How I passed the Full FRM Exam

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BethesdaCFAJan 5th, 2010 9:43pm

16 AF Points

I used study materials from Bionic Turtle and Schweser (PremiumPlus) to pass the exam. I found the FRM Handbook

and the GARP curriculum readings to be more useful as reference materials than as primary resources.

Which was the most helpful to me between Bionic Turtle and Schweser? Hands down it was Bionic Turtle!

STUDY NOTES

The Bionic Turtle study notes are vibrant and filled with many colorful diagrams. With BT you are provided with PDF

files that you can print or read on your computer. At least last fall when I was studying for the Full FRM exam Schweser

did not offer its customers the ability to obtain its FRM study notes in PDF format.

VIDEOS

I watched all of the weekly Schweser videos (they were offered live on Wednesday nights for 3 hrs at a time), but I

didn’t seem to get much out of them. I felt like a lot of the time in the Schweser live online seminar was spent on

“administrative” items. Also, the Schwser live online classes cover so much in so little time that I felt like the concepts

were just being glossed over. In contrast, I found the Bionic Turtle videos to be far more substantial. BT devoted far

more time to videos than Schweser (there are literally dozens of hours of videos that you an download that cover all

areas of the curriculum). I felt like the BT videos took their time and really covered the concepts well.

IN RETROSPECT

If I had to do it all over again I would use Bionic Turtle, and I would consider adding the Schweser materials as a

supplement only if my company paid for it and there was no money leaving my pocket. It looks like right now one year

of access to Bionic Turtle is going for $399 compared to $1,118 for PremiumPlus for levels 1 and 2 of Schweser. BT is

such a bargain!!!!

Schweser is fantastic for CFA and I am using it to study for CFA Level 3 this June. I haven’t found a study provider

better than Schweser for CFA. However, with respect to the FRM exam I found the Bionic Turtle Materials to be far

more helpful. If the guys at Bionic Turtle are reading this, PLEASE consider offering a CFA study solution!!!

I hope this helps! :-D

1

FINforLILJan 5th, 2010 9:50pm

239 AF Points

If I were to do it over again….I would use Bionic Turtle….I may get it for reference material.

2

adalfuJan 5th, 2010 10:44pm

693 AF Points

i used solely the schweser stuff… no handbook, no bionic turtle

3

jodsJan 5th, 2010 10:56pm

15 AF Points

I don’t know how I passed. I referred only Schweser and that too only for a week!

4

RydexJan 6th, 2010 12:03am

488 AF Points

I used both bionic turtle and schweser. Bionic Turtle was my favorite. I passed.

5

r-manJan 6th, 2010 12:23am

173 AF Points

i used schweser completely … 2009 was a damn hectic year…. cfa I in june, caia I in sep and frm in nov… glad all the

madness is over…

the nerd in me wants to go for caia II in march but i cannot do it now… too exhausted with studying… will go for cfa II

in june directly…

6

v.raghavanJan 6th, 2010 1:14am

183 AF Points

I used BT predominantly - while I went over the video I took enough notes but never got a chance to review.

second pass was with Schweser (I shared it withone of my friend) so just had enough time to skim through to see if BT

missed anything and to my surprise for most part BT was way better in explaining (Similar to Stalla for CFA)

Then I religiously took a lot of QBank and at one point I came to realize that QBank is more of refresher quiz and so I

started doing practice exams - I spent the last 3 weeks taking only exams (bt qns, schwe qbank, mock exams and FRM

exams)

I had plenty of qns in FRM handbookk but never had time togo over…

my 2c :

Use BT for understanding concepts

use Schw to skim thru’ - use it as a review material

Take all possible exams = use qbnk as a quiz stuff

** important - take any possible previous FRM exams (you get a good feel of the real exam -eventhough FRM full

morning exam was no where near what I took while prac’g)

and Pray a lot that you pass.

7

arakhannaJan 6th, 2010 1:25am

53 AF Points

Schweser all the way:

CFA All 3 levels,

FRM Full

and CAIA level 1. The next level in March this year

If you do have more time would recommend a revision of schweser !!

