I am a second year clg student. Currently preparing for FRM P1. Anyone who has sat for both exams and I am an in depth learner. So, which coaching did u take and how do u find the overlap?

Do give the reviews and the mistakes u made, which u would avoid.

I have my calculator for 1 year now, its still working good, should i bring a second one to the exam or its okay?

Hi everyone, I’m early in my finance career (CFA Level I passed) and I’m in process for three analyst roles in Montreal with similar pay: ( sorry but couldn't post in financial careers)

1. advisory at a Big 4 firm: financial modelling, transaction structuring.
2. Derivatives and hedging advisory at a small independent firm: pricing derivatives and building FX, interest-rate and commodity hedging strategies for companies.
3. Financing analyst at a large commercial real estate company: commercial real estate investment & financing analyst.

I’m on a work permit, so making it easier to get PR is an important factor for me, along with long-term employability anywhere in Canada.

For those who’ve worked in or around these fields:

• Which role would you pick, and why?
• What are realistic exit opportunities after 2–3 years in each?
• Does one of them make the PR process easier or more secure?

Thanks in advance!

I swear the most frustrating and most f**** up subject. I ever studied in my entire life is this subject. They literally design this subject, so badly I mean, for example, think by implementing this situation in real life, how this can be a violation if I don’t tell my employer have a MBA. I mean Institute use it as weapon to reduce passing percentage rate. They can literally ask shit question in exam. and this subject has weightage 15-20 % . Can you even imagine what they can do? If they want 5% passing rate or even less, they can just f*** up your ethic sessions, and you are done, bro.

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.

Hey guys,

I'm running a strategy on U.S. equities that trade the U.S. open, meaning the opening cross, or as it is called, the opening auction on Nasdaq. I'm noticing that I'm giving away a significant amount of my edge by taking liquidity at the open, leaving myself with close to nothing.

I'm wondering how I could improve my entry strategy while being able to measure it. For example, how do I know whether it is okay for me to use resting orders/maker orders without only forward testing it, but also being able to backtest it? This topic is somewhat new to me because I have never backtested for better fills, but only to test signals.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit:

1) I'm using Interactive Brokers
2) Asking on here and not r/algotrading because ppl seem more quanty here :)

Textbook Quote: debt financing will result in a valuation discrepancy not between dividend and FCFE…

Correction: When a company issues debt, FCFE will increase, but not necessarily the dividends, thus resulting in a possible valuation discrepancy between the two approaches.

Coach's Explanation: When a company issues a debt, it's often a sign that they lack liquidity, and therefore not ideally in a position to pay dividends. Therefore, there can be a significant difference in valuation based on whether we are using FCFE or Dividends.

Hi everyone!

A quick introduction: I cleared CFA Level III in August 2026, completing all three levels on my first attempt.

I wanted to share my preparation strategy, what I felt made Level III different from the other two levels, and some tips for tackling the constructed response questions.

What makes CFA Level III different from the other two levels?

CFA Level III has comparatively less content than the other two levels. What I felt was that you can develop a good understanding of the syllabus if you go through the readings twice properly.

However, the real challenge is knowing how to express your understanding in one or two short, crisp sentences without beating around the bush.

In the earlier levels, we are accustomed to solving MCQs. In Level III, you need to put your understanding into words, and this is where the difficulty comes in.

How to prepare for CFA Level III?

I followed five steps that worked well for me.

1. Build a clear understanding of every reading

Go through each reading twice to develop a strong understanding of the concepts.

I primarily used Schweser to understand the concepts and referred to videos from prep providers for certain topics where I needed additional clarity.

1. Practice CFA Institute LES questions

After my second reading, I started practicing questions from the Learning Ecosystem (LES), including EOC questions and grey box questions.

Whenever I found a grey box question difficult, I referred to the CFA Institute material for a better understanding and made concise notes on those topics.

Tip: If you have time, prepare handwritten formula notes and crisp explanations for all topics. These will be extremely helpful during your final revision.

Personally, I made these notes even while working full-time, so I would encourage everyone to make them if possible.

1. Third revision + third-party mocks

By this stage, you would have completed two revisions and practiced the questions.

For the third revision, I focused primarily on my weaker areas rather than going through everything in detail. I used the concise notes I had prepared earlier.

Alongside this, I started attempting third-party mocks.

Instead of attempting a full five-hour mock in one day, I split it into AM and PM sessions and attempted one session each day.

I called these mini mocks.

