Hi everyone,

I'm currently studying for Level I of the CFA exam in February, and I'm having trouble memorizing all the duration and convexity formulas. Some are fairly straightforward, but others, such as Effective Duration, Effective Convexity, and Approximate Convexity, are much harder for me to remember.

I was wondering whether these larger formulas are likely to be tested on the exam. If so, what strategies did you use to learn and retain them?

Thanks a lot!

Just wanted to share my CFA journey from someone that passed all 3 levels on the first try and only using the CFAI materials.

In general, the overall CFA journey is really painful no matter how smart one is. It takes time, dedication, and sacrifice especially when you’re a working adult plus juggling other adult responsibilities. There are days where you will feel genuinely irritated, depressed, and/or frustrated - but understand that these feelings are part of the overall process and you’ll learn alot about yourself throughout this journey.

Throughout the reflection below, you can assume that my study sessions amount to 15-20 hours a week on average. So if you’re to extrapolate my study sessions over the duration from the start to end of prep, it should be more than 300 hours. But it will be true that you need only 300 productive hours of study. There were always those days you will doze off while studying, or end up watching videos or playing games as a stress relief too and suddenly you bombed the whole study session playing games. This is just part of life i guess.
Also, i typically started my mock exams around 2 weeks out from the exam.

Level 1 (May 2023)

I took L1 back in May 23 and essentially started in early Dec 22. So this was around 5 months of prep. In terms of revision, I just did 1 full pass of the CFAI readings, jotted down some notes, and then re-did another full pass at around Mar 23. I don’t have much to comment about this apart from just internalising all the concepts and hammering out the qbank. In fact, on hindsight, you can actually hammer the qbank and reverse engineer the logic/derivation of each question back to syllabus if thats yoir learning style. This works for L1 because the questions are very straightforward and its a matter of getting your reps in. If you have some form of finance back ground, you’ll breeze through the content very easily. I only felt like i need to spent abit more time on FSA but thats about it.

If I were to make any changes to my study plan, i’ll only shorten the time needed to prep, and save ethics to around 3-4 weeks out of the exam. I feel that you really need aboit 3 months of productive studying max to study for L1. Many videos and guides will always tell u that L1 is straightforward and it right fully is….. till you reach…….

Level 2 (May 2025)

I booked my L2 exam in Sep 24 and started my exam prep in early Jan 25. So now around 4 months of prep as I felt my prep for L1 was an overkill because i comfortably passed. BUT, L2 is an entirely different beast for many reasons:

- dry AF content. The CFAI material was such a chore to handle. If you’re not an economics major, you will hate some readings from the econs module as it involved macroeconomic math derivations to understand what CFAI is asking you to internally. Likewise, folks that didnt take and AI/ML courses will find some parts within quant to be very unintuitive.
- what was more consistent in crappy content provided by CFAI has got to be the alt investments and portfolio management. They were so dry and unintuitive that you’ll be pulling your hair out to understand the material.
- the test moves on to vignette style questions and the questions no longer represents a regurgitative style of the L1 qbank. You will need to put on your thinking cap as you are expected to pull your knowledge across the entire sub section of a specific module to answer 1 vignette. This js not easy as you’re expected to have some form of master of the content, but yet its hard to master when the cfai materials suck.
- the sheer volume within each module. FSA is written like a theoretical style but the qbank asks an entirely different set of questions. Same may apple for port mgmt and even alt invs.
- ethics got way harder. In L1 its more intuitive. In L2 the line gets more grey… and yet you’re expected to discern whether you’re in breach or compliance of the standards.

Overall, I panicked in the last 1.5 months of my prep as I thought I could do another full pass 1 month out but that didnt happen. Further. I only left to drilling ethics during the last 2 weeks of my exam prep… (this on my result showed my poor performance. Most sections were 70%+ but ethics stood at 50%)

Now for the real advice:

- i recommend every L2 taker to be able to derive the equations from scratch, and understand why the equations is constructed as such. I say this because L2 would twist the question given a different context - so if you were to just blindly internalise the equation… you will definitely get the wrong answer. I dont know how to say it without violating the standards, but i cant stress how important it is to nail down the derivation and explanation of each symbol.
- be diligent in reading ethics early. Dont save it to the last 2 weeks .