8

egalJan 6th, 2010 1:52am

Switzerland

CFA, FRM Charterholder

321 AF Points

I used Schweser and surprisingly passed.

Right on exam day I felt badly underprepared. Schwesers Q-Bank gives a false sense of security, the questions are too

easy, IMHO. Do have a good look ate the GARP provided sample exams!

Schweser videos are not worth the money as they are very superficial, but the Final Review Guidebook served as a

good starting point for retention exercises.

I occasionally used the Risk Manager Handbook as a reference.

If I were to do it again I would probably get Schweser AND BionicTurtle, since the hand-on approach of BT is appealing

to me, thought I have not tried any BT material yet.

I also got the Hull book, incl. the Student Solution Manual, after the exam, and can highly recommend the book. It feels

way more complete and comprehensive then the Schweser books. If you want to get anything of the assigned

readings, thats a book I’d buy. Also, I found the Basel II readings in Schweser left out a lot after I went through the

original document over the holidays. So, following Schwesers suggestion to have a look at the original Basel II material

can’t hurt, but I didn’t do it.

9

monkiJan 6th, 2010 2:45am

503 AF Points

I did very little studying, knowing many overlap with CFA (I passed all 3 levels). I put most concentration on Credit Risk

and OpRisk, while studying very little case studies. I think I spent at most 50 hours studying. I thought I was marginal

but now I think I did better than many passed candidiates. We will find this out soon! :)

BTW, used Schweser only.

10

mcpassJan 6th, 2010 3:02am

Netherlands

Charterholder

1,914 AF Points

Same as Monki. I read the Schwesers and then spent the Friday before D-Day doing more than 500 questions. That got

me over the hill.

McPass, CFA

11

Alchemist1320Jan 6th, 2010 5:14am

200 AF Points

I did Schweser & Handbook

Saw BT videos as well

was initially finding very tough to grasp higher calculas in handbook…but towards end…just ignored that…

I think doing all possible questions/exams worked

I must have put 250 odd hours for all this

12

adavydov7Jan 6th, 2010 9:39am

1,047 AF Points

@bethesda: “I haven’t found a study provider better than Schweser for CFA.’

How about the CFAI?

13

blueswanJan 6th, 2010 9:47am

26 AF Points

Purely Schweser, never knew about BT, never opened the handbook. I have bought it now as I want to go through it

properly.

Went through 2 past exams, 3 months preparation, followed schweser’s study calendar.

FRM in my opinion was as brutal as CFA L2. Don’t underestimate this sucker.

- Blueswan, CFA, CAIA, FRM

14

KlarsoloJan 6th, 2010 10:03am

72 AF Points

blueswan Wrote:

——————————————————-

> FRM in my opinion was as brutal as CFA L2. Don’t

> underestimate this sucker.

>

> - Blueswan, CFA, CAIA, FRM

I second that. Don’t underestimate the difficulty of this exam. It’s easily as much to study as any given CFA level, but

the questions on the FRM exam were trickier on average.

15

ap^yJan 6th, 2010 10:20am

10 AF Points

I used Schweser as my primary prep material and skimmed through the past exam questions in the hand book. Also

checked out few BT videos on Youtube available for free.

Schweser FRM material didn’t cover the concepts in-depth some of the important concepts had superficial or confusing

explanation. Answering some of the FRM exam questions need in-depth knowledge on concepts hence using Schweser

material is not a good idea.

Even though I checked out few BT videos on youtube the concepts are explained in-depth and makes you feel

confident tackling the tough questions in FRM exams.

The hand book is huge its hard to go through the entire material but I felt some of the FRM questions are entirely

based on the FRM hand book examples that were used for explaining the concepts . This kind of makes sense because

the FRM test creators may be referring this handbook while setting the questions. Which again makes you feel

confident in cracking the FRM exam.

If I were to do it again I would use BT as my prep material and refer hand book to clarify doubts on tough concepts and

may be Schweser for review.

16

BethesdaCFAJan 6th, 2010 10:34am

16 AF Points

——————————————————————————————————

>@bethesda: “I haven’t found a study provider better than Schweser for CFA.’

>

>How about the CFAI?

