The concept underneath the concept
Most diagnostics tell you which topic you scored worst in. That is rarely where the problem is. CAPM & Beta is a prerequisite for 1 other concept in the CFA Level 2 syllabus — so if it is shaky, you lose marks in another topic entirely and it looks like an unrelated weakness.
These are the real dependencies this diagnostic reasons over. They are read straight from the syllabus map the tutor uses — not a marketing simplification of it:
| If this is weak… | …these suffer, in other topic areas |
|---|---|
| CAPM & Beta | Multifactor Models |
| Currency Exchange Rates | Currency Parity Conditions, Multinational Operations |
| Market Efficiency | Economics of Active Management, Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes |
| Arbitrage-Free Pricing | Pricing Forwards & Futures |
| Balance Sheet | Intercorporate Investments |
| Big Data Projects | Backtesting & Simulation |
| Binomial Option Valuation | Multi-Period Binomial Models |
| Business Combinations | Corporate Restructuring |
| Code & Standards Framework | Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct |
| Commodities | Commodities & Commodity Derivatives |
| Convexity | Bonds with Embedded Options |
| Corporate Governance & Stakeholders | ESG in Corporate Analysis |
| Credit Risk & Analysis | Credit Analysis Models |
| Dividend Discount Models | Advanced Dividend Discount |
| Free Cash Flow Valuation | Free Cash Flow Valuation |
| Futures Markets | Pricing Forwards & Futures |
| Income Statement | Intercorporate Investments |
| Industry Analysis | Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes |
| Multiple Regression | Multifactor Models |
| Non-Current Liabilities | Employee Compensation & Pensions |
| Price Multiples | Market-Based Valuation |
| Pricing Forwards & Futures | Commodities & Commodity Derivatives |
| Probability Distributions | Black-Scholes-Merton |
| Quality of Financial Reports | Financial Reporting Quality |
| Real Estate & Infrastructure | Real Estate Valuation |
| Simple Linear Regression | Multiple Regression |
| Spot & Forward Rates | Term Structure & Interest Rate Dynamics |
| Swaps | Swap Pricing & Valuation |
| Term Structure & Interest Rate Dynamics | Swap Pricing & Valuation |
| Time Value of Money | Real Estate Valuation |
| Yield Curve Effects | Term Structure & Interest Rate Dynamics |
That is what the 25 questions are for. Spread across every topic area, they are enough to separate "you do not know this topic" from "you do not know the one thing this topic is built on".
What you get at the end
A finding, not a percentage. Something like "your Bond Pricing is costing you marks in two later topics, not just its own" — with the topics named, so you can check it against your own experience of the exam rather than taking our word for it.
You also get the score and a per-topic breakdown, because you will want them. They are just not the point. A score tells you where you are; it does not tell you what to do on Monday morning.
When the 25 questions are not enough to support a claim, it says so rather than inventing one. A single wrong answer on a concept is not evidence that you do not know it, and being told something false about your own preparation is worse than being told nothing.
Questions
Is the diagnostic really free?
Yes — 25 questions, no account and no card. You can take it without signing up, and you get the full result including which concept is underneath your wrong answers.
How long does it take?
About ten minutes. There are 25 questions, mixed across every CFA Level 2 topic area and across difficulty, weighted harder than a random draw because easy questions do not tell you much.
Is this a mock exam?
No. A mock measures where you are against the pass mark; this looks for the cause of the marks you are dropping. It is deliberately shorter and deliberately harder than a representative sample.
What happens to my answers?
They are stored without a name, an email or an IP address, and they help us learn how hard each question actually is. They are kept separate from our own learners' answers, because anonymous visitors are a different population and mixing the two would bias the difficulty estimates.