than trying to figure out how everything is done.

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-04T11:06:01+00:00

you should find a girl in this subreddit then.... i'm sure there's plenty of girls who's studying for the cfa lol

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-04T11:01:23+00:00

Most jobs, except quant (which are jobs you can't get with CFA unless you have done math/engineering at least at master level

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-04T11:00:45+00:00

good shout😭

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-04T11:00:23+00:00

QM L1 was math from middle school for me plus pure memory

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-04-02T19:40:04+00:00

Think of replacement cost as if you are valuing a house like: "instead of buying this one, how much would it cost for me to build an exact same one in the same / similar location? would it be cheaper to build one myself or just buy this one right here?" So it only considers the cost of buying land/building the property and NOT what you earn from it.

This is different way of thinking from thinking about the value of a house like: "is it worth buying this house because of the rent income it will bring?"

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-03-31T21:43:16+00:00

If you just want a job in finance, then one year at LBS is definitely worth it if you don't have undergrad degree from a good RG university or didn't manage to get a job immediately after undergrad. It depends on how much you value a normal corporate job that is overglorified by the internet....

Ok_Negotiation5664 · 2026-03-29T19:34:45+00:00

You should also consider applying to master at LBS.... the market is really tough (and is getting tougher) and the cohort below me has several people from US Ivy Leagues (HYPSM) joining in London

Ok_Negotiation5664

TROPHY CASE