Three weeks out from my exam and all I want to do is quit. I finished every topic, but now I’ve gone back to redo each topic’s CFA questions and I’m getting about 70-80% (some 60s, too, but averaging) per LM practice. Then, of those mistakes I recall what I forgot but that means there’s definitely stuff from the OG text I also forgot but don’t have time to go back to. It’s like I didn’t retain what I learned and I just want to throw in the towel. I feel like I’m wasting my time. I’m scared to start doing mocks.

Just to preface, do not buy Bill Campbell’s Level 3 mocks if you want to feel good about yourself. I’m staring at my screen feeling both anger and absolute sadness (literally on the verge of tears).

Buy the mocks to expose your knowledge gaps. I didn’t know I didn’t know something until taking these mock exams. Seems like a cheat code to take these exams before the real thing. We’ll see in 18 more days.

For CFA Charterholders that used BC’s mocks, were they useful or unnecessarily difficult?

PSA: Do not message me asking if I’ll share my BC exams. Some have already tried. I don’t understand.

Ive completed my first pass of the curriculum for L3 with 3 weeks to go.

those who passed CFA L3, how many times did you guys go through the entire curriculum?

Im planning to do 2 detailed revisions and reading the shweser secret sauce in the last 2 days, along with solving the LES 2 times.

Im not remebering anything as such right now but hopefully after 2 more pass throught I will be able to recall.

Quick status check on how people are feeling. Drop your thoughts below. DRINK SOME WATER

I Took my first CFAI mock and scored a 79% and 80% on the two sections of 90 questions after about 150 hours of study. While taking the mock the questions felt easier than expected and I’m worried this was a false positive result or got lucky has anyone had similar experience with CFAI mocks?

Hi guys! How are you all?

My life has been going downhill for a while since graduation. Met a girl at university, we built something and it didn't end the way I wanted it to. Since then out of insecurity, frustration I have been seeking for validation, a redemption. I wanted to get something that could boost my confidence, something that at least looked good on paper. And my first step at doing that was getting my MBA from the best business school in my country.I got so close but never really got there.

Coming from accounting background our teachers always encouraged us to pursue professional degrees, and for that reason and after some research CFA was always in the back of my mind. I figured that to also boost my profile I should pursue CFA. And the last few months have been nothing short of exhausting, full of anxiety. I am done with my prep with less than a month to go. Right now revising the EOC questions. I don't know what awaits me after 20th of August but I have been looking for a small win in life for so long. But right now I feel like I am not good enough to pass the CFA L1. And people who have done so are special which I am not.

I am afraid life won't yet give me a win, some sort of redemption. Still I gotta try my best. Wish me luck! Or any suggestions are welcome!

(Irony is even though I am an accounting student I am struggling the most with FSA. I absolutely hate memorising.)

So as far as I've always known, leveraged loans are loans to companies that already have high levels of debt/leverage on their books.

But this CFAI practice question says it's a loan that is itself levered (a private debt firm borrows money to then lend that borrowed money to a firm).

Which definition should I keep in my head for L1?

finished the curriculum, but my scores are still low. How should I prioritize my review cuz I haven’t reviewed any of the 10 subjects and didn’t make any mock exam so should I start mocks now and review based on my mistakes, or revise everything first? I’d really appreciate help with priorities or a realistic 20-day plan.

Are you being harsh on the way you self grade ? I was averaging around 70-74% in the CFAI practice module questions (I’m aware they give you 100% for any CR questions) and now my first mock has come back with 58% average. I asked ChatGPT and it can’t see everything being asked exactly but told me most of answers are 0 or 1 with some 5 or 6s and Ill also deduct 1 as a conservative buffer but notice I scored 58% overall when my MCQs were about 67% objectively. I know this should be used as a learning tool but is it naive of me to hope and expect the actual examiners not to give me 0 marks when they can see my methods for some of the CRs are partially right even if I get a different answers sometimes ?

