CSC® Exam Practice Question

“Which of the following is a directional hedge fund strategy?” Hedge fund strategies can be divided into three categories, relative value, event-driven, and directional.

I’m sure that for many of you, that song brings back lots of memories. Maybe your favorite childhood blanket, or perhaps cookies and nap time in the kindergarten class. You may also be wondering what the heck does that have to do with passing the Canadian Securities Course?

SeeWhy Learning study tools have been created by trainers that have decades of experience. In this video, I’m going to show you a study hack that could serve you well for the rest of your academic career.

As you study, always keep in mind the type of exam that you’re preparing for. For example, the way you prepare for a written answer exam, which is completely memory-based, should be different from the way you prepare for a multiple choice exam, where you have to choose the best out of the four answers provided. In this video, we’ll check out a sample exam preparation question, and I’ll show you what I mean.

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Last week, I took up an exam preparation question that focused on hedge fund strategies. It’s a must-see video as it could definitely help you earn a mark on exam day. Hedge fund strategies can be divided into three categories, relative value, event-driven, and directional. When I was preparing for my exam, I had the first two categories memorized down pat. The SeeWhy Learning memory aids really worked well for me.

For the relative value category the memory aid is RV’s, Fantastic Camping Equipment. For the event driven category, the memory aid is Mom Rides Harley Davidson To Events. Now admittedly, for me the memory aid for the directional category was a bit of a stretch. It’s a longer list, and I was having a harder time memorizing it. Obviously memorizing all three categories is ideal, but keep in mind that the CSC is a multiple choice exam. Since I was struggling with only one of the three categories, my study coach recommended I take a different approach.

He suggested that I should know the first two categories like the back of my hand, and that may be enough. If you know those two, you almost know the third category by default. Check out this exam preparation question and let’s see if Sesame Street can help us out. As the song says, one of these things is not like the other. In other words, one doesn’t fall under the two categories I know really well. To help you, here are the memory aids for the two categories I know by heart, relative value, and event driven, as shown in the SeeWhy study guide.

All right. The question says, “Which of the following is a directional hedge fund strategy?” Answer A, convertible arbitrage. I know this is a relative value strategy. Answer B, equity market neutral. I know this is also a relative value strategy. Answer C, high yield. I know this is an event-driven strategy. Which leaves Answer D, global macro. As you can see, the global macro is not like the others. It doesn’t fall under the two categories that I know really well, which means that there’s a really good chance it falls under the directional category. Using that logic, let’s select that answer. And guess what? It worked. I earned myself a mark despite not knowing the directional category all that well.

Now obviously knowing absolutely everything in the textbook would be ideal, but for most students that just isn’t realistic. By all means strive for honors, but always keep in mind that a passing grade is 60%. So you should study smart. Studying smart, sometimes means picking your battles, which also sometimes means choosing not to fight a battle. Focusing your studies this way may even translate into a better result on exam day.

Thanks for dropping by the Coaches Hang Out and be sure to check out seewhylearning.com where you’ll find a wide range of exam preparation tools backed up by decades of experience.