I am one of the 2 years 3/3 but definitely not 18 months. Those who quoted 18 months excluded the preparation time for their L1 - selective memory in Behavioural Finance? I am yet to meet someone who passed L1 with zero preparation. Regarding how I passed, it’s all down to dedication, commitment and maintaining physical fittness and social life. I started reading the CFAI books in Aug 2007. I also used Schweser’s notes and audio MP3 notes. I did every question in Schweser’s question bank, all CFAI end of chapter questions, all CFAI’s past papers from 2000 an all mock exams I could get hold of. There is no shortcut. The best tip I got was from a CFA grader I met in a CFA event. It was “Practice, Practice and Practice”. Good Luck to all those taking L3 09.
There are three points that are important when preparing for L3 and none of them apply directly to the material: 1. Avoid burnout, or try to time burnout in the middle of prep. It’s tempting to dive right into the material now, but the odds are you’ll have lost 75% of it by January. 2. Practice HOW to answer the essay questions. It’s easy to over-answer a question and waste time, it’s easy to explain things that are right but don’t answer the question at hand; it takes a little practice answering the question. 3. Understanding the conceptual points is far more important for L3. Where the question actually asks for calculations they’ll be brief and worth few points (even the reverse cash and carry calculations were worth only 4 or so points and the rest was in explanation of the formula)
abbe faria & doran gray, in your candid opinion, as far as reading is concerned it schweser or cfai text especially for some one whose background is not typical investment banking?
my background is far from IB. The answer is sadly both. Schweser does a great job, but if you start in January and really dedicate the time you can plow through the CFAI text first to lay the groundwork. Schweser functions as a critical lense, providing focus on the areas that they (schweser) deem important. As you move through the schweser it’s very helpful to do the end of chapter CFAI questions as well. I think these questions are critical to solidifying the material.
Get started in late December, early January. Allow yourself 18 weeks to get through the material and 4-6 weeks to do problems. I did Schweser only so don’t get too worried about the CFAI books. FOCUS on the morning essay. While there are infinite types of questions they can ask and you’ll likely not see a similar problem on exam day, you MUST get used to the essay format and timing. CFAI looks for buzz words and phrases when they grade so be careful to answer using CFAI language. The material is not hard. If you got through L2 you have the smarts for this, the challenge is the damn test itself. Really focus on Ethics, PW Mgmt, and Institutional Mgmt (IPS for both) and you’ll get the job done. Again, you must do as many essay problems as you can. Download all from the CFAI website and do them over and over. Good luck!!!
Dorian Gray was dead on. You can pass with Schweser. Schweser does a great job with answering each SS. Yet, you need to augment Schweser with the CFAI end of chapter questions. I really don’t think you need to read the assigned CFAI readings. I read both and felt Schweser was excellent. Yet, Schweser’s end of chapter questions are soft ball questions. I found that where there might be one bond conversion problem in schweser, the CFAI end of chapter questions would have ten questions of increasing difficulty. Now, you can argue that these questions aren’t as tough as the exam. Correct. The exam combines SS, the texts and schweser do not. Yet, getting these questions down is so important. Dorian was also dead on (1) don’t burn out and (2) exercise. Don’t start now. You will burn out. Start in January. Work out 4-5 times a week. Make flash cards and study them on the bike. Its a long haul and you need a clear head for the exam.
