Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional Financial Calculator

A great tool if the Excel formulas make little sense to you. This is way simpler, especially for a student of finance. I got this for graduate school, as they are not programmable, but I will probably most often use it throughout my career. The professional version is well worth the extra couple bucks.

I own both this and the regular BA 2 plus. They have the same functionality but the build quality on this model is much better in every respect in which they differ. Both models share the same weaknesses, though.Strengths:* Allowed on the CFA exam and in many finance classes. This is the real reason for its use* Has most finance-related functions you would need reasonably handily available* An alternative to the ubiquitous HP 12C* Has both chain and algebraic mode. Chain mode calculates everything up to now immediately, so 2+3*5 = 25. It also has algebraic mode, which would give you 2+3*5=17. Some people like one way and some like another. I'm glad they provided both. Personally I use algebraic mode but you have to get used to it.Weaknesses:* The biggest weakness in both this and the regular BA 2 plus is their decision about key presses. You CANNOT press a key until you have completely released the previous key or it will not register. This leads to big problems if you are typing fast on it. You really have to use the same finger for all keys you press or some of your key presses will not register. You may think this is a small problem because this is how many people use a calculator. However, the BA 2 plus has many important functions that you can only get to by pressing "2nd" and then the key. It would be very desirable to be able to press second with one hand and the key with another. I can't tell you how many errors this has caused for me. I think TI had to implement this on purpose, so I have to blame their engineering and/or design department. The HP does not have this failing.* Screen construction. The plastic over the screen is really, really thin and in contact with the LCD. This means a very gentle touch will turn your LCD black or put crazy designs on it. This is problematic since this calculator only provides a soft case and the screen is not recessed, so the screen WILL get pressure applied at times. No need to make things so delicate, TI.* Friction with the table. The regular BA 2 plus has no friction between it and the table so as you type, your calculator will move around. Awful. This pro model has two small rubber bumps at the top of the calculator but the bumps at the bottom are plastic with no friction. This means the calculator has a tendency to rotate as you use it. I don't know why TI didn't just use rubber at the bottom like they used it at the top.* Interface design. This is not the worst design in the world, but it does seem like the guys at TI could have put more thought into which functions are frequently used in finance. For example, you must press "2nd" in order to use the exponential function. That's a very common function in finance! They made really obscure functions like inverse hyperbolic cosine as easily available as really basic and important stuff. Another example of a poor decision: it takes multiple keystrokes to clear basic items like the values stored in the time-value-of-money spreadsheet or the memory locations. Why make these commonly used key so obscure. What TI really needs to do is video people actually using this calculator on the CFA and in classes and see which keys get used. Make them easy, preferably one keystroke. Bury things that are *never* used in a menu or something.Neutral comments:* Some people say the keys require a lot of pressure to press. This is true but it's also true of the HP and generally, I think, a fine choice. They could have made them more gentle, but these positively click, so you really know when you have pressed them. You won't accidentally press wrong keys. I think it's fine. Anyway all three main financial calculators (HP 12C, BA 2 plus, BA 2 plus pro) have high pressure keys.

This thing is the gold standard for finance pros—reliable, durable, and oddly satisfying to use once you know how. The battery lasts forever, and it handles everything from time value of money to IRR without blinking.But fair warning: unless you already speak fluent calculator, you’ll need YouTube. It’s powerful, but not exactly intuitive. Still, once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

Just arrived. While I am sure that it will provide the calculation required. I am underwhelmed by the fact it is plastic, when the specs clearly say it is metal. Also, no instruction accompanied this calculator. Good thing there are good instructional youtube videos for all the different functions.

This is in my opinion one of the very nicest calculators offered by Texas Instruments. It has a very modern design and works perfectly as expected. It is not heavy at all, nor is it bulky, so it is easy to take with you anywhere you'll need it. I would say it is worth the cost because of its quality.

Professional, useful product!Last semester, I bought the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional Financial Calculator for my finance exam. I can handle both math and various financial problems by using the calculator. The financial Calculator can save much time to make short work of complex equations and easily to learn how to use all its function. It should handle modified internal rate of return, modified duration, net future value and pay back. And it has a nice “firm-touch” keypad. I have used the financial calculator almost one year, and I got the prefect grade in my finance exam by using it. When I use the financial calculator, I needn’t to use the financial formula sheet or spend a long time to think about how to find the each part of formula. Because the brushed metal face has a polished metal inset to highlight the primary financial function buttons.Advantage• The Professional Financial Calculator has a very attractive appearance, it has a solid feel that is consistent with its metal look. And it comes with a black protective case.• It can approved for Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and a quickly speed of calculation, for example, a complex Internal Rate of return took two or three seconds.• You can easily to learn how to use the calculator different function, because you can research many videos to teach you to use it on YouTube or most finance textbook gives example using the calculator. And the battery access is very easy.Disadvantage• The product is $21more than BA II Plus Advanced, but it worth for the price, it has a couple of additional functions compared to the BA II Plus Advanced.• The manual is hard to finding in first time using, and we have to use the Down Arrow key to roll through a series of selections to get it. But when you are familiar with the each part of the manual, we can quickly to find all parts that we need.• When someone entering many value and punching away at the calculator quickly, the button feel so resistant that it sometimes missed some of his keystrokes. However, we have a too quickly to enter a number that is always inaccurate or a wrong number.I would recommend the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional Financial Calculator to any-one who have work or study in accounting, finance, investing and related business. It has worked wonderfully for me.