The CFA Institute curriculum makes for very interesting reading. The selections are from some of the leading minds in

the field. I do occasionally refer to a CFAI reading or two when I have the time. However, the CFAI readings are much

more lengthy than the corresponding readings from Schweser. If you have unlimited time the CFAI readings would

probably be better than Schweser. However, given the limited amount of time I have to study I prefer Schweser to the

CFAI readings for the CFA exam.

17

stevelksJan 9th, 2010 5:06am

17 AF Points

Only handbook!

18

Factor hedgeJan 9th, 2010 7:03am

India

CFA Level II Candidate

234 AF PointsStudying With

Core readings for quant (helped me to get 1st quartile in quant )

Read Hull Chapters (since 20 odd chapters are from Hull text thru out the FRM Curriculam)

Skimmed through Schweser

Studied Handbook and diligently solved all the Handbook questions ( except credit risk and Investment management)

I think I was better off studying Hull which helped me get 1st quartile in market risk and 2nd quartile in Risk models

schweser is horrible for ops risk and credit risk . I found FRM Handbook ops risk way superior to any other readings I

wouldnt have even thought about getting 1st quartile in ops risk if not for Handbook

I also watched few videos of BT and was diligently following the BT forum and solving the ‘question a day ’ those

questions were one notch above FRM questions and were very involving .

Took off from work for a week before exam and solved Handbook questions and schweser practice tests .

If I were to do it again I would read complete Handbook along with Hull and quant core readings , omit schweser , read

BT Materials and watch BT videos

Factor Hedge 

19

vaibhav.cfaJan 9th, 2010 8:04am

10 AF Points

Schweser Schweser and only Schweser

Its like a bible for FRM…

20

mcpassJan 10th, 2010 3:03pm

Netherlands

Charterholder

1,914 AF Points

The exam may have been brutal but the bar isn’t set very high for this exam.

PIECE OF CAKE TO PASS THIS.

There, I said it. Unfortunelately, it’s true.

McPass, CFA

21

k.pokuJan 10th, 2010 7:48pm

3 AF Points

Not sure if entirely true, the exam is not getting any easier with time plus it does need a reasonable amount of time

preparing for.

clearable with decent preparation? yes. a piece of cake? not so much.

22

future cfa frm caiaJan 10th, 2010 9:25pm

10 AF Points

Schweser, Schweser and Schweser for me as well. I think I’ve read the Schweser Study Notes three times in 3 months

and did the the free GARP practice tests. I scored below average in the Schweser Final Tests (prolly because I finished

it very fast) and failed the GARP practice exams but thankfully got 1st quartile in all but 2 subjects in the Actual exam

(I’m 2nd quartile in Foundations of RM and forgot the other one). I’m really glad I used Scweser as I don’t have the

luxury of time to read the Handbook and Core Readings as I am working full time.

I think my CAIA background helped me as well (used plainly Schweser for both CAIA levels and passed both with flying

colors). Will start my CFA soon and will definitely use Schweser again.

I must say the 2009 FRM exam was a difficult exam- very tricky questions plus very overwhelming coverage.

23

mdecavJan 11th, 2010 9:02am

United States

CFA Passed Level III

164 AF PointsStudying With

Klarsolo Wrote:

——————————————————-

> blueswan Wrote:

> ————————————————–

> —–

> > FRM in my opinion was as brutal as CFA L2.

> Don’t

> > underestimate this sucker.

> >

> > - Blueswan, CFA, CAIA, FRM

>

> I second that. Don’t underestimate the difficulty

> of this exam. It’s easily as much to study as any

> given CFA level, but the questions on the FRM exam

> were trickier on average.

I respectfully but completely disagree, even though the pass rates for both are close (~40%). I found the studying and

exam questions on the FRM to be pretty straightforward, with the exception of a scant few questions on the exam.

Maybe its because I have a more quant background (math undergraduate degree) and its one of my stronger areas on

the CFA.

The CFA exam will omit major parts of its ciricculum because there is so much material to study. The comprehensive-

ness of it is what makes it so frustrating and difficult. I’ve failed Level 2 twice now (Band 7 and 10). I passed FRM Level

1 in the highest quartile for 3 of the 4 sections (the other in the second quartile).