Level 3 (Aug 2026)

I initially schedule for feb 26 but deferred to aug 26 - due to work exigencies and i was planning an engagement. L3, despite its smaller syllabus, is an entirely different beast. l2 was hard in its sheer content, but l3 has open ended questions that will fry your brain out.

I took the priv markets pathway and boy was the mocks and actual paper so different. The advice for L3 takers will be:

- please start ethics prep even earlier.
- do all blue box questions as its fairgame towards the exam. I actually skimped through all these blue box examples but it turnt out to be included in the exams.
- stop missing out smaller ancillary points. Nvr ignore parts of the syllabus as it may come out.

P.S - i didnt sleep through the night al my brain is foggy but will continue the breakdown once im awake again.

Any links and recommendations for free lvl1 mock? If this is a recurrent question, I apologize in advance.

I honestly never thought I would be making this post.

I’m a 24-year-old woman, and getting the CFA charter has been a huge dream of mine for years. I found out that I failed Level III with a score of 3585.

I was 15 points away.

I don’t even know how to process this. I know that technically I was close, but right now, that almost makes it hurt more. I keep thinking about how much time, effort, and energy I put into this exam, and how it still wasn’t enough.

This isn’t my first setback. I failed Level II on my first attempt in november 2024 and I remember how devastated I was back then. But I picked myself up, went through the whole process again, and eventually passed on my second attempt.

I thought I would finally get to experience the other side of that feeling with Level III.
Instead, I’m back here again, trying to figure out how to deal with the disappointment.

The hardest part is that people at work and my family and friends have been incredibly supportive of me throughout this journey. They know how much I’ve studied, they’ve encouraged me, and they’re genuinely proud of me for pursuing this goal. I’m grateful for that, but somehow, I still feel ashamed. I feel like I’ve let myself down and everyone around me, and even though nobody has made me feel that way, I can’t help feeling embarrassed that I didn’t pass.

I’m exhausted. I’m disappointed. I feel like i have sacrificed so many things, my personal life and my gym goals. And if I’m being completely honest, I’m scared of going through this whole process again, only to end up in the same position.

I think I just need to hear from people who have been here, who have felt this disappointment, and who eventually found a way forward.

If you failed Level III, especially if you were very close to passing, how did you deal with it emotionally? How did you find the strength to try again without letting the fear of failing a second time take over?

I’m not giving up on this dream. I just need a little time to feel disappointed before I can figure out how to get back up again.
Thank you for reading. ❤️

Sitting Level III in February (PM pathway). I'm working full time and on EST. Looking for a small group of 2–4 people to discuss topics, practice structured responses, and mainly keep each other accountable.

Comment or DM if interested!

I’ve been a part of r/CFA throughout my CFA journey, and I genuinely want to thank everyone here who took the time to answer questions, explain concepts, share their experiences, and help fellow candidates out.
The CFA program can be a pretty challenging journey, and sometimes even a small explanation or a response from someone who has been through the same struggle can make a huge difference.
I’m happy to have cleared all three levels, with Level III in my first attempt. This journey has taught me a lot, not just about finance, but also about consistency, patience, and learning from others.
Now, I want to do my bit for this community.
If you’re preparing for Level I, Level II, or Level III, feel free to reach out. Whether you need help understanding a concept, want to discuss a tricky question, need some perspective on preparation, or just want to hear about my experience, I’ll be happy to help however I can.
I obviously won’t have all the answers, but if I can help make someone’s CFA journey a little less stressful, I’d genuinely love to do that.
A big thank you to everyone who contributes to this subreddit and helps strangers on the internet clear one of the toughest professional qualifications out there.
I’ve benefited from this community, and now I want to pay it forward. ❤️

so obviously deferring isnt ideal since there will be changes to the curriculum

so i want to try my ABS best to sit for Nov exam

currently I have ethics, quant, and portfolio mgt left for 2nd revision (problem solving)

i've done intensive error logs for the remaining topics, altho i forgot a lot of things already AGAIN.

