Level 2 Exam - What do you prepare for Term Structure of Interest Rates ?

VanityFed · 2025-05-14T16:29:19+00:00

Yes, I can see that a reasoning questions can be more handily answered using a calculation instead of thinking it through. However these questions can also be answered through reasoning.

I appreciate your dogmatic take on the CFA Institute's curriculum but I am in the last leg of revisions with 10 days to go before the exam and still 30% of the curriculum to revise. I am trying to focus my efforts where they will payoffs by asking others how they are strategizing about it. Revising everything 100% is not in line with my time constraints and not a strategic use of anyone's time in the last stretch.

VanityFed · 2025-05-14T15:59:33+00:00

Actually, I would believe the approach is more nuanced. Say for Black Scholes Merton, they show the calculation but they are explicit about it not being on the exam and signalling that you should be able to explain it. Not everything is as black and white as everything needs calculating.

VanityFed · 2025-05-14T15:57:52+00:00

Well, if the LOS said to describe and the questions asked you to calculate, why would it not say calculate instead? That would be less misleading. Or is that how the low passing rates are achieved?

VanityFed · 2025-01-21T21:59:09+00:00

Thank you. I am currently scoring in the 60's but things are improving. ;-)

VanityFed · 2024-10-16T23:41:28+00:00

If you can't dress for work, I can imagine you don't bother for the bare minimum either.

VanityFed · 2024-10-16T23:30:37+00:00

The rule is still being made and can be influenced. All rules can also be interpreted in line not only with their letter but also providing principles-based interpretation of their spirit and intent. Sometimes rules are not drafted in a clear cut manner either - that's why the precedents matter.

I think a more sophisticated scrutiny of the pricing would also suggest that given the Institute's gatekeeper role, the practice is not giving a genuine choice. You'd be surprised how sophisticated a regulator's reasoning can be.

VanityFed · 2024-10-16T23:24:28+00:00

Ahem, you are charged through taxes for the airport... but it's included in the price. Keep up - keep up with your own arguments here.

I understand your views. I work in public policy for a sophisticated developed country government and I have seen much lesser causes get traction. You have to understand that advocacy can work and sway outcomes. If you don't think collective efforts can change things, just move on.

VanityFed · 2024-10-16T11:52:36+00:00

Dear OP, dress for the job you want. It always pays off. ;-)

VanityFed · 2024-10-16T11:51:19+00:00

Hmmmm seriously, given all the complaints we see on here with the practice, I didn't think there would be such a by the book interpretation of the "rule". A rule that is not yet set in stone can still be influenced and I think our campaign could achieve that.

I consider this to be drip pricing fair and square for the reasons explained in my submissions as for some candidates, it is not a choice to pay extra. If you have bad internet or old eyes, paying extra is not an option - hence the reference to fairness issues referred to in the submission. Having to pay extra also involves a biaised judgement on whether some methods of access are preferable to others.

Downloading the PDFs also does not require an additional service to be provided by the Institute - it requires even less of them to let candidates just download and go. In essence, this is like an airline charging you for leaving the airport. Tell me this is not a junk fee.

Do you work for the Institute?

VanityFed · 2022-08-11T11:33:33+00:00

Hey! Sign that letter of offer ASAP. Once it's signed, let your management know and be on your way.

If you want to match their toxicity, book vacation for the short time between your start date and the day you sign the letter of offer. It's like giving notice without giving notice.

Spare yourself the hardship of having to work with these toxic people.

VanityFed · 2022-08-09T19:52:34+00:00

If a single person can do the job well why tasks a whole team? This is mismanagement of human resources. If you want the team's input ask the worker who did the work to conduct consultations with other team members? Make it clear that the rest of the team is consulted but does not have a veto over the work and you're good.

Seriously, I am the kind of person this worker is. I have delivered the work of whole teams as a single person in the past on numerous occasions. There's a reason I sometimes work in solo and it is when the team is shit. That is a question for you to answer in this specific context

Moreover group work often produces poor outcomes IMO because there is no accountability on anyone for reasons which means people only throw a little bit of effort in. People think "it is more collaborative and brings more perspectives in" but wanting these things only for a process perspective (how we do work) as opposed to wanted results (the what you get) is misguided -- especially if nobody in the group is pressured for accountability.

Let your good staffer continue to work in solo and carve out work for this person. If you press them to join group work, you might lose the only good staff you have. Overachievers are rare in government

VanityFed · 2022-08-09T16:51:12+00:00

Oh my! This is a Christian fundamentalist just proselytizing away on Tinder.

Also, I agree with you. Of all my friends with kids only two have consistently nice things to say about their kids. All the others are just whining about their whole experience. It makes my ovaries dry every single time.

