tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418Wed, 11 Sep 2024 20:03:31 +0000CFAFinanceEquity ValuationThoughtsGeneral RambingsMy quest for the CFA Designationhttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-967535396450342797Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:59:00 +00002007-12-27T04:01:25.875-06:00CFAEquity ValuationFinanceI finished doing this Reading from Schweser and the Curriculum combined. Schweser has actually done a good job on this one. I am yet to work out the Chapter End Problems though. I'll do that tomorrow. Some useful concepts: 1. FCFF and FCFE are the cash flows available to all of the investors in the company and to common stock holders, respectively. 2. Analysts like to use free cash flow as http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-47-free-cash-flow-valuation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-4472544666654412545Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:20:00 +00002007-12-26T17:28:50.350-06:00CFAFinanceGeneral RambingsThoughtsI have been reading this chapter since yesterday and I’ve made some good progress with the material here- mainly due to the fact that most of it is not new to me. We have been re introduced to concepts such as DDM, Gordon Growth Model (GGM) etc.The Curriculum has a very nice summary at the end. So, I don’t think I’ll be putting up any notes for this reading. It will be a waste of time for me. I http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-46-dividend-discount-valuation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-145252155387974167Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:29:00 +00002007-12-26T17:30:00.545-06:00CFAEquity ValuationFinanceThoughts The Reading introduces us to a research report by Goldman Sachs. The report itself talked about grouping industries and companies into two groups- over valued and under valued. Various techniques for analysis have also been discussed. While the official curriculum explicitly states that we need to understand the method of analysis instead of learning industry/company specifics, this is http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-45-us-portfolio-strategy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-1285212719590184321Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:30:00 +00002007-12-26T17:31:41.352-06:00CFAEquity ValuationFinanceThoughts This reading is a small one and took me only around 45 minutes. The first part is a repetition and re-introduces the concept of franchise P/E. Intrinsic P/E= Base P/E + Franchise P/E Franchise P/E= FF*G, where FF= (ROE-r)/(ROE*r) and G= g/(g-r) There is a new concept in this Reading, called the Growth Duration Model, which basically states that the ratio of the P/Es of a high growth and a nonhttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-44-company-analysis-and-stock.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-6939174397869652018Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:42:00 +00002007-12-26T18:43:09.549-06:00CFAEquity ValuationFinanceThoughts After about 4 days, I finally picked up my book again. Blame it on my Graduation excitement. Yeah- I’m an MBA now. I did this reading from Schweser after seeing that the official reading is too long. I might come back to the official curriculum in case I’m having trouble solving questions. I worked out the concept checkers at the end of Schweser material and they are really good. Main http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-43-valuation-in-emerging.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-8853189506784581487Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:17:00 +00002007-12-26T21:18:18.552-06:00I got done with the second part of this reading that focused on Differentiation, Cost Focus and Differentiation Strategy. There is a brief explanation on Stuck in the middle firms and on the requirements of sustaining competitive advantage. Lastly, the reading finishes off with the importance of generic strategy in strategic planning of a firm. I’m thinking of jotting down some main points http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-41-competitive-strategy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-7430562553368046765Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:16:00 +00002007-12-26T21:17:21.140-06:00 I have been forgetting lots of important formulae and concepts. I wonder if there is any point studying like this. During Level-I prep, I used to forget stuff the first time around also. I need a couple of revisions before everything sinks in. I had made lots of flashcards for level I. Since I’m already writing here, I will try to even write short summaries for each reading. I got this idea http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/inclusion-of-short-summaries.