CFA monster: In response to your reply. I didn t do CFA to become a better analyst. I did it to improve my current knowledge regarding investments/equities/ and other asset classes. Just shows you how ignorant you are!! Good analysts dont need a qualification to be great, neither are they born with it. Their is no DNA for a great analyst or fund manager. An an analyst if you get 60% of your calls right - then you are on the righttrack. But it does help to have some kind of degree or professional qualification such as CFA behind your name. As for low return on investment. I have no idea what you value your financial capital at - but hope its enough to get you through you life. With an attitude like yours - leaves much to be desired. This site is for people who want to post useful tips/study methods or strategies to get through this exam. Not for people who have nothing to contribute. Now than I will be qualifying as a CFA charterholder soon I hope to do as much as possible to guide/assist any future candidates in the exam. To all candidates out there. It doesnt matter whether it takes your 18 months, 3 years, 5 years or 8 years to complete you CFA. I take my hat off to anyone that has the dedication and committment to attempt the exam and complete it. The mere fact that you are part of this exam is a sign that you want to achieve a global qualification. You get my respect on that count. To CFA Monster: I recommend you go read the code of ethics again. Watch out for: “Members and candidates should strive to maintain their professional competence and strive to maintain and improve the comptence of other investment profesionals” Nes - BComHons Finance (Cum Laude), MBA (Harvard), _________ - you fill in the rest ace!!! -current position Fund Manager and Equity Analyst (7 years) - Age 28 CFA 3 CFA MONSTER 0 P.S To the rest of the guys studying - good luck
Regarding when to start your L3 journey, I guess it all depends on individuals. I started reading the CFAI materials in Aug 07 because I knew that I was not a super fast reader. I still pursuited my hobbies and went out with friends and family. The aim of the early stage was not to remember the materials but to acquaint yourself with the subject areas and to adjust your mindset (i.e. live and breath CFA). Went through the whole CFA curriculum once by Dec 07. From Dec to Feb, I focused on Schweser with the aim to learn the materials. Started the final stage from March focusing on practicing the questions and acquiring the necessary battle techniques. Confucius said, “It does not matter if you are slow, as long as you don’t stop”.
Hats off to you Nes…u r brillient and above all u have very positive and clear perspective on CFA and its application…Thank you all those who contributed to this thread…its has been source opf great encouragement and motivation reading all your advice and your experience of Level 3 studies… Thank you all!!
I absolutely agree with Nes’s reply to CFA monster. Well said. Things we don’t learn via the CFA programme include: tact, attitude and insight. I believe these are the attributes that make a successful practitioner in the Financial World. It saddens me to learn that someone who may be having the CFA designation after his/her name shortly appears to be lacking in these areas.
If you are working, definitely get the SchweserProQBank. Use the source materials to firm up the concepts, as Schweser study notes at L3 are poor, and inadequate. The Qbank however is particularly useful. You can review topics, and do 100s of questions to bolster your exam preparation. That will ensure you get 70+ in all PM topics, plus definitely help you remember AM ideas.
This is a great thread that includes helpful specifics and not just the generic, snarky, and smartass responses that typically accompany an inquiry such as this. I do have a follow-up question to a response on page one. “4. Do TIMED morning session exams for 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005 (or just practice on 2005 and 2006, then time yourself with 2007 & 2008).” Is this alluding to the actual CFA exams given in prior years and if so, where would I find these? Thanks in advance, dea
Some are available on the CFAI website. Older years are available around the web.
Debated on starting a new thread because there have been so many responses here…but I guess I’ll just add to this one: Level 3 Result: Pass: 40/60/80 score = 69% (i.e. passed easily but did not ace it) My approach was: * 250hrs - studied from Jan - May, heavily backloaded (nearly half of all hours after May 1) * Used Schweser with almost no CFAI materials use (only for selected trouble areas) * Made LOS note cards and went over them repeatedly in May (this was not particularly efficient, I memorized a lot of things I didn’t need to) * Took 3 Schweser exams (brutal) * Limited used of Schweser Q bank (quesitons too easy) * Took two CFAI on line practice exams (didn’t learn much from these) * MOST IMPORTANT - took 3 old CFAI essay exams (huge) If you plan to spend more than 250hrs you could consider reading CFAI materials and doing the end of chapter problems but it is very low yield. I am also of the opinion that studying before January is a waste bc you’ll forget all of the detail. The main thing is to practice the essay format, it is very different than MC and very time consuming. I’m a fast test taker - able to finish the CFAI MC exams in 1.5-2 hrs - I barely finished the morning essay exam. HAVE to practice and budget your time. Take Level 3 seriously, it is no longer the “easy” level, but if you allot about the same number of hours as you did for Level 2 and study smart you should have a good chance to pass. Good luck!
Does anyone has the electronic copy of the old CFAI essay exams? From the CFAI website, I can only manage to find 2006 and 2007. Thanks https://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/courseofstudy/essaylevelthree.html
Bumpety Bump Bump I cannot find any of the older exams either. Any help would be appreciated.
Incredibly helpful. Thanks Nike! I need better google skillz I gather. Peace out.
Nike, thanks so much.
Wondering if anyone who passed in '08 (and still lurking on AF) would want to add their experience to this one great thread!