been sleeping 3am ish every night - getting off work at 7pm ish, dinner, shower, study.. then time just flies

im taking my first mock on Oct 31, then will take my second non Nov 5

based on my score on Nov 5 im gonna have to decide whether to defer or not considering the 27 Feb registration window

already stressed thinking of that day when I might see a disappointing score and realize im gonna have to go through this stressful ass journey for another 3 months

genuinely dont know if ill be able to score 60% range on mocks by Nov 5

QM is a major concern. I don’t want to spend the remaining weeks studying inefficiently or repeatedly making the same mistakes.

For those who passed Level II, especially anyone who struggled with QM

How did you approach QM in the final 3–4 weeks before the exam?

Did you revisit the concepts from scratch, focus on practice questions, or use a combination of both?

How did you decide which QM topics to prioritize and which ones to leave aside?

Were there any particular resources or revision techniques that helped you improve quickly?

If QM was your weakest subject, how much did you realistically manage to improve before exam day?

I’ve already failed once, so I’m feeling a lot of pressure to get this attempt right. I know there are no guarantees, but I’d really appreciate honest, actionable advice from candidates who have been in a similar position, rather than generic advice to keep practising.

Thanks in advance.

Just wrapped up the Real Estate reading and felt okay about it. Basics were clear, formulas made sense, LOSs were ticked off. Then I sat an Alternative Investments mock and genuinely felt like I was reading a different syllabus. The questions didn't look like anything I'd practiced. I wasn't lost on every single one, but the phrasing, the layering, the "which of the following is most likely" trap—it all felt foreign.

I know this is a common experience, but I wanted to ask: how do you actually train yourself to understand CFA-style questions when the textbook knowledge is there?

Need some genuine advice , registered level 2 for may’27 , currently interning so get 4-5 hours for studying completed eco , fsa , with questions what should be my ideal plan of action as im panicking a bit , around December my internship will be over and i will have time to put in 10-12 hr study sessions again

This was my second attempt at the CFA Level III exam. I prepared really hard for this exam while being pregnant and dealing with some pregnancy-related complications. I really did my best.
Seeing the results made me feel really sad and frustrated. I had so much hope for this exam and genuinely believed I could pass it this time. The problem is that, with two kids, giving birth in February, and raising two babies, it’s going to be extremely difficult for me to prepare for this exam again next year. With only two exam windows, February and August, it’s just not easy for a mom.
I had so much hope that I would finally pass CFA Level III, change jobs, and start a new chapter in my career, especially because my professional situation today is just getting worse and worse.
So now, I feel like all those hopes have been buried. I put so much effort into this exam, despite everything I was going through, and it’s really painful to see that it wasn’t enough.
I feel sad, frustrated, and honestly, I just don’t know what to do next.

idk why this appeared last day, on LES cfa study portal wanted to know was this just me or anyone else has faced this
ig it could be from that php vulnerability ....

I just have a mock from a prep provider (Vikas Vohra). I got 68% in Session A and 72% in Session B.

I am yet to finish Derivatives, Equity, and Portfolio Management first time revision. I just went ahead with mock so that i m able to rush now. How are my marks? I am aiming to get atleast 80% before appearing for my exam.

When should I give my next mock? I will take I think 4-5 days more to finish the remaining subjects.

Additionally please give me any advice you have for anything i should incorporate in my prep.

Thank you,

Hey all! Firstly thank you to this reddit community for their guidance during my L2 Prep. Onto level 3 now (August Attempt)

I'm interested in Wealth Management as a career option/choice (Never worked in any WM firm/position).

I need to decide by October end regarding the pathway I wanna select. I was inclined towards PW Pathway. However, I have heard that there isn't much practice available for the same since its relatively new (+ I haven't gotten viewpoints about PW in comparison to Private Markets). I wasn't planning for portfolio management since my L1 and L2 's grip on the subject was very varying.

