By Sophie
This is a how-to guide for CFA exam users of the Texas Instruments BA II Plus calculator. If you use the HP12C calculator, you can read our how-to guide here.
If you'd like a full guide (and help us keep 300 Hours going), remember that you can get our BA II Plus Guide as an ebook or on Amazon.
Time management is a common problem CFA exam candidates normally struggle with in the exams.
While doing tons of practice papers would help calm the nerves, one could also take a little bit of time to get to know and use the calculator better for some epic time-saving tips!
Here's a list of a few lesser known functions that I used for my exams for the BA II Plus calculator (if you need choosing a calculator, read our guide here). I hope it helps speed up your calculation process in the exams and reduce errors at the same time!
This is a how-to guide for CFA exam users of the Texas Instruments BA II Plus calculator. If you use the HP12C calculator, you can read our how-to guide here.
If you'd like a full guide (and help us keep 300 Hours going), remember that you can get our BA II Plus Guide as an ebook or on Amazon.
Time management is a common problem CFA exam candidates normally struggle with in the exams.
While doing tons of practice papers would help calm the nerves, one could also take a little bit of time to get to know and use the calculator better for some epic time-saving tips!
Here's a list of a few lesser known functions that I used for my exams for the BA II Plus calculator (if you need choosing a calculator, read our guide here). I hope it helps speed up your calculation process in the exams and reduce errors at the same time!
Recommended BA II Plus settings for the CFA exam curriculum
A few introductory notes:
- Press the CE|C button twice to clear your calculator before moving to the next operation.
- Don't press the RESET function (i.e. [2ND] "RESET") unless you want to reset all your settings back to factory settings. If you accidentally did that, you would have to reconfigure your calculator settings as below.
Switch to a 9-decimal setting
Screen will show 'DEC = 9'. If there is no ' = ' sign, press ENTER again to register your settings.
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This is for the decimal setting, we recommend a 9 decimal setting for CFA exams for floating decimals. Your calculator's default is 2 decimals.
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Set the Period Per Year to 1
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This is to check that the setting is right for most calculations you need for the CFA exam curriculum. Set "P/Y", i.e period per year = 1.
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Use Algebraic Operating System (AOS)
Screen should show 'AOS'. If not just repeat the keystrokes.
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Set your calculation method to Algebraic Operating System (AOS). This means that when you calculate 1 + 2 x 3, it will show 7. The chain method (Chn) however, will show 9. We recommend AOS method setup to avoid confusion.
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General Tips
The tips listed here applies to all levels. Try them, and choose whichever works best for you. This section is not meant to be a comprehensive section about all the TVM and CF functions that you need to know for your exams, but rather a few tips that hopefully speeds up your calculation process whilst maintaining accuracy.
Parentheses
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I find these parantheses buttons quite helpful in making sure I compute correctly, as putting brackets (just like writing them on paper) ensures that the computation is done in the preferred order and logical way.
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Backspace
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This is a useful backspace button, especially when you make a mistake in the middle of typing out a long equation, you don't have to restart.
For example, pressing 2 x 3 →2 = will give you 4, as you have reversed the mistake of pressing 3 without the need to restart the whole operation. You have better control and can delete by character/numbers, rather than clearing the whole previous entry like the function below. |
Clear Everything
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Using the same example previously, pressing CE|C once clears the previous entry entirely, whereas pressing it twice clears everything. So 2 x 3 CE|C 2 = will also give you 4.
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The K function
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This is a quick compounding function, especially when discounting or TVM questions. For example, if you press 1 x 1.05 2ND % =, it will give you 1.05 (compounded once). Pressing = continuously n times will give you the answer for 1.05^n, where n=2,3, 4...
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Storing and Recalling numbers
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To store a number:
To recall a number:
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Crucial for more complex calculations. Storing STO and recalling RCL numbers in the calculator's memory speeds things up significantly. To store the number on your calculator screen, press STO then for example 1 to assign it to slot 1. To recall that same number, press RCL 1. Lifesaver!
To clear all 10 stored memories (numbers 0-9), press 2ND 0 2ND CE|C. |
Recall your last answer
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A feature that recalls the last answer of your computation. It updates the value continuously and reflects your last answer. Handy if you forgot to store it, or need it as an input to the next equation.
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Clear the Time Value of Money worksheet
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Might sound obvious, but make this a habit before you start any TVM calculations to clear all previous work.
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Statistic function - the hidden gold
While I'm not going to go into detail of how to use TVM or CF functions (you should know this anyway), I find that Statistics function is one of the relatively unknown functions that actually saves a ton of time especially for Quants or Portfolio Management topics. Basically any question that requires calculation of the standard deviation or mean from a data set.
Example with sample data set: 20, 15, 5, -3, 8
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To setup your calculator to do single variable statistics, press 2ND 8.
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(Repeat until you reach the '1-V' setting)
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Toggle using 2ND ENTER until you see 1-V. The other 4 settings: LIN, PWR, EXP, Ln are for regression analyses which we won't be needing for CFA exams.
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Clear screen and let's input the data above.
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Enter the data setting, and always clear memory of previous entries before entering new data.
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Enter data into X01, X02, X03.... etc, and leave Y01, Y02, Y03... as default of 1. X represents data, whilst Y represents frequency of that data point.
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(Repeat ↓ as needed)
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Then, you enter into the Stats function to see '1-V', which is the correct setting. By toggling with the ↓ button, you'll see the results: n=5, mean x̄=9, sample standard deviation S(x) = 8.92, population standard deviation = 7.97. A quick way to get the population mean and standard deviation!
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I hope you found these useful. If you'd like a full guide, remember that you can get our BA II Plus Guide as an ebook or on Amazon:
Do you have any tips to add? Share them with us in the comments below!