what did everyone think? I thought the Q1 part on Tax and Solvency II was horrible. Q2 wasn't as bad but in general im not the most confident of passing
Every now and then examiners get excited about a side issue, like the tax question here and the securitisation question from 2011. In my opinion, this does not test our understanding of the course. That is a real shame after the hours and hours and hours of studying. It is also frustrating when looking at the much more familiar topics asked in the large majority of past papers - it leaves one feeling like there's too much "luck of the draw" with the questions. It was very frustrating and peculiar that they placed such a strong emphasis on tax and TCF and did not test EV, solvency regimes, or capital. I have never before left an exam and been met with a feeling of frustration from everyone I've spoken to. I'm sure there's a message in that.
Horrific The word I used when I left the exam hall was "horrific." I had prepared very well, but felt like I might as well be doing SA3 in parts. I don't expect I'll pass unless they drop the pass mark significantly.
Not ususally one to rant about exams, but this one seemed unusually tough... Agree completely with previous comments. It's so disheartening to put countless hours into learning a 900-page course, only for the paper to cover a few obscure paragraphs. I (foolishly) flicked through the course trying to find the sections which may have been useful in Q1 and came across section 1.5 of ch6. My favourite part was: "Knowledge of how the apportionment of investment return is done is not needed for this Subject." Whilst I agree with the pre-empted retort ("it's not about regurgitating CR, but applying knowledge to the question at hand etc etc"), it all seems a little bit unfair (especially in light of a standard-ish 60-odd marker on S2 the sitting before- though again I'll admit, q's always look easier with hindsight). I've never been faced with straw-clutching pretty much straight away in an exam before. What a horrible feeling!! It's just annoying/embarrasing to think that the markers will be reading my script thinking "this guy doesn't have a clue"! Rant over. See you in April