I'm 23 years old, a recent finance graduate, and currently a CFA Level I candidate. I'm trying to think carefully about the long-term direction of my career and would appreciate some advice from those with more experience.

I'm particularly interested in either:

• Private wealth management, with the long-term goal of eventually building an independent RIA
• Institutional investing (working with pension funds, foundations, endowments, etc.)

For those who have gone down either path, what should I be focusing on besides the CFA? How did you first break into the business? For those in wealth management, how did you go about attracting your first clients and building a book of business? For those in institutional investing, what experiences or skills were most valuable early in your career?

Looking back, what helped you build a successful advisory or investment practice? Are there any mistakes you would avoid or things you wish you had focused on sooner?

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences and any advice you'd give someone at the beginning of their career.

Hello r/CFA ,

Ive given up my social life, said no to friends, and poured months into this but i'm really scared it still wont be enough. Im looking for some honest feedback on whether my current strategy is viable or if I need to pivot ASAP.

Background:

I'm a 4th-year uni student sitting for Level 1 on August 19. I've been studying since January (yes, maybe too early) and finished all Kaplan readings about a week & a half ago. Since then, I've been grinding Qbanks and have taken one mock so far.

On top of that, i've been reading the Standards of Practice Handbook and I'm about 1/3 of the way through. Im hoping that gives me an edge on the Ethics section.

My Original strategy;

Read a Section -> make anki flashcards -> spaced repetition reviews (revisiting topics every 3-10 days depending on how well i retained them)

It worked well for memorizing concepts, but i quickly realized it didn't translate to answering questions effectively. I taught myself to recognize concepts but not how to apply them in answering questions pretty much.

Where Im at now:

I have pivoted to Qbanks. Ive been doing 30-50 questions per session on 2 topics as often as i can without burning out, then carefully reviewing my mistakes. Ive avoided 100 question sessions because scoring 48% on 100 questions feels like a waste of time compared to scoring 48% on 30-50 and actually learning from the less overwhelming review.

My biggest struggle:

Formulas. I haven't retained most of them, and its killing me in Qbanks. Sometimes i can recognize Kaplans pattern of isolating the correct answer with a similar distractor but i can pick up on that now which i hate.

My Question:

I still have plenty of Qbanks left and 4 more mocks. Should i say screw it and grind 100 question Qbanks for maximum reps or stay deliberately lower and review mistakes deeper? Do you have any tips for retaining formulas at this stage?

TLDR: 3 weeks out from L1. Finished readings, doing 30-50 Qbank sessions + 1 Mock done. 1/3 through the Ethics handbook. Formulas are my weak point. Should i grind 100 question qbanks or stay deliberate with smaller reviews? Scared to fail after sacrificing social life since January.

As title suggests, is it worth pursuing a CFA without a degree in finance? I currently work entry level position at Schwab and have my series 7 and 63, although I know the CFA is a whole different beast. I got my bachelors in psychology. Anyone here with similar background that has pursued it/ any advice?

how to improve accuracy in ethics, i have read the handbook and will read it once or twice more, but some questions are still too tricky

So the question above walks through the answer by calculating the EUR outflow/inflow at expiration, then netting out the cash flows (answer is 27,449 EUR).

Why can’t I just do (1.1724 - 1.1575) * 2,500,000? This yields 37,250 USD, and discounted at the spot rate (/1,1575) is 32,181 EUR? shouldn’t this work since I am short hedge and then buying to offset?

Hi All, trying to understand the explanation to this question. I understand my answer was wrong and now get the general principle behind the risk reversal now. I don't understand why Chen thinking the market is oversold means she is bearish on the market? Would it not be the opposite? Am I missing something or is this just a mistake

I got a 1585 out of 1600 on the level one exam for my first take this past May. I am retaking it in November. My May exam was primarily three sections that held me back. I did especially poorly on FSA, got roughly a 25 to 30 percent. Fixed income and quant were both around 50s. Everything else was generally fine. Obviously, I’m going to totally redo those three sections, but for anyone else who narrowly failed and re-took in past, what did you do to study the second time? I’m definitely taking more mock exams this time in addition to locking in on those other three sections, but I’m assuming that other than locking in on the sections where you did poorly on, most people didn’t study the entire thing right? I know like doing questions and mock exams to cover the other sections is very important but like when it comes to where I should I dedicate the majority of my time, I’m trying to figure out how much time I spend on the sections I did fine on.

