And oh ya one more crucial point. Even if you did poorly for the morning exam, do not be dismayed but give your best for the PM exam. I did not fare as well for my AM segment and I scored >90% for the PM and that helped pull my overall score to a pass.
I agree a 100% lol
I fully agree! Once you got used with the L2 format it’s doable but AM is definitely trickier! AM Q1 of 2017 was a good example of what they can pick from obscure parts of the program, especially if you consider the tiny size of AI in CFA Program as compared to CAIA…
A score of AM/PM 50/70 should get you just above the MPS. It takes mastery (or luck) of the CFA material to get from 70->80 in the PM section, but a lot of practices and effort to get from 50->60 in the AM section.
Totally agreed with you that Kaplan has not cover the new material properly. That is reason why I have left 20 points blank for fix income in the morning session. Also, some of the abbreviations is also not mentioned in the Kaplan notes. Will definitely suggest to at least briefly go through to make sure everything is covered
I agree with some of the previous posts, in terms of the material, 3 is shorter but you have to know the material in depth and understand the big picture. For me, level 3 was the hardest because of the am section and also because it was my first time studying from the CFA books.
I feel Level 2 curriculum is the hardest and it is vast too and CFAI is famous for asking at least few questions on the topics that are least on candidate’s priority. Level 3 material is comparatively shorter. Almost 1000 pages less than L2. Also, candidates get lot of patting on back for clearing level 2. In addition, some of the level 3 readings are just breeze especially in Behavioral finance, Alterative investments etc. All of this create some illusion and misconception about level 3.
AM Level 3 exam is the hardest of all levels. Students feel item sets (PM paper) easier against this exam which shows its difficulty level. Fist of all you just get a blank paper so you MUST know the answer to write something. Second, you are always pressed for time. Sometimes exam start at odd time of 9:14 or 9:23 and throws you completely off on following strict schedule. So time management is very important on this exam.
Overall this exam is the hardest and students are competing against equally qualified candidates.
Thank you PreDRaR66
Although curriculum of lvl 3 is not as big as lvl 2 but the bad news is it is much more dry and different than what we used to study in our MBA or CFA lvl 1 and 2. Therefore it requires more effort to study and retain lvl 3 topics. However the good news is, passing rate of lvl 3 is the highest, thanks to afternoon part of the exam. I feel that essays in the morning exam are getting trickier year by year so right attitude towards solving that part is the key. Some topics in the Morning are relatively straight forward such as Monitoring and Rebalancing, Economics etc. and can be attempted comfortably if you do past exam queations however Individual Return calculations and other topics may give you challenge and drain your energy for the afternoon exam. Hence even if you get around 55% marks in the morning exam and focus on getting 80% in the aftetnoon exam then you are home. Good news is after noon item sets are way easier than level 2 exam and would be the key to pass the exam. You will see that Most of the questions in the afternoon are like walk in the park as if CFA Institute is saying is there anyone out there who has read the curriculum and done BB and EOCs then add three letters in your name because you deserve those. One thing you all should no that at least I did not find CFAI online test bank useful because it was way harder than the actual item sets in the exam. So do your studies wisely because you are way close to through with this journey.
Hey I have M&A interviews coming up in LONDON and I am looking for a current analyst or associate at a BB to prepare me for the process. I am willing to pay £250/hr and will travel anywhere in zone 1, Weekends are OK.
DM me if interested
Thanks everyone for the sage advice! If anyone has taken L2 of CAIA - how did that essay portion compare to L3 AM session in terms of difficulty?
My opinion is that L3 is by far the hardest. The AM is so difficult to score high on that you’re forced to shoot for 80% on the PM. And 80% on PM is no easy task…particularly with the crap shoot of ethics.
I feel that L3 is the one level where one can be fully prepared…and still fail. The only thing to help is to study, study, study and practice, practice, practice…but even that does not guarantee a pass.
Thank you all for the advice. For a new starter, which content should one start withe? Alternatives, PM or what?
i thought L2 was a harder test but L3 was more difficult to pass because of better quality of competition.
CAIA L2 essay I finished with about 50+ minutes to spare. CFA L3 essay I barely finished. CFA L3 essay is much more difficult than CAIA.
Also - lots of folks knocking Schweser here. I used Schweser exclusively for Level 2 and 3 and pass both on my first try. I would encourage the weekly classes as well - they were both helpful to me. At the end of the day, I think regardless of which study providers you use, it is a matter of repetition and lots of practice exams. I started studying last November for L3 and went through the entire curriculum at least 2 times.
I’ll like to:
- Offer my opinion on the preparatory courses and their teachers to help candidates make a more informed decision on which courses to purchase.