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-8974596164944342300Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:43:00 +00002007-12-26T17:44:53.687-06:00CFAEquity ValuationFinance This reading was quite interesting. I used Schweser as a study guide to get a gist of the entire chapter and then used the Curriculum for my main reading. Took me about 2.5 hours, I guess. I worked out the concept checkers at the end of Schweser 2007. Main points: The model of an Industry Analysis should include- Industry Classification External Factors Demand analysis Supply Analysis http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-42-industry-analysis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-6843042395365611639Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:18:00 +00002007-12-26T21:19:05.963-06:00First, I completed the end of chapter problems for Reading 40. I couldn’t really understand # 19. I’ll come back to it during my second revision. Second, I started with the Competitive Strategy reading. It’s quite easy and talks about industry attractiveness and the competitive advantage, how the industry structure plays a major role in the industry profitability. Then we go into the Generic http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/reading-41-competitive-strategy_11.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-2707786705335784391Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:19:00 +00002007-12-26T21:19:50.923-06:00Finally achieved this task after not studying for a week. It probably took me around 2-3 hours to re-read everything in Reading 40 from the CFAI Curriculum and the Schweser notes combined. I had to go back to Schweser for some parts because the details in the Curriculum really bogged me down The main trouble that I had was with the first LOS that differentiates the accounting rules betn IASB, http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/done-reading-40-from-cfai-textbook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-1448104470744261070Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:20:00 +00002007-12-26T21:20:43.665-06:00This is the first reading in Equity Valuation. I gave it a fast reading from Schweser 2007. Some topics like Industry Life Cycle, Value Chain, Return Analysis, Risk Analysis etc are a repetition from L-I syllabus. There is a new formula for P/E ratio analysis and a few other things like the comparison of the FASB and IASB rules pertaining to some Financial Statement Analysis rules (Consolidationhttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-40-equity-concepts-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-3575301753403920523Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:21:00 +00002007-12-26T21:22:04.498-06:00I couldn’t study yesterday at all. I worked out the end of chapter problems today. Most of them were pretty straightforward. A couple of them addressed the topic of ECN and cross holdings, which I’d skipped earlier. I just read the relevant portion from the text again. I’ll read the last reading in Asset Valuation for the next half an hour or so.http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/end-of-chapter-problems-of-reading-38.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-4332092455531196861Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:20:00 +00002007-12-26T21:21:28.527-06:00Done with this reading though I’m not sure how much I really understood…especially the last part involving the shift to a swap based benchmark for credit. If anyone who’s reading this blog has done this part, then it would be great if you could explain it to me in the comments section Please? Found this link from Investopedia quite useful…I had forgotten concepts like Duration, convexity and allhttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-39-capital-markets-and-economy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-2475987770973593442Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:22:00 +00002007-12-26T21:22:44.394-06:00I got done with this reading today. I need to work on the end of chapter problems though. I’ll do that tomorrow because Reading 39 is quite small and won’t take much time. I left a couple of pages in the Curriculum because they weren’t directly addressed by the LOSs. p. 52- Just got a general idea of ECN and Electronic Crossing because it’s used later in the readingp.53-57 skipp.60-63- skipp.http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-38-equity-markets-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-5343996094787110066Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:24:00 +00002007-12-26T21:25:44.867-06:00I’m on a roll today I got done with this reading in about 1.5 hours. Since the Asset/Equity Val. book is really thick, I’m thinking of using Schweser to first quickly read through the entire chapter. Then, come back to the Curriculum and brush up over the different areas, read the examples and work out the end of chapter problems. This is exactly what I did today and it saved me tons of time. http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-37-equity-valuation-process.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-8121378180306351325Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:24:00 +00002007-12-26T21:24:47.941-06:00A two and a half page reading that discusses the three authors, Graham, Dodd and Williams and their theories, which are relevant to the models that are used in the investment world. Graham and Dodd focused on the intrinsic value and the ‘earnings power’, while the latter focused on the ‘discounting cash flows’ framework. We might just expect a question from this small reading, because it forms http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-36-note-on-asset-valuation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-2953290022026923491Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:26:00 +00002007-12-26T21:27:04.095-06:00 …which is nothing much, considering the