I have to agree with mcpass on this one although I wouldn’t say “piece of cake”, but it feels easier than the CFA.

24

lindalibinbinJan 11th, 2010 3:14pm

124 AF Points

I used schweser only and passed. I think it’s sufficient.

25

blueswanJan 12th, 2010 1:37am

26 AF Points

Without arguing with anyone else, this is my difficulty level of all these exams … have a quant background (engg) +

mba.

Toughest to easiest ranking. Luckily i did not have not to repeat an exam, so this is all based on the 1st try…

—-

CFA - L3

FRM - Full

CFA - L2

CAIA - L2

CFA - L1

CAIA - L1

—-

measuring difficulty level is subjective, in my case i measured it based on number of sleepless nights before results are

announced ;-)

26

jcrickJan 12th, 2010 4:42pm

266 AF Points

schweser alone

27

ruchir dograJan 23rd, 2013 1:02am

India

Passed Level III

3 AF Points

I used schweser and eduleap test series (had some pretty tough qtns!).. anyone know of any good mock tests for part

2 other than schweser?? I cant go on readingg.. :( need to practice tests …

28

ADISON2000Jan 23rd, 2013 9:24am

Hong Kong

CFA Charterholder

44 AF Points

Bionic Turtle is the undisputed leader in practice questions for FRM. Check them out at www.bionicturtle.com

I used Schweser for studying but used Bionic Turtle for practice questions. Schweser reading texts are great but the

practice questions are not any where near the difficulty of the real exams but Bionic questions are about par with the

difficulty of the real exams (this observation is common among a good number of FRM candidates). This was my

combination and I am glad to say I passed both parts in the last Nov 2012 exam. This is not to say that success is

guaranteed if anyone follows this advice; maybe it just worked for me as we all have our peculiar circumstances that

determine our ultimate chances.

1. can i find the solutions for problems from GARP notes on this site? If yes how to look for them? if they are not available, it would be nice to have them.or how can i search for practice problems based on a specific chapter from the notes? thats how i am following up on my preparation plan.

Regards,AJ

alokj, Apr 4, 2012

#1

2.

Suzanne EvansAdministratoralokj said: ↑

can i find the solutions for problems from GARP notes on this site? If yes how to look for them? if they are not available, it would be nice to have them.or how can i search for practice problems based on a specific chapter from the notes? thats how i am following up on my preparation plan.

Regards,AJ

Hi AJ,

I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to when you say GARP notes. Here are the contents on GARP's site that I see they offer: http://www.garp.org/frm/study-center/study-materials.aspx

Can you provide me further explanation please?

Thanks,Suzanne

Suzanne Evans, Apr 4, 2012

#2

3.

David Harper CFA FRM CIPMDavid Harper

AJ,

We also copied the GARP sample practice exams to forum boards:

https://www.bionicturtle.com/forum/forums/p1-2012-practice-exam-part-1.75/

https://www.bionicturtle.com/forum/forums/p2-2012-practice-exam-part-2.77/

These are the same as published, only difference is occasional thread conversation (e.g., error). Eventually we will annotate these. Thanks,

David Harper CFA FRM CIPM, Apr 4, 2012

#3

4.

alokjNew Member

suzanne,

there are some practice problems after every chapter in FRM Part I Books (one i received from GARP). I read a chapter and solve the examples at the end of the chapter. But i couldn't find the solutions of these problems, so there is no way for me to check if my answers are correct or not. After I finish reading all chapters, then its ok to go though all the problems at once (as its on the site). But while I am reading chaper by chapter, its kinda convenient to solve the problems and check the correctness of the answers.

It would have be useful if problems are categorized chapter wise along with the topic wise classification we have now.

Let me know if you still have confusion.

Thanks,AJ

alokj, Apr 4, 2012

#4

5.

David Harper CFA FRM CIPMDavid Harper

Hi AJ,

We write our own questions, organized by topic in the Study Planner http://www.bionicturtle.com/my-account/study-planner

Are the questions just the naturally occurring end of chapter questions, or has GARP added their own?e.g., do you have any for 10. Rachev's Chapters 2 and 3?

David Harper CFA FRM CIPM, Apr 4, 2012

#5

6.

