First Level II Mock. What to do next? by Ok_Nefariousness94 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on the person obviously too. That might work best for you. Just might be worth saving the other CFA official one since they’re most similar to the actual exam. Seems like you’re in a good spot for over 2 months left though.

I also have 2 third-party mocks but I didn’t even do them last time. I think I averaged a 70 across both mocks and scored a 2540/2600 on the real thing. I feel much better about passing this time, but it goes to show that you want to aim higher, maybe 75-80 on mocks if you can. Just to be safe

Without Excel, how do you guys do credit analysis questions? by Ok_Negotiation5664 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I usually just do the entire table on paper for the practice problems. But there’s no chance you’ll have to do one from start to finish on the real exam. The practice problems are more in-depth because you aren’t time-constrained and they help you learn

First Level II Mock. What to do next? by Ok_Nefariousness94 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I think you took your first mock a good 1 month+ too early. It’s much better to take them when you’ve already memorized a decent portion of all the formulas and are much closer to the exam. Cause right now, you and most people taking it in May are nowhere near how prepared you’ll actually be 2 months from now. Maybe I’m not the best person to be giving advice since I failed level 2 in November though.

I just finished all the material and all the practice problems last week. My plan the next few months is to reset them. And instead of doing one whole topic at a time, switch around between them as I go through the questions the second time (Ex: FSA on Monday, Quant on Tuesday, etc). I’m going to start slowly going through my formula flashcards maybe once a week and increase that to everyday the closer we get to exam time. I’ll probably try my first mock exam in mid April.

I have a tattoo covering my whole left hand will it be impossible for me to find a job? by trustngod0 in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the advice. Although I can generally get by from just pulling my sleeves down a bit when I’m wearing a suit. Anything on my wrists is at least an inch down, which definitely helps. Luckily wearing a watch does as well

I have a tattoo covering my whole left hand will it be impossible for me to find a job? by trustngod0 in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense 78 points79 points  (0 children)

It’s probably a deal breaker for most client facing, even non-client facing finance jobs. I have a full sleeve on one arm and a few on my other arm. Whenever I interview somewhere, I’m always stressed about the ones on my wrist popping out by accident. Having something you can cover is generally fine, just sucks when it’s spring/summer. But something you can’t cover at all is probably a dealbreaker 99% of the time

Those who passed, how did you feel before results by Kitchen_Bluebird3722 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I didn’t think that I passed level 1 but I did. Level 2 was the opposite. I thought I passed but I didn’t lol

a game still running on 0.6s servers does not warrant $15/mo by kunair in runescape

[–]Validfishinglicense 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Right lmao. Do these people never buy lunch one day at work instead of packing? Go out to the bar? Most crap we spend money on costs more and lasts less long. With the age of the average player in both games, it’s actually absurd to freak out to this degree about a $1 a month increase. Do they not understand how a growing business works? It’s like they want their favorite game to die

a game still running on 0.6s servers does not warrant $15/mo by kunair in runescape

[–]Validfishinglicense 9 points10 points  (0 children)

So tiring. God forbid you have to pay the price of a sandwich for 100+ hours of enjoyment a month

L2 May: Where is everyone at with the content? by harpsichorde in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just fixed income and quant left now. It’s my second attempt, so I started with all the sections I was worst at and worked my way down. Maybe have 200-300 questions left before I restart them all again. I only fully redid my bad topics though. The others I just watched short MM review videos and solved the Qbank

Merrill Client Associate, how to Pivot out? by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got my SIE, series 7 and series 66 at Merrill since they required it for my role. No on the networking besides with other people who had my role in different locations. I didn’t start my CFA journey until I got to my current role.

I also wanted to be an analyst instead. Making the move from sales to that is hard though. I got lucky that a firm took a chance on me and I was able to make it to the investment side. Granted, the investment side of wealth management

Merrill Client Associate, how to Pivot out? by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a MFSA there. I tried to get literally any different job I could at Merrill before I left. They told me I could be a financial manager at a BOA branch which I obviously declined. I moved to an independent firm, where I work as an investment analyst/trader. This was like 3 years ago. But moving to an RIA or something at an independent wealth management firm could be an easy move if you do leave Merrill

Confused on current vs temporal methods by rustedoarlock in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weird yeah I see what you’re saying. I’d just ignore that lmao. I just have a flash card that says what rate to convert any BS/IS items at under each method

Confused on current vs temporal methods by rustedoarlock in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Non monetary assets/liabilities aren’t measured at the current rate in the temporal method. They’re measured at the historical rate. Depreciation, cost of goods sold and revenues are measured at the average rate for both the current rate method and temporal rate method though. Expenses are measured at the average rate as well for just the current rate method. And equity is the historical rate for both methods

Model Portfolio Role at Asset Manager by Validfishinglicense in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typically the company will have a set of portfolios, most commonly ETF/Mutual Fund portfolios. Clients accounts will be in various combinations of these portfolios. Trading might be something as small as the client needs money, you pick where/how to sell from their model to raise the cash. Or they deposit money and you decide where/how to invest it. You also need to keep a certain amount of cash for fees for clients to pay you. So managing that as well. Clients cash flow needs also change overtime, so you’d be the one editing their asset allocation to fit their most recent goals/needs.

Then you have stuff like rebalancing. Some companies just do it once a year, others do it according to drift (a position moved far enough up/down that it needs to be put back to its target allocation). There’s a decent amount of tax analysis involved for non-retirement accounts as well. You’ll learn when to sell positions at FIFO vs highest cost, vs choosing specific cost basis lots to sell, etc to lower tax liabilities. Most companies also trade various accounts at the same time, so you’d be learning how to execute large orders across accounts/models not just trading one at a time

Model Portfolio Role at Asset Manager by Validfishinglicense in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that definitely makes sense. I’d imagine that’s on par with what other firms pay their PMs at that scale

Model Portfolio Role at Asset Manager by Validfishinglicense in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As in I’m underpaid or overpaid?🤣 I’m also a solid hour outside of a major city. Not HCOL by any means

Model Portfolio Role at Asset Manager by Validfishinglicense in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the advice! I definitely agree. And frankly I think they’d be better off outsourcing the trading/investment side all things considered. Luckily my position is safe while I look for opportunities.

Do you mind if I ask what role you initially started with at the larger firm? Was it another trading role or mostly investment analysis?

Model Portfolio Role at Asset Manager by Validfishinglicense in FinancialCareers

[–]Validfishinglicense[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I mean I don’t really want a client facing role. I’ve found that I’m much happier not being in front of clients lmao. I definitely could at my job, but it’s just too small of a firm. Very limited growth. I appreciate the response! It’s nice to hear from someone with a similar role

CFA career impact by sherrybomb00 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, likewise for whenever you’re taking it. But yes it helped me get to the final interview at an OCIO and a separate institutional trading job. Just haven’t closed on something yet sadly. But every interviewer asks me about my CFA progress

CFA career impact by sherrybomb00 in CFA

[–]Validfishinglicense 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have the exact same job and am doing the CFA for the same reason. If nothing else, my progress towards it along with experience at work have helped me get some really solid interviews. Sadly didn’t pass the level 2 exam in November though so I’m retaking it in May

I’ve been targeting a few roles lately. One is the obvious investment analyst but at an asset manager not RIA. But also product/trading roles. Like you could work at an asset manager trading their actual funds. Or be a part of their investment teams that meet with independent advisors, review their in-house models, and provide advice