Best Ways To Prepare Yourself For The CFA level 3 Exam

Finally, you are here! CFA Level 3 is the last hoop to jump before you can apply for the coveted CFA charter.

While some might say that the toughest are behind you now, that might not be the case.

Level 2 of the CFA examination is said to be the toughest of them all because of the sheer syllabus one has to go through for that.

In the case of the CFA level 3 exam, although the syllabus won’t be as hectic, the paper pattern, its structure, and the question types might puzzle you a bit.

Level 3 of the CFA examination will demand a precise presence of mind, and the knowledge you gained in the previous levels, too.

Up until level 2, you had to only face quantitative questions, but level 3 brings with it qualitative questions and answers. You will have to answer both MCQ and essay-type questions in the CFA level-3 examination.

Moreover, the questions will be much more conceptual and application-based.

Everything about the CFA level 3 exam in 2024.

For those of you giving the last level of their CFA examinations this year, the following information might be redundant. (Considering that you most probably already know it)

In case the CFA exams are not delayed or postponed because of the pandemic, they shall occur in 2 windows in the year 2025.

Note that, unlike the other two levels, which occur 3 times in the year, CFA level 3 only occurs two times in a year.

For the year 2025, the scheduled dates for the CFA level 3 exams are:

• February 18–22, 2025

• August 25–29, 2025

Just like the rest of the levels, registration for the exams must be done either 3 months before the exam window for Standard registration or 6 months before for early Registration.

Furthermore, in case you need to reschedule any exams because of any obligations, you can do so by paying a rescheduling fee of $250.

For more in-depth information on the CFA level 3 exams and their time schedules, refer to the following table:

Preparation strategies and paper pattern for the CFA Level 3 examination.

The CFA level 3 examination, much like the level 2 examination, comprises 2 exam sessions of 132 minutes each.

The first session of the exam will consist of vignettes with both MCQ-type and essay-type questions. 

The second session will only have 44 multiple-choice questions.

Here are the fundamental topics on the basis of which questions will appear in your CFA level 3 examinations:

• Ethical and Professional Standards 
• Economics 
• Equity Investments 
• Fixed Income 
• Derivatives 
• Alternative Investments 
• Portfolio Management.

Again, just like level-2, questions from these topics will be randomly assigned to each session.

Unlike the previous level, the CFA level 3 exam will greatly test your grasp of concepts and their applications.

With essay-type questions, you will need to have a firm knowledge of the core concepts and the context given in the vignette to be able to answer the questions.

Thus, it would be beneficial for candidates to rely heavily on practicing questions and going through case studies to get the hang of the conceptual and application-based problems.

Furthermore, the questions in level 3 may sometimes be interlinked. As in after a vignette, you might be asked a multiple choice question and then a follow-up essay-type question to justify the response marked in the first question.

The CFA institute calls this the constructed response format. It is described as “varying structures and point values that typically have several parts related to a case study that describes an investment challenge.” In this case, the candidates’ responses require a higher degree of specificity.

Last Bits of Advice: 

The qualitative factor makes Level-3 much more daunting than the previous level.

Not to mention the fact, that the competition is fierce and you are competing with the best of the best.

Time management is crucial while preparing for this particular exam.

On average, candidates required 335 hours of study to prepare for the CFA level 3 exam.

If you are to dedicate such time for your exam prep, then make sure to segment it into study sessions.

For a time frame of 6-9 months, 90–100 study sessions of 3–4 hours each are considered apt for preparation.

You will also need to delegate a huge chunk of your time for practicing the questions.

All the best!

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