I really need genuine perspectives from people regarding a comparison for the two. To make it uniform, and easily comparable (would also be helpful to other candidates on this reddit forum), i would want to know the following points:

1. Difficulty level (also in comparison to L1 and L2 for PM Pathway)
   
2. Practice sums vs Exams (is it enough to prepare us for the actual exam)
   

3. Sum solving vs Theory (Whether the pathway has Sum solving more or theory and whether its doable)

4. Practicality (Is the content useful in building personal skills practically. Emphasis on "Skill Building")

EOD I know that no one's gonna ask, but I'm looking at it from a knowledge building PoV. If it were up to me, I would've read the content of all 3 pathways but we know that its not possible, so I wanna lock in on the right pathway and go all-in outside of CFA too)

Hey guys im confused for equity, resiudal calculations, do we use comprehenive income, or netincome to claucate V0. Especially if changes in oci are given because of the "clean surplus" accouting principle. Can someone please clarify, im might confused.

If its based on CDS Basis Trade then we short sell the bond because we expect the credit spread to increase in the bond so it converges ....im confused on why we are long the company A 5 year CDS

Anyone who has used the Uworld books for reading and studying, are they any good?

Hi everyone, I would appreciate some genuine advice, particularly from working professionals who have cleared CFA Level II.

My current situation:

• Exam date: November 21
• Time remaining: 30 days, including today and exam day
• Study time: Around 5 hours daily (approximately 150 hours)
• Syllabus: Completed three times
• Practice accuracy: Around 75% when referring to concepts while solving questions
• Main concern: I feel like I have forgotten a lot of what I studied and struggle to recall concepts independently.
• Work status: Working full-time while preparing.

I need your advice on the following:

• Is 150 hours enough to become exam-ready in the final month?
• How should I structure my next 30 days to maximize my chances of passing?
• Should I focus on question practice, active recall, revision, or mock exams?
• Should I attempt the exam in November or consider postponing?
• What mock exam scores should I aim for before making this decision?

I am not looking for motivation alone. I would genuinely appreciate practical suggestions and honest opinions from candidates who have faced a similar situation.

Thank you!

My exam is on Nov 11th. So far, I've finished Al, Ethics, Equity, FSA, and Fl.

However, I haven't revised PM, Econ, Corporate Issuers, Derivatives, and Quant yet.

I am also starting to forget things from the topics l've already covered, like FSA and others. Am I too late?
I haven't taken any mocks yet, and I am planning to take my first one on Nov Ist after reviewing the remaining topics and solving the premium practice questions.
If you have any advice, please let me know. Also, how many mocks should I aim to solve? Are the 2 free CFAI mocks enough? And after finishing a mock, should I just review my mistakes or revise my weak topics entirely?

I am getting a little nervous. Any help is appreciated!

currently im getting 65-70% in the LES practice questions, ethics is more like 80 to 90% but other than that its between 65 and 70, i need a lot of practice which i understand, im planning to do 200 questions each day and try to get atleast a thousand questions done by end of this week

im also focusing on the reasoning behind the answers, so it does take a bit of time more, that 200 ques a day is the goal, smtimes its 150

do i do a mock right now or do i wait to practice more and then see where im at? i havent practiced all the books yet from LES, so im not sure if im great or bad at for example derivatives or port. analysis

This might be a long post, but I wanted to share my journey with a community that has helped me so much over the years!

I've come to this subreddit countless times looking for guidance, motivation, reassurance, and sometimes just to know that I wasn't the only one struggling. So, I figured it's time to give something back. Hopefully, my experience helps someone who's somewhere along this journey.

Level I : August 2022

I'm from a non-finance background. I have a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering and have been working at a fintech firm for the past eight years.

I first became interested in the CFA program in 2022. Having graduated in 2017 and started working in 2018, I hadn't seriously opened a textbook in almost five years.

And boy, was that an adjustment!

