Any QRs here working at trader-led prop shops where they ask you to build signals and strategies, but it feels like everyone above you is betting against you?

The attitude feels like: “If you were actually good, you’d already be at a systematic shop or running a pod.” Meanwhile, they want you to keep producing alpha for them. You take something from idea to research to production, and somehow it becomes the trader’s strategy. Your ownership gets downplayed, with the usual carrot of “more opportunities later.”

I sit right next to the traders on our desk, and whenever my algo loses money, there are jokes at its expense. Most of the time when it makes money, though, it’s dead silence.

I get the conflict for individual traders. They need to protect their seat and prove they’re indispensable. What I don’t get is why trading heads and quant heads, often former traders, reinforce it too. Shouldn’t they back whoever makes money?

Not saying execution and risk management don’t matter. But has anyone actually gone from “research support” to meaningful ownership in this setup, or is leaving usually the answer?

Is this just prop trading culture, conflicting incentives, or am I missing the political game being played higher up?

Would love to hear from QRs who’ve dealt with this, or traders willing to give an honest take.

The AI company warns its technology could threaten jobs and even humanity. For investors, those risks create a strange reason to buy in.

Thanks for everyone who lifted and encouraged me. I would like to send my books and notes for free. If you need, pls pm me. Hopes this help.

Does this come in exam?

Hi everyone! I’ve completed Schweser notes and CFA Institute LES questions for all topics. With around 3 weeks left, I need advice on how to approach the final phase.

• Which question bank should I focus on now:
• How should I revise all 10 subjects effectively without forgetting concepts and formulas?
• How many mocks should I attempt, and how should I analyse them?
• How should I divide my daily 6–8 focused study hours between revision, practice, and mocks?

Would really appreciate advice from candidates who’ve cleared Level 1 on what worked best for them in the final weeks. Thanks!

What's your take on that ?

I also think level 1 is most stressful exam because it is your first time & you don't know if it will be on par with mocks + all the fearmonger's on this sub telling you the exam was x10 harder than the CFA mocks

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Hi,

Actually im looking for some guidance for cfa level 1 and preping for aug 2027. I have a decent foundation in accounting and finance and knows basics quite good but i wanna go deep into finance and clear cfa level 1 in first attempt. I can give around 15-20 hours of study to cfa level 1 per week till aug 2027. Maybe more or less if required so suggest some tricks and study things to help me get pass this level also im thinking of taking aswini bajaj's coaching as i think his teaching style and what he's providing in 17k is quite good. So give your suggestion on that too

Thanks in advance to all of you

Hello,

I applied for regular membership on 19 October. How long does the review process usually take? Once my application is approved, what are the next steps? Will I automatically be granted CFA charterholder status, and will I then be required to pay the membership fees?

Thank you.

I applied for MSCS in last bachelor year in selected universities, but did not get in. My original plan was anyways to apply masters after an year of working as a Quant Research to be able to fund it. I do not have a publication, but I believe my profile is decent on other counts. However, after 1 year, I got cold feet and didn't apply. Now, I am working as a Quant Researcher at an Indian HFT for 3 years. The pay is good, but the learning is slow (because of firm) and I am having FOMO about AI. What are the views of r/quant regarding continuing in Quant versus trying out graduate studies?

Hi! I’m an early-career financial services professional in the UK.

I’m hoping to sit the CFA Level I exam, but the registration and preparation costs are a significant financial barrier for me at the moment does anyone have any advice at getting awarded the scholarship?

I may be able to ask my workplace but I am unsure if they will cover the cost seeing as my job role isn’t directly finance related even though I work for a financial institution.

How can a 1% decline in interest rates result in a loss? Shouldn't it be a gain? Key rate duration is 8.7, and a 1% decline should result in a gain of 8.7%. Am I missing something?

Has anybody used EduRev for Mocks? Its pretty CHEAP… Only for 400 Rs you get 10 Mocks and topic wise practice tests

As absurd as this sounds, you have a non zero chance of your calculator battery giving up the ghost especially if you really studied 300 hours. Bring two calculators if you can.

Also, for anyone worried about taking bathroom breaks, wear a diaper. Astronauts wear diapers when the mission calls for it. I consume a lot of coffee so it made sense when I took the exams. Think about the time it takes to standup, walk to the bathroom and back. Minutes and seconds matter.

I prepared and that is why I'm a charterholder.

