Can someone add some clarity to the breakdown of the 18 study sessions. I’ve seen some people loosely categorize them as either (i) Portfolio management and/or (ii) Asset Classes - which would seem to align with the CFAI website. However, the text breakdown has an asterisk saying that PM is usually compined with one or more of the various assets classes.
Is this a good general way of thinking about the broad topic classes (PM and Asset Classes), are they really all apart of portfolio mgt, or does it even really matter ??
Are all study sessions equally likely to be asked about in both the morning and afternoon session , or is the morning exclusively portfolio mgt ??
Looking at the exam weighting by SS, there is no weight assigned to FRA or Corp Finance, does this mean they aren’t tested at all, or just veiled as something else ??
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to develop mental map of the exam landscape. Thanks!
The best way to map out your studying is to dive in. Once you get a good saturation of the material, you will understand how it flows, and then you’ll develop a better understanding of the concepts that you need to pick up.
Of course, PM is intertwined with asset classes. Level 3 is all about managing the different asset classes. You can’t manage a portfolio without assets, and you can’t have assets without them being managed.
According to CFAI, the accounting, quant, econ, and corporate finance do not exist in the Level 3 curriculum (although Econ is tested with Portfolio Managment). I have covered almost the entire curriculum, and have seen no Accounting or Corporate Finance. There is some Quant buried in the concepts underlying the Portfolio Management material (multiple regression and variance). And there is also a lot of Econ.
Based on what I can tell from CFAI and other sources (mainly 300hours and Finquiz), we know that there will be two item sets on Ethics, and they will be in the afternoon. Of the other 90%, my hunch is that about 20% will be on individuals (Behavioral, IPS, tax, estates, etc.), about 10% will be on Institutions, 10% will be on Fixed Income, 7-8% on Derivatives, and 7-8% on Econ/Capital Markets. The other 35% will be Asset Allocation, Execution/Monitoring/Rebalancing, Risk Management, Performance/GIPS, Equity, and Alternative Assets.
Since Ethics/Individuals/Institutions/Fixed Income comprises 50% of the exam, I suggest you go through the curriculum once, and then hit these areas again.
It sounds like everything is pretty much comingled so nothing is truly seperate. I’m just trying to organize my own thoughts, however.
Based on the CFAI topic weights, can it be implied that everything falls under Portfolio Management except for Ethics and the topics categorized under Asset Classes ?? Also, it sounds like constructing/understanding an IPS is hugely important and encapsulates most, if not all, topics. Does IPS fall under and are they solely discussed in the PM topics (namely individual and institutional)?
Thanks again.
Definately different from level 2 that mapped it out nicely for you. Its all interrelated here…can’t look at it like level 2.