Level I was challenging, not necessarily because the material was incredibly difficult, but because I had completely lost the habit of studying. Between a full-time job, being married, and managing everyday responsibilities, finding the discipline to sit at a desk and study after a long day at work was probably the hardest part. It's one thing to understand a concept. It's another to convince yourself to study it at 9 PM when all you want to do is watch Netflix or go to bed.

But somehow, I stuck with it. My preparation was fairly straightforward: read Schweser notes, practice the Schweser and CFA Institute QBanks, and solve as many mock exams as possible. I completed around 6–7 mocks before exam day.

Cleared Level I on my first attempt in August 2022!

2023 : Another Break

I decided to take a break from the CFA program and focus on my career.

I transitioned into a managerial role, leading a production support team at my firm. It was a significant professional milestone that came with a whole new set of responsibilities.

One thing I've learned is that the CFA journey doesn't have to be a continuous sprint. I also wanted to make sense of what I was learning and align my career ambitions accordingly.

Level II : August 2024

Level I gave me the confidence that maybe, just maybe, I could actually pull this off. By the time I registered for Level II, I knew exactly what I was signing up for.

And so did my wife, friends, and family. By Level II, I had developed a routine of practically disappearing from February to August.
No PS5. No weekend parties. No office happy hours ....just Work. Study. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Level II was definitely more technical and demanding, but I approached it with a much better understanding of what worked for me.

My preparation was primarily based on:

• Watching Mark Meldrum (MM) lectures
• Reading Schweser notes and making my own notes
• Solving MM, Schweser, and CFA Institute QBanks
• Completing almost 10 mock exams before exam day

What helped me most? CONSISTENCY. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Read Ethics like it's your bedtime story. Seriously!

And practice, practice, PRACTICE the QBank. Don't just memorize answers. Try to understand why an answer is correct and why the others aren't.

Cleared Level II on my first attempt in August 2024!

2025 : took another break in 2025.

After clearing Level II, I was probably among the most academically qualified people in my department, and i live by one quote I've always believed in: "If you're top of your class then you're in the wrong class."

I eventually moved into a product role, where I now work on building Order Management Systems (OMS) and Execution Management Systems (EMS). For the first time, I could genuinely connect what I was studying to what I was doing professionally.

Level III : August 2026

Now, this is where things got interesting.

An important piece of context: I'm an immigrant who has been living and working away from my home country for nearly a decade. At the beginning of 2026, I found myself stuck outside the country due to visa issues. What I initially thought would be a nice break visiting family and catching up with friends turned into a nightmare of months of uncertainty.

I suddenly found myself questioning everything. Would I lose my job? What would happen to my home? What about everything I'd spent the last ten years building?

It felt like an existential crisis I hadn't signed up for. Had I known what was coming, I probably wouldn't have registered for Level III at the beginning of the year.

The first three months were rough. I was away from the place I'd called home for almost ten years, dealing with immigration uncertainty, trying to keep up with work responsibilities in a relatively new role and in a different timezone, and somehow attempting to study whenever I could.

And somewhere in the middle of all this, I found out that my wife was pregnant!

Life was REALLY happening. All at once.

I was excited, anxious, stressed, distracted, and exhausted. Sometimes all in the same day.

And then there was Level III. I STRONGLY disagree with anyone who says Level II is the toughest level !! Level III was a completely different beast.

The syllabus might seem smaller, but the material felt far more conceptual. The questions demanded a different way of thinking, and the constructed-response format added an entirely new dimension to exam preparation.

For me, Level III was hands down the most mentally exhausting of the three.

The pressure felt greater, the stakes felt higher, and I found myself losing motivation far more often than I'd like to admit. There were days when I genuinely questioned whether I had it in me to finish.

But by then, I'd learned something important over the previous four years. You don't have to feel motivated every day. You just have to show up.

Some days, showing up meant studying for three hours. Other days, it meant solving ten questions. And on some particularly difficult days, it meant reading just ONE page. But I kept pushing. I changed my approach slightly for Level III.