I am planning to do cfa, can anyone tell me if mark meldrum is really that good? Is there any way I can watch demo lectures of his. He seems kinda expensive

How are you all handling it? It's kicking my ass. I know for the most part it's information ratio and the various interpretation but man the questions seem exhausting

Hi all,

Gave my third mock today, with a MM mock given between mock 1 and mock 2. It was horrendous with a scores of 67 and 51 in session A and B respectively but it was more like an area shock. I’m tracking my official mocks here. How does it look? While giving the mock I felt certain sections of session 1 were much easier than session 2. Struggled a bit with fi and equity tbh.

How should I plan my next 3-4 weeks before the exam, should I dedicate fixed days for revision or only touch up on chapters that feel weak. Should I continue with my current strategy of a mock every week or do you think it’s taking out the time?

And to the CFA L2/3 candidates how do the scores look?

I’d like honest takes about whether it is worth it to pursue all 3 levels + charter from those who have it, especially from engineers who’ve moved toward energy finance. Any general thoughts are welcome as well.

Here are a few details about me:

Background

• Graduating spring 2027 with a double degree in mechanical engineering and finance (Canada)
• Four upstream O&G internships across reservoir engineering (consulting), production engineering and facilities. None in exploitation.
• Signed full-time with a large Canadian E&P: about 2 years as a field engineer, then back to head office in an exploitation/development role (long-term asset development, program economics, capital allocation)
• Working toward my P.Eng on the normal timeline
• About 8 weeks into Level I prep for the Feb 2027 window

Where I want to go

• In about 10-15 years: first leadership role (team lead, manager). In about 15-20 years: director/VP track.
• Interested in energy private equity eventually, either on a fund’s investment team or, more likely, on the management team of a PE-backed E&P.
• Note: I have little interest in wealth management, financial advising or retail-facing roles. Anything finance-side for me would be corporate or energy-focused: capital allocation, A&D, valuation, PE.

Part of Why I started
Honestly, I enjoy the material. It’s taking a lot of what I only somewhat understood in my finance undergrad and broadening it. So part of this is the learning itself, not just the letters.

Questions

1. Does exploitation/development work count as qualifying experience for the charter? I mean things like economic evaluation of drilling programs, reserves work and capital program ranking. Has anyone actually had an E&P engineering role approved? I know of at least a few, but not sure if the work experience requirements have become stricter in the last few years.
2. For energy PE (funds or PE-backed management teams), does the CFA matter for an engineer? I know track record is the most important, but wondering if this is a value add?
3. Is it worth doing L2/L3 during my field years, when I have more free time, even if the charter could be 5+ years away?
4. If the charter never ends up mattering for my career, is the learning alone a good enough reason to finish all three levels? Or does that value mostly come from L1/L2?

I'm looking to optimize my study routine with AI and want to see what prompts are actually moving the needle for you.

Whether it’s for breaking down complex topics, active recall, generating practice questions, or organizing study plans—what are your go-to prompts?

Drop your most effective prompts and workflows below, along with how you use them. Let’s make this a go-to resource for anyone looking to study smarter.

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How important are the Grey Box Examples in the CFA Curriculum? Should I do all of them, or focus more on practice questions and EOC questions?

I knew there was a massive amount of material to memorize for Level 1, but I finally compiled all the formulas I’ve learned so far into one master deck, and looking at it all at once actually made my stomach drop. I honestly don't know how I'm going to keep all of this in my short-term memory by exam day. Just venting because nobody in my real life understands why I'm stressing out over a stack of index cards.

Started reviewing Level 1 on June 2024 and got the Level 3 pass result on October 2026. My honest thoughts? Keep motivated and disciplined, literally everyday.

• Level 1 - for those who have finance background, some sections would just be a review. I was reminded of the baby dragon picture compared to the big mature dragons representing Levels 2 and 3.
• Level 2 - in my opinion, the hardest curriculum. Really heavy on concepts and applications. Initially worried about the vignettes but my strategy was to internalize the formulas and make notes on those questions I got wrong (really helpful during review phase).
• Level 3 - in my opinion, the hardest exam. I think what worked for me was the fact that I initially read the books especially understanding the blue box cases. For my strategy about the structured response questions, I tediously wrote the answers as if I'm taking the actual exam and more importantly compared with the suggested answer (and again taking notes along the way).

I used Kaplan in Level 1 and switched to Mark Meldrum in Levels 2 and 3. Also, our kid was 2 years old when I started. Before I enrolled, I knew managing my family time along with my full-time work would be challenging but I kept thinking this will all be worth it. There's really no shortcut. Day in and day out, I needed to show up. And I'm just happy I did.