I felt I needed to post this as these types of posts helped me prepare and get in the right mindset for the test.
Test Prep: purchased Kaplan LEM, qbank and the cheat sheet (which really came in handy the last few days) several months ago. I felt Kaplan was confusing and overly detailed and began looking for a supplement. After researching I landed on the Finance Tutors (TFT) On Demand course. This helped me immensely and I would absolutely recommend to anyone who is looking to supplement their main study prep material. Great videos that breakdown details and concepts followed by extensive unit tests which helps the information settle in your head.
I focused mostly on practice tests. I did not read the LEM cover to cover. Everyone absorbs new materially differently. Started with testing on everything all at once then moved to individual chapter/units one by one. Then I created tests by the 4 exam “functions” (units).
I spent the last week REALLY drilling the qbank and TFT unit tests and rewatched the videos as needed for reinforcement. This was critical for me in the days leading up to the test.
Finally, the day of the test, (tested at 2pm) I
reviewed the Kaplan cheat sheet to reinforce concepts followed by listening to the strongly recommended Mighty Ninety video which I finished while I was sitting in the parking lot of test center.
Actual test:
Zero Roman numerals or super complicated questions. A few wordy questions I had to read a few times to make sure I understood what it was asking. In most cases I found I was able eliminate 1 or 2 answers right off the bat. I picked up the calculator 3x.
Topics that I had 1-3 questions on:
Business cycle, options, Warrants, Preferred stock, Treasury bills, P/e in relation to the stock price, REITs, Commercial paper, inverse etf, Closed end funds characteristics, Mutual fund loads, BD definition and operations,
Disadvantage of using sharpe ratio, Efficient market hypothesis, Modern portfolio theory - efficient frontier, After tax return calculation, Quick ratio, Opportunity cost.
Topics that I had a lot of questions, as expected:
Suitability type questions: what is the most appropriate security for a client looking for…., Types of risk, risks associated with different investments/securities, Investment adviser or IAR registration, IA filings & disclosures and Ethics.
The test is as they say - started off easy, gradually got more difficult in the middle, then easier as I got closer to the finish line. Don’t get jammed up in the middle, don’t spend too much time on a question, pick the answer you think is best - mark for review and move on.
This group is awesome and I wish those testing in the future the best of luck. You absolutely CAN pass this test if you put in the work.