Suzanne EvansAdministratoralokj said: ↑

suzanne,

there are some practice problems after every chapter in FRM Part I Books (one i received from GARP). I read a chapter and solve the examples at the end of the chapter. But i couldn't find the solutions of these problems, so there is no way for me to check if my answers are correct or not. After I finish reading all chapters, then its ok to go though all the problems at once (as its on the site). But while I am reading chaper by chapter, its kinda convenient to solve the problems and check the correctness of the answers.

It would have be useful if problems are categorized chapter wise along with the topic wise classification we have now.

Let me know if you still have confusion.

Thanks,AJ

Click to expand...

Hi AJ,

We have contacted our contact at GARP to clarify. We will get back with you ASAP!

Thanks,Suzanne

Suzanne Evans, Apr 4, 2012

#6

7.

Ankur SMember

AJ/David/Suzanne,

Think i can help since i am L2 member and have followed BT and GARP books also.

The questions at the end of each chapter in garp books are simply picked up from the chapters of books that GARP puts in AIM. Dont think GARP is putting any questions.

E.g. in L2 i am reading Jorion Ch7 and 17 in Investment topic. GARP simply copies the whole chapters along with questions and related appendix from Jorion and puts it in its Investment book that GARP prints.

Hope its not confusing.

AJ,You wouldn't find answers to those on BT as David has his own set of vast and variety of questions, which i found to be engaging as well and it really helped me to clear L1.

My 2 cents.

Ankur

Ankur S, Apr 6, 2012

#7

 Like x 1

8.

ChadWOBNew Member

I called GARP about this when I was studying for the November 2011 Lev1 exam using the GARP issued handbook. The questions at the end of each section are plucked straight from the text from the assigned readings. GARP advised me that they did not have the proper licensing to publish the answers, so that is what you can't find them! They told me I'd have to buy the answers seperately and directed me towards Amazon.com.

This is the primary reason I did not purchase the handbook for Lev2 from GARP, and went with Bionic Turtle and Schweser. I'd suggest doing the same. Schweser provides a lot of qualitative practice questions and BT via David gives detailed explanations on the quantitative stuff and gives even better insight into the past testability of topics so you can prioritize yoru time better.

ChadWOB, Apr 23, 2012

#8

 Like x 2

9.

Aleksander HansenWell-Known Member

One way to get around it is to type in the question in Google books. It will let you view 4 pages or so around the paragraph you select after searching. Same thing on Amazon "look inside the book".Do it over the course over a couple of days and you should have pretty much all the answers from the various readings.

If you want to get fancy and do it all in one go, you can have your IP generated by protective networks: networks made to get around censorship in countries like China, Iran etc. it randomly assigns you IP addresses from a wide range of countries and switches it every few minutes so one cannot be tracked.(good way not to get viruses or avoid getting hacked too but that's beside the point). It is perfectly legal since your're not violating the terms and conditions on Google or Amazon (albeit that may change if a lot of people start doing it).

Aleksander Hansen, Apr 23, 2012

#9

10.

David Harper CFA FRM CIPMDavid Harper

Aleks, This doesn't apply to May, but if you (or anyone) locates a solution text that you think we should make available, please let me know: I can have somebody enter solutions manually; e.g., as we did selected Hull here @ http://www.bionicturtle.com/forum/forums/p1-p2-textbook-options-futures-derivatives.31/(I may have somebody enter all of the 8th Ed Hull ... not sure)

The issue, from my perspective, is that some of these texts don't seem to actually have solutions; e.g., Tuckman, Jorion ... and some readings don't have questions (hence my original confusion) but if you find a text you think we should incorporate (subject to fair use modifications, of course), please let us know!

David Harper CFA FRM CIPM, Apr 23, 2012

#10

 Like x 1

11.

Aleksander HansenWell-Known Member

Sure,

I'll let you know what I come across. 

Usually they have their TA's write up solutions for exercises if it's not published in the book (or in a separate solutions manual like Hull) so I'm sure something is out there.I'll look at the universities they are at to see if I know anyone in their departments that I can go through, otherwise I'll just shot them an email [post exam]

Aleksander Hansen, Apr 23, 2012