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I would say L3 is perhaps the trickiest one due to AM. When you have to answer in A, B,C style questions, worst case you can still have 1/3rd chance of being right. L3 AM would catch you off guard if you do not understand the material in and out. Practice exams and do lot of questions. Grading your own work is also challenging. Some folks are generous with grading their own work. Ask for help in grading your work.

Start early, practice questions, take as many exams as you can (I took 8 full exams).

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It really depends on multiple factors like student/full time job, spouse, kids, social life, background, etc. I would have failed CFA level 3 exam if I had studied from CFA books but that is because I found them too verbose and I just cannot digest CFA books. My friend loved CFA book and hated Schweser. We both passed. He reads much faster than I do. It takes me 15 minutes on a page because I get stuck with every line and over analyze so I need less words for my style.

Schweser worked great for me. It is definitely not perfect by any standard but if you understand the material then Schweser is decent. I love their QBank at all levels because they check your concept right away. Granted it is not in the essay format etc. but if you create a quiz of 100 questions or so from 5-10 topics then you start to get in the grooves. I bet you there are people who would fail miserably with Schweser and they need CFA books or 7city etc.

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Those who thought that they did really well and di not pass should assess their grading methods. Have somebody grade your exams and see if you are being too generous. Graders are fair but strict and do not go for BS answers. Also if you score really well in PM then just doing ok in AM could save you.

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I just passed level 3. I used schweser and NYSSA. I did not touch CFA books. I hate CFA books and they put me to sleep in 10 minutes. It really depends on how well you know the material. I took 9 complete tests, solved 2000+ Qbank and NYSSA practice test. I read Schweser for all level3 and found them very helpful for my life style that involves working 70 hours a week with 2 young kids.

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No more study seems to be not an option for some folks:-)

CFA (more analyst) & FRM (more risk) have decent overlap. CIPM is easier and have performance/attribution/GIPS etc that might interest someone in a nice niche field. CAIA pass rates are higher as it is less famous.

I think I am done with studies for now. If anything, I might go for CAIA after 3-5 years.

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I recommend Schweser. They have a quiz feature where you can create a quiz from any number of topics. It pulls questions from QBank. It is really helpful as you can mix and match topics that you read a while ago and stay in touch.

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I used Schweser all the way and passed level 3. I did not have time for dry CFA book but that depends on how much time do you have. Solve a lot of questions in quiz format. Mix various topics. Take 10 (6 schweser, 4 CFA full tests).
You might be grading your work leniently. Try to take help from some professional who can grade your work and pin point the weak areas. I was shocked to receive 60% from a professional grader on a test that I graded 75 myself. I was not answering what was asked and telling stories and going for esoteric answers. Grader marked my tests and said “keep it simple” and answer the actual questions…

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I attended the class by Nathan Ronen (NYSSA) and he graded 19 questions or so. It was an eye opener for me as I was lenient with my own work and he was fair. In one question he gave me 0 as I was answering what I wanted to rather than reading the damn question. Either find a professional to grade or buy beers to friends (CFA) who are willing to check your work. Schweser has a reasonable point system but again there is plenty of subjectivity.

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1. Yes. You can pass the exam but you need 4 years of experience to get the charter
2. Depends. It is not an easy exam but very doable. You need devotion and if married, a great spouse and support system 🙂
3. Too broad of a question. I made the gradual change and it worked great for me. Degree of excellence is determined by individual drive.
4. 🙂 Anywhere from unemployed to 7 figures. Let us put it this way, you will have better chance after CFA than you would have without it.
5. Based off of what you provided, it will be fresher but that is a non-issue from my perspective.

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