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 Investment / Financial Markets Old Exam MFE Forum

#41
06-23-2018, 02:39 AM
 avocado SOA Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 16

Hi tkt,

For ADAPT, what do you think the difficulty level of practice exams that students should be comfortable with is? I'm asking this because although my earned level increased, the difficulty level of recent exams that I took dropped. I thought the difficulty level will increase as long as the earned level increases?

Thanks.
#42
06-23-2018, 06:53 PM
 tkt Member CAS SOA Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Des Moines College: Drake University Posts: 501

Quote:
 Originally Posted by avocado Hi tkt, For ADAPT, what do you think the difficulty level of practice exams that students should be comfortable with is? I'm asking this because although my earned level increased, the difficulty level of recent exams that I took dropped. I thought the difficulty level will increase as long as the earned level increases? Thanks.
In the previous version of this exam (MFE), according to students report, the difficulty of the actual exam was generally about Adapt level 4 - 6.

We have recently updated the exam generation algorithm and prioritize generating fewer repeat questions. The tradeoff is that section distribution and difficulty ranges may be a little off. When generating quizzes and custom exams, the algorithm focuses more on grabbing questions you have yet seen or seen less than trying to match the exam difficulty you desired. This phenomenon is more prominent or visible to users who have generated hundreds of quizzes or exams.

Most of our new questions on the Corporate Finance material are in the range of level 4 - 6 as well. Although I couldn't tell with certainty, I still anticipate the actual IFM exam to be about Adapt level 4 - 6.

Hope this helps!
__________________
Tong Khon Teh, FSA, CFA
Product Manager, Actuarial
coachingactuaries.com
#43
06-24-2018, 01:43 PM
 avocado SOA Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 16

Quote:
 Originally Posted by tkt In the previous version of this exam (MFE), according to students report, the difficulty of the actual exam was generally about Adapt level 4 - 6. We have recently updated the exam generation algorithm and prioritize generating fewer repeat questions. The tradeoff is that section distribution and difficulty ranges may be a little off. When generating quizzes and custom exams, the algorithm focuses more on grabbing questions you have yet seen or seen less than trying to match the exam difficulty you desired. This phenomenon is more prominent or visible to users who have generated hundreds of quizzes or exams. Most of our new questions on the Corporate Finance material are in the range of level 4 - 6 as well. Although I couldn't tell with certainty, I still anticipate the actual IFM exam to be about Adapt level 4 - 6. Hope this helps!
#44
06-26-2018, 10:47 AM
 bergin.11 SOA Join Date: Nov 2015 College: Senior Ohio State Posts: 1

I have a question on Practice Exam 10 question 2 in the ASM manual.
The question asks you to calculate the covariance between two stocks X,Y

X Y
1 0.06 0.03
2 0.17 0.02
3 -0.05 0.15
4 0.22 0.2
5 0.1 0.15

This gives

xBar = .1
yBar= .11

Using the formula Cov(X,Y) = Sum((xi-xBar)(yi-yBar))/(n-1) I get
Cov(X,Y) = .0017/4 = .000425

The answer key uses the formula Cov(X,Y) =
(n/(n-1))[sum(xi*yi)/n-yBar*xBar)] = .057

Am I making a calculation error or is there a reason one has to use the Cov formula used by the answer key? The manual says they're equivalent, but I am not getting the same answer.
#45
06-26-2018, 12:19 PM
 Abraham Weishaus Member SOA AAA Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 7,192

The solution in the ASM manual forgot to divide $\sum x_iy_i$ by 5.

It is exam 11 (not 10) question 2. An erratum was already posted.

Last edited by Abraham Weishaus; 06-26-2018 at 12:23 PM..
#46
06-28-2018, 11:11 AM
 ToBeAnActuaryOrNotToBe Member SOA Join Date: May 2014 Favorite beer: The ones in red solo cups. Posts: 672

Why so little activity on this thread? This exam is like a week away. Never seen an exam thread this dead.
#47
06-28-2018, 11:49 AM
 Dalek23 SOA Join Date: Mar 2018 College: LSU Undergraduate, Texas A&M Graduate Posts: 10

Nov gonna be lit :P
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#48
07-03-2018, 11:13 AM
 ToBeAnActuaryOrNotToBe Member SOA Join Date: May 2014 Favorite beer: The ones in red solo cups. Posts: 672

First sitting is on Thursday. Is there seriously no one posting on this thread?
#49
07-03-2018, 07:10 PM
 bgreens CAS SOA Join Date: Jun 2016 Studying for IFM College: Two-time UCLA alumnus Posts: 4

B"H
Quote:
 Originally Posted by tkt I still anticipate the actual IFM exam to be about Adapt level 4 - 6.
I finished the ACTEX Summer 2018 Edition manual with a week remaining until the exam and then started Adapt. The earned level on my first try was comfortably in this range.
#50
07-03-2018, 08:38 PM
 tkt Member CAS SOA Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Des Moines College: Drake University Posts: 501

Quote:
 Originally Posted by bgreens B"H I finished the ACTEX Summer 2018 Edition manual with a week remaining until the exam and then started Adapt. The earned level on my first try was comfortably in this range.
All the best! I recommend getting comfortable with Adapt questions from level 4 - 6, and occasionally challenge yourself with questions from level 7.
__________________
Tong Khon Teh, FSA, CFA
Product Manager, Actuarial
coachingactuaries.com