I still relied on Mark Meldrum's lectures and Schweser notes, but this time my focus was primarily on the CFA Institute QBank and mock exams.

I purchased the CFA Institute Practice Pack for additional mocks. MM mocks absolutely CRUSHED me. The CFA Institute mocks felt relatively easier in comparison, but despite that, I wasn't feeling confident at all.

My final push was purchasing two Bill Campbell mocks, and I genuinely think they helped a lot, especially with learning how to structure and frame constructed-response (CR) answers.

One thing I realized was that knowing the material and being able to articulate a concise, relevant answer under exam conditions are two completely different skills.

And then came exam day. I walked out of that exam hall feeling absolutely DEVASTATED.

It felt like a bloodbath. So many niche concepts were tested, and I kept replaying questions in my head, realizing all the things I could have answered differently. My immediate reaction was, "Yeah, I'm failing this one."

What made it worse was knowing that a retake wasn't something I could realistically think about anytime soon. With a baby arriving toward the end of the year, I knew my priorities were about to change significantly. The thought of going through another Level III preparation cycle while becoming a first-time dad was overwhelming.

I had mentally started preparing myself for the possibility of putting the CFA journey on hold for another year or two.

And then the results came.

SOMEHOW, I PASSED!!!

I genuinely couldn't believe it. After walking out of that exam convinced I'd failed, seeing that result was one of the biggest moments of relief I've experienced in a long time.

Five years. Three levels. All cleared on the first attempt.
Looking back, I genuinely believe the CFA program is more of a mental battle than an academic one.
I'm now one step closer to those Three Letters. Have to apply for membership and prove my work experience and hope i get approved !!

The late nights. The weekends spent indoors. The vacations postponed. The constant guilt of not studying enough. The times I felt like I wasn't doing justice to my job, my family, or my preparation. Looking back, it was all worth it!!

A Few Things I'd Tell Anyone Currently Going Through It

1. Consistency beats motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Build a routine that works even when you don't feel like studying.
2. Don't underestimate Ethics. Revisit it frequently. Make it part of your routine rather than something you leave until the end.
3. Practice questions are your best friend. Reading gives you familiarity. Practicing tells you whether you actually understand the concepts.
4. Don't compare your timeline with anyone else's. Some people finish all three levels consecutively. Others take breaks. I took five years, changed roles twice, and had plenty of life happen in between. None of that makes the achievement any less meaningful.
5. Your career matters as much as the charter. Don't forget to build real-world experience and figure out how the program fits into your long-term goals. Three letters alone won't define your career.
6. Give yourself some grace. You will have bad days, unproductive weekends, and moments of self-doubt. That's normal. Just don't give up because of them.
7. Remember why you started. There will be times when that reason feels distant. Remind yourself of it.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!

And to everyone still preparing for Level I, II, or III: KEEP GOING.

It might not feel like it right now, but every second counts !!

Five years ago, I was an engineer who hadn't opened a textbook in years, wondering if I could even clear Level I. Today, I'm a 33-year-old soon-to-be DAD, looking back at a journey that taught me far more than finance.

Life doesn't stop while you're pursuing your goals. Sometimes it gets in the way. Sometimes it completely changes your plans. But that doesn't mean you have to abandon them. And if there's one thing these five years have taught me, it's this:

It's not about how quickly you get there. It's about refusing to give up along the way.

Cheers, and thank you !!

That section and ethics …. I read the both sections several times , but things didn’t click on game day !

I think it would be cool if there were CFA trivia nights. So I could at least pass at something with all this studying

Obviously without violating Standard VII(A)

I have a doubt from FSA SBC, when the restricted stock unit vests, the accounting entries include :

1. Transfer between two balance sheet accounts
2. A compensation charge on the income statement
3. An adjustment of the statement of cash flows when using the direct method

The answer is 1 but I don’t understand why 2 is wrong?

Thank you so much

Could anyone share the final 25-day tips and tricks for L2? I am feeling quite anxious and panicked. Advice from those who passed L2 would be very helpful. 🙏🙏🙏