Hi guys, this is my first post on AnalystForum. Just thought I’d share some lessons I learned while studying for L3:
Readings:
One of the first things you notice at L3 is that the books are thinner. As reported by CFAI, level I, II and III official books have 3311, 3015 and 2166 total pages respectively. In terms of readings, the #'s are: 61, 56, 32. Do NOT let this deceive you. While there is less to read, the readings are denser. I put in more study hours at L3 vs. L2 (450 vs. 400) and you should probably plan on doing the same
This is a matter of personal preference, but at every level I have found that the official CFA books are too verbose and bog you down in details. I have thus relied on Schweser which reduces the page count to about one-half. This helps keep you focused on the main topics. Yes, Schweser will not capture all the info covered in the official books, but I think this is a small price to pay to better manage the huge volume of material.
Reading Schweser notes is not enough. After each reading, I found it extremely helpful to take my own notes and of course, do practice questions. Across all 3 levels, I wrote about 350 pages of my own notes in MS Word. The process of re-writing the material in your own words helps you understand and memorize the material more effectively. It also becomes an indispensable resource in the final month when you review the material over and over.
Half the exam is weighted directly towards portfolio management. However, all the other topics (Economics, Equities, Fixed Income) are geared towards portfolio management as well. I found this made the curriculum at L3 the most interesting personally. You need to think like a portfolio manager at L3
Topics that I found the most challenging: GIPS, Fixed Income, Derivatives. Topics I found the easiest: Economics, Equities and Alternative Investments. Note: The topics I originally thought were challenging became simple after I spent a lot of time studying them (eg. In derivatives, there are 8 advanced option strategies that each have 4 formulas you need to know. Instead of memorizing 32 formulas, I took the time to understand the process of how to derive them).
Videos:
I will admit that at L3, I found Schweser to gloss over some concepts and also have quite a few grammar errors. Judging from what I read on this forum, it looks like others felt the same way as well. Particularly, private and institutional wealth management could have been written better.
2016 was the first year that Wiley provided L3 materials. They offered their “gold package” for under $500 (after discounts) and it included: study guides, video lectures and 1 mock exam. The study guides were not published until April, which was too late for me to use. However, their weekly online video lectures (put on by Darren Miller) were amazing and worth the $500 alone.
Darren really helped me with the private & institutional wealth areas (which typically accounts for over a third of the morning exam). He does a great job teaching you how to respond to morning questions in a very brief, bullet-point fashion.
Mock & Actual Exams:
This leads nicely into the last part I want to discuss. At L3, you will essentially be preparing for 2 different types of exams: the morning session is an “essay” exam and the afternoon session is the multiple choice item set that you are familiar with from L2.
The morning exam is what kills a lot of people at L3. The issue is candidates run out of time because they write too much. The term “essay” does NOT mean a long story. It should be read instead as “short answer.” It is key that you practice how to write short answer responses regularly throughout your studies.
CFAI releases the last 3 years’ morning exams. They also provide 2 afternoon mock exams. I did all of these as well as 2 Schweser practice exams in my final month of study. I would recommend you do this amount as a minimum. Plan to have enough contingency in your study plan so that you have enough time at the end to tackle practice exams and thoroughly review the questions you got wrong.
Hope this was useful and good luck!
