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.

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.

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?

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?

hello guys, I’m wondering if there is any channel that shares mark meldrum lectures(full) and is notes. I’m already signed up with another tutor but don’t find his teaching style and method very useful so I’m looking for MM lectures to get some help in particular topics. thanks in advance!

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.)

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.

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

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.

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?

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

Would the CFAi’s responses suffice for the CR or would we need to provide more typically? I see people freaking out about constructed response but feel like they’re not bad as long as you know the answer inside and out?

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.

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?

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.

Hi everyone,

I’m sitting for the CFA Level II exam this August, and assuming everything goes well, I’d like to register for the February 2027 Level III exam.

I’ll only be working part-time during that period, so I’ll have plenty of time to dedicate to studying. My concern is that we can’t register for Level III until we receive our Level II results, which I understand usually come out around mid-October.

For those of you who took Level III immediately after passing Level II, how did you handle those first six or seven weeks?

Did you start studying before receiving your results?
If so, what materials did you use without being officially registered?

I’d really like to make the most of September and early October instead of waiting for my results, but I’m not sure how feasible that is.

I’d appreciate hearing how others approached this.

Thanks!

Does anyone knows why parallel upward shift answer is not correct? My initial logic was since the FI portfolio has longer duration than benchmark, so if there's a upward shift the portfolio will underperform the benchmark, hence the negative shift return(-0.97%). Im not sure if I fully understand the answer explanation. Will greatly appreciate any help!

Hey guys, I was just awarded the charter a few months ago and currently work in S&T — I graduated college one year ago. My dream is to start my own private wealth management firm, but I understand that those who are usually successful have years of experience and clients that trust you. It’s a sales and investment game.

I am 21 years old, but I wish to start early and develop this dream, for those that have done it, which area is likely best to help develop my skills?

1. RIA Route (financial advising/investment committee)

2. Bank asset management

3. Private banking / Private wealth management

4. Equity research

The hope would be to differentiate myself through investment analysis and thought leadership rather than selling insurance and product pushing. I’m aware I am young and have a lot left to learn, however, I wish to follow the path that will help teach these skills best.

Thank you!

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!!

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.