fact that I’ve been wrestling with one book since the past 5.5 weeks! I’ve hardly studied and partied way too much. It looks like all that I’m blogging about here are excuses for not studying. Yet, that’s all they really are…excuses! So, I’m 24 days behind my schedule. I should have gotten done with Asset and Equity Valuation by now. I’m set to graduatehttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/completed-corporate-finance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-4517453324583184034Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:25:00 +00002007-12-26T21:26:27.305-06:00I asked a question at AnalystForum today. Somehow, I’m going really slow…slower than I’d expected. I’m hardly getting any CFA studies done. I’m set to graduate in 20 days and supposed to be looking for jobs. So, not really feeling motivated enough. Done with Corp. Finance, Ethics and FSA. I don’t know how much I remember though.Would be interested in knowing how are you people doing and what havehttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/checking-on-progess-of-my-fellow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-7122105724938647532Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:27:00 +00002007-12-26T21:27:41.735-06:00 I’m done with Capital Structure stuff. It was more of a repitition again; except for new stuff like MM Propositions that ignore tha taxes, finacial distress etc. There was also some new stuff that talk about how the country specific factors affect the D/E ratio and the decisions pertaining to debt issuance. They focused on the tax implications, the legal system efficient, the institutional http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-32-capital-structure-decision.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-2758789929756063229Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:27:00 +00002007-12-26T21:28:33.432-06:00 OK…so it took me more than a week to read only 30 or so pages. I already knew most of it thanks to my MBA coursework. I need to get more consistent with my studying habits and make it a point to complete about 10 pages everyday. Studying once or twice a week is hurting me real bad and I’m way behind my schedule. I should have started Asset Valuation and Equity by now, but there are Readings http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/11/reading-33-dividend-policy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-530819019566383569Tue, 30 Oct 2007 02:28:00 +00002007-12-26T21:29:19.460-06:00 I completed Reading 35 (M&A) on Wednesday and then got started on Reading 34, which was Corporate Governance. This was kind of repetitive because we studied almost all of it in Level-I. The chapters are long and a little boring. For now, I’ve skipped the Corp. Governance rules of General Electric and two other companies. I will come back to it later when I re-read this stuff. I’ve startedhttp://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/10/im-half-way-through-corp-finance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-5942666898894840582Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:30:00 +00002007-12-26T21:30:48.714-06:00I went through another 10 pages in the M&A chapter today. Finished till p.269. It’s quite easy; there are a lot of terms such as Greenmail, Golden Parachute, White Knight, LBO etc. that need to be understood. I need to wade through another 25 pages to complete this reading. I’m aiming to complete this Reading by Thursday.http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/10/takeover-defenses-etc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-5431658861270540706Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:31:00 +00002007-12-26T21:31:25.541-06:00 Finally, I got bored of not doing anything and also got scared because I haven’t been studying much. So, I opened the Corp. Finance book and did some reading. It definitely felt nice and relieved me of some stress. I need to remind myself to keep studying for CFA if I want to pass this thing next year. http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/10/reading-35-mergers-and-acquisitions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-8596081340363518882Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:31:00 +00002007-12-26T21:31:55.763-06:00 Done! I think I’m getting bored of studying for CFA. I need to avoid burnout. I need to start Corporate Finance next and finish it by the end of October. Let’s see how far I go. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to study tomorrow, considering the fact that I need to study for another MBA class test, but I’ll try to squeeze in an hour. Starting next: Corporate Finance http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/10/ethics-reading-10.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414511649939495418.post-3307573951270342257Thu, 11 Oct 2007 02:32:00 +00002007-12-26T21:32:32.101-06:00 I got done with these readings today. All of them focus on specific industry cases, including one of PainWebber. I have only one more reading in Ethics to go, which I’ll finish tomorrow. Thursday, I’ll start Corp. Finance. There is a whole book to read and I’m supposed to finish Ethics and Corp. Finance by the end of October. Hope I can do it Starting next: Ethics- Reading 10 http://cfaleveltwo.blogspot.com/2007/10/ethics-reading-7-9.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0