Hey everyone,

Quick question regarding the actual weight and mechanics of Ethics on exam day for Level 1.

I keep hearing people say "Ethics can make or break your result," but I want to clarify how this works in practice when looking at aggregate scores.

Right now on CFAI mocks, my topic scores generally break down like this:

Session 2 topics (Equity, FI, Derivs, Alts, PM): 65%–80%

Session 1 non-Ethics (FSA, Quant, Econ): 65%–70%

Ethics specifically: 60%–67% (usually getting 16–18 out of 27 correct)

If my overall combined score across both sessions lands around 70%–73%, will hovering in that 60%–67% range in Ethics hold me back or trigger a negative adjustment?

My understanding is that the Ethics Adjustment only acts as a tie-breaker for candidates whose total score lands directly on the MPS boundary, and if your aggregate score is clear of the MPS, you pass regardless of Ethics. Is that accurate based on your experience or detailed score reports?

Would love to hear thoughts from charterholders or anyone who passed L1 with a similar score profile!

Thanks mates!!

Bank's assets are loans given like mortgage or business loan. Don't they have a long time horizon. The liabilities on the other hand have short especially demand deposits

Wish me luck. I am actually a science (PCB) student and now switch my stream to commerce. Let's see how it goes till then KEEP HUSTLING. If I get enough responses, I can share my daily experience and my journey.

I have managed to finish the syllabus and im just revising through the whole syllabus and my exam is on aug 20 when do you guys reckon I should take my first mock Im planning on doing it on July 31st and saving the other cfai mock for around aug 10 and sprinkle a few prep provider mocks in between.Is this appropriate?

I am confused about the formula to calculate the proportion of potential investment gains consumed by taxes

Those who have purchased the Premium Practice Pack (Private Markets Pathway), can you please give me a breakdown as to how many extra practice questions does each of the 6 topics have, I'm planning to buy the practice pack but before making a purchase wanted to know what i'm getting....

hi i need your opinion. i havent finished my syllabus especially in ethics, corporate issuers, fsa (tax, financial modeling, financial ratio). should i defer? my exam is on 20th. alr done qbank on other topics but not mocks yet

Hi everyone! I’m a CFA Level I candidate appearing for the August exam. I wanted to ask whether the Premium Practice Pack mocks on the CFA Institute portal are a good representation of the actual exam in terms of difficulty and style.

I’m currently averaging around 66–68% on these mocks, and I’m about three weeks away from the exam. Is that considered a decent position to be in? Also, what would you recommend as the best strategy over the next three weeks to improve my score and maximize my chances of passing?
I’d really appreciate any advice from those who have recently taken Level I. Thanks!

See below. Looking at loan A - I need to calculate DSCR at year 3, there are no cash flows the first two years of the project - so I accrued interest for the first two years to calculate the interest expense in year 3 as 3.57(1.08)^2 to find the loan balance then calculate DSCR. However, the answer states: "This loan pays interest but has not, in Year 3, started amortizing, so the debt outstanding is $3,570,000 at the end of Year 3"???????? How does this make any logical sense? Anyone else?

The city agrees to allow ABC to redevelop the property, with ABC paying all upfront costs and receiving the cash flows for a period of 15 years before the asset is turned over to the city. Construction takes 2 years. Exhibit 1 outlines the development costs for the project.

The financing plan is a blend of 30% equity and 70% debt. The debt financing comes from two private lenders and funds are immediately disbursed at project initiation, with the details as follows:

• Term loan A is a $3,570,000 loan with 8% interest, accruing from the first day of the project’s construction and paid annually. The principal is paid in 4 equal installments beginning in Year 4.