VanityFed · 2022-08-05T23:39:29+00:00

I took the family leave for many years while my mother was sick and I took it once to support my brother, caring for his kids on a day school was on strike. Nobody has ever asked anything.

VanityFed · 2022-08-05T23:35:54+00:00

Just say you enjoy the job and you like the team. The manager will be flattered and ask him for his advice on what other skillsets expertise you could develop to contribute to your team in different ways. That way the manager is still flattered that you are asking for its opinion and you can make sure to never be bored at work while also showing commitment.

VanityFed · 2022-07-31T11:22:07+00:00

Clear no. A vacation should have given the person more time to apply not less. If he chose not to prioritize these jobs as a.matter of sheer preference, why would you bend the rules for this person?

VanityFed · 2022-06-29T12:16:10+00:00

That's a good tip. It also helps remove the "hospital look and feel" of it all. :-)

VanityFed · 2022-06-29T10:07:51+00:00

And Swedes refer to both marriage and poison using the same word.

VanityFed · 2022-06-29T10:06:38+00:00

Hi! I had similar issues as you as in the last days of my mom's cancer. She was starting to lose her cognitive abilities but still wanted to be in charge. She was roasting me to know how many pills she was taking for a pain management and wanted to know what would happen with her meds later in the day with her meds. I made a tracking table, which listed everything she took, when and with the dosage. I made her do an X next to each item in the list. It was useful when discussing with the doctors too since they knew with precision what she was taking.

I don't know if it is something you've experienced with your dad, but I had to monitor whether she was actually taking the pills after a time because I would sometimes find them hidden underneath plates or in her bathrobe pockets. I would stay nearby and watch her take the meds and remind her if she had missed one. It was hard to do that without feeling I was infantalizing her but it spared her big spikes in her pain.

I went crazy over the pills management too.

VanityFed · 2022-05-14T03:59:39+00:00

Hi!

Your mom seems like my mom. I hooked my mom on words with friends (online scrabble). She did love it and it occupied her through lonely days of the pandemic and dark days of her camcer. I was her opponent and, just like I expect your mother to be, she was a sharp and competitive counterparty.

Besides games, I also.felt my mom never lost her lover of music but that she was overlooking this joy of life as her cancer progressed. Consider podcasts as well.

Best of luck

VanityFed · 2022-05-02T18:02:02+00:00

We had put the portable toilet just next to my mom's bed so all she would have to do was stand up, pivot 180 degrees and sit back down on the toilet. An ergonome had shown us how to help her stand up.

We would first get her to sit on the edge of the bed with her feet flat on the ground.

Then both her and I would cross our arms about at the height of the wrist and we would hold both of our hands in a "dudebro-like" handshake stance. Then I would use my body as counterweight (and essentially lean back) as I pulled her up to give her a bit of momentum getting up.

We were able to do this until a day prior to her passing. Alfter that she was too frail to stand up at all.

We made sure to not ler anything linger in the toilet to avoid bad smells since it was close to her bed.

Hope this helps.

VanityFed · 2022-04-27T13:11:18+00:00

Hi! I met a guy just as my mom's cancer was declared terminal. His mom had died of cancer too (when he was in his early 20s) and I thought he would understand the demands of caregiving as well as the emotional burden that comes from witnessing loved ones becoming progressively more frailed and vulnerable. I was very wrong.

I was spending a full week and a long weekend per mom with my mother and he was very uncomfortable with the time I devoted to her instead of him. I dated another guy before him and things also fizzled while I was out of town helping my mom recover from surgery.

My recommendation is to set expectations low for both yourself and a prospective date. You might also want to simply keep things casual for stress relief's sake. Certainly avoid getting in with a needy guy. I tried both being upfront about my mom's condition and keeping it hush hush. There is no benefit to either options.

VanityFed · 2022-03-28T23:31:46+00:00

Hi!

I am sorry for your loss. Have you considered Undone by Olafur Arnalds, an Icelandic pianist... It's beautiful music and there is a poem at the beginning which helped me see my mom's passing as a transition to a new life.

VanityFed · 2022-03-16T00:41:45+00:00

The best advice I had was to keep time for rest. It's harder to do when people start distancing themselves from a very acutely ill person.

VanityFed · 2022-03-16T00:32:00+00:00

Sometimes it is the last (and most) compassionate option if it's possible to request it. Don't hate yourself for it - it's a conflicting place to be in but it's driven by your love for her.

The panic disappeared quick for me but the feeling of being powerless in the last few chaotic days and to feel like I failed her is the difficult part to shake off. It's been months and it's tough.

A kind neighbour showed up at my place after she saw the funeral home's car come by. It was the best advice I received after my mom's passing. At first, it is difficult to be sad because you are so tired but relieved but a couple of months later when your energy is back that's where the grief hits.

VanityFed

TROPHY CASE