- Provide feedback to the CFA Institute on how they could do better to help candidates differentiate between the various preparatory courses CFAI promotes.
The CFAI could help candidates be better prepared. What the CFP does well is that before registering to sit for the CFP comprehensive exam, you must have taken prep courses from an approved provider that is affiliated with a college, and score a specific grade or better in all areas of financial planning before the CFP Board takes your money and considers you a candidate for the exam:
- ensures a certain level of competency in their candidate pool
There are quite a lot of CFA prep courses out there. How do you know the best?
- don’t go with the name of the prep course provide!!!
- Instead, ask about the teacher. Who is going to teach each class? Knowing/understanding a concept to get a designation is very different from teaching another person to understand it to pass an exam.
Level I : I used Kaplan-Schweser videos. But there were teachers in the video package that I bought that I would not recommend.
- The best teacher in the Kaplan-Schweser prep program is Andy Holmes in my opinion.
- For all levels, if he is teaching, buy his videos.
- Don’t buy the whole program offered by Kaplan. Just buy Andy Holmes’ videos.
- There are others who present other subjects but they just read slides to you.
- reading slides to your student audience is NOT teaching.
level II
Efficient Learning. I wished I had found them at level I. I really wished!
- But again, don’t buy the whole program….Buy the teachers.
- Basit Shajani, Peter Olinto, and Daren Miller. Anybody else, don’t buy
- There is another instructor in the Efficient learning videos who is NOT a teacher…. he has A LOT of designations after his name so he is smart. BUT he only comes to read slides. That is NOT TEACHING.
John Harris Accounting Class is MAKES A DIFFERENCE FOR LEVEL II, no matter the program you go with
Peter Olinto can also TEACH accounting and derivatives very well. He is MUST for me
Bassit Shajani can teach very difficult concepts at the level II that I thought I could not understand.
Daren Miller could teach you everything….he will draw it out for you and in the exam room, you can picture it and hear his voice.
The common thread: Daren Miller, Peter Olinto, Andy Holmes, Basit
- They don’t read you pre-packaged slides.
- They make their own notes as they teach.
- The solve exam problems with you in the class.
- I’m from a small village in in a 3rd world country. I learn best with a teacher who use the old tried and true method of teaching.
level III
- Makes his own notes every class….make your own notes in the class too.
- He uses a lot of diagrams and pictures to explain very difficult concepts.
- He focuses on the most difficult areas to understand.
- So make sure you go back to the curriculum for the easy pickings that CFAI sometimes tests. He could gloss over those because he expects you to read the curriculum especially the beginning, and end of long readings.
Marc LeFebvre at Level UP
- He is extremely detailed. I took his review course; not the prep classes.
- If you used his materials, you will not miss anything on the LIII exam. no detail is too small
- Be assured of a pass at level III, use BOTH MARC LeFEBVRE and DARREN MILLER.
- Marc to know the multiple ways the material could be tested (his past questions binder and IPS workshop is A MUST).
- Daren Miller to really understand the material at a deep level.
CFAI Must Do much better to help students make an informed decision by publishing pass rates. Make the prep providers disclose this so they have an invested interest in their customers. Not difficult to do…we go to space. GIPS and Asset Manager Code can provide guidance on they report performance.
Some facts for you all to plan and succeed:
6 books (CFAI, Schweser, Other) 37 readings (select book you want read each topic from) 400 mock itemset Qs (CFAI online) 10 past AM papers (practice relevant Qs only)
Start execution from: 01.10.2018 - next 6 months for detailed understanding + making notes 01.4.2019 - next 6 weeks for revision 15.5.2019 - next 4 weeks for practicing Qs / reading your own answers and notes 15.6.2019 - deliver fearlessly
Bear in mind that there will days / weeks when you won’t be able to do as planned, so exclude them from above.
Figured I would hop on the advice bandwagon. I will preface by saying I thought Level 2 was substantially harder than Level 3. I studied 370 hours for Level 2 and only 270 hours for Level 3. With that being said here is my advice:
- Finish all the readings with 4-5 weeks before the Exam - I used Kaplan and thought they were more than sufficient
- Take as many practice exams as you can get your hands on. The AM section is so different than any of the other tests that without practice at writing them and grading yourself you will have a hard time not losing tons of easy points. Time yourself on at least half of your practice exams
- Do not focus on AM at the expense of PM. I have friends who failed because they did this. They are both worth 50% (obviously) so don’t ignore one for the other
With so many people struggling to finish you will be at a significant advantage if you simply finish all the questions. Best way to do that is to practice. Good luck all