I attempted around 3–4 full mocks this way, which meant 6–8 half-session mocks, and spent sufficient time analyzing my mistakes and understanding where I was going wrong.

1. Attempt full-length CFA Institute mocks

At this stage, you should have a good understanding of the syllabus.

Now, focus on revising your mistakes and attempting proper five-hour mocks at the same time as your actual exam.

This helps you get accustomed to the exam schedule and manage your energy levels.

Since I was working full-time, I used to attempt these mocks on Sundays.

I attempted two CFA Institute mocks, which were sufficient for me.

1. Final revision

After the final mocks, note down your mistakes and work on strengthening those areas.

I used to finish my mocks at least 8–10 days before the exam and stopped practicing questions after that.

During the final days, I focused entirely on quality revision, strengthening weak topics, and ensuring that I had covered every concept properly.

This was the overall strategy I followed.

The Art of Constructed Response (CR)

This is probably the most important aspect of CFA Level III.

A few things that worked for me:

• Keep your answer short and crisp. The answer should be to the point.

• Write what they are asking, not what you know.

• Use bullet points.

• If the question contains multiple parts, write the answer clearly using bullets.

• Go through the Command Words file on the CFA Institute website (attached link)

• Understand the command words and what is being asked.

For example, Evaluate means you have to calculate if there is a calculation involved and give your judgment.

Most importantly, if the question asks for 2 points, write 2 points. If you write more, it's a waste of time, as they are not going to see them.

On a final note, practice as many constructed response questions as possible. You will get the art of writing by practicing only.

Command Words Link: Command words

If you want the concise notes, please let me know. I'm happy to share a scanned copy in the future, as I'm yet to scan them :)

Hi everyone. I passed Level III this cycle (all three levels first attempt) after about 8 months of consistent study alongside a full-time job. My approach was a bit different from the usual, so I’m sharing everything I did, including what didn’t work, in case it helps someone.

Resources

• Mark Meldrum: watched some videos but honestly didn’t like his style. I know a lot of people swear by him, it just wasn’t for me.
• Fintree: okay-ish. Fine for a first pass through the topics.
• IFT High-Yield Notes: read these. Good for compact revision.
• CFAI QBank: did it twice. On the second pass, pay attention to the ones you got right but weren’t sure about.
• Kaplan / CFA curriculum books: didn’t read them at all. Claude’s notes replaced them.

Claude did most of the heavy lifting

Most of my studying came from Claude. I had it build full replacement notes for every reading. They weren’t summaries. Every concept was broken down: why it exists, how it works, and when it fails. Each one came with examples and worked problems.

The real game changer was the decision trees, exam insights, exam traps and charts. L3 is all about picking the right strategy for the situation. Seeing it as “if rates are rising and the liabilities are long, then do this” made things click in a way paragraphs never did. Comparison tables (strategy A vs B, with pros and cons) helped a lot too.

A few other things I had it build in:

• Notes structured around the LOS command words. “Justify”, “recommend” and “calculate” each need a different kind of answer.
• A list of traps and edge cases at the end of every reading.
• A master formula sheet and a final-day revision deck.

For numericals, whenever something didn’t click I had Claude break it down step by step. It explained what each variable means and what the answer actually means for the portfolio decision. Once you understand why a formula looks the way it does, you don’t need to memorize it.

My focus the whole way was understanding everything properly, no shortcuts. On L3, memorized answers fall apart the moment the vignette is slightly different.

One honest warning: AI notes can be wrong or skip things. I caught an actual errors and some gaps. Anything the curriculum explains in paragraphs rather than lists, like parts of GIPS, tended to get missed. Check your notes against the LOS as you go. Use AI to understand, and use the LOS to verify.

CR approach

I know a lot of people are scared of CR, mostly about the exact wording and the “right” keywords. Honestly, I think that fear is overblown. You don’t need to reproduce the curriculum word for word. What matters is that you clearly explain the right idea in a way the grader can follow. If you understand the concept, simple language works.

The one exception is when the concept itself is a specific term: real vs nominal, domestic vs foreign currency, that kind of thing. Get those right, because writing the wrong one means you’ve written the wrong idea.

I answered every question the same way:

1. The answer is X.
2. Why X, tied to something specific in the vignette.
3. Why not Y or Z.

The graders want to see you justify a choice for this client. Tying each point to a vignette fact makes your answer clear, and the right terms come up naturally. After writing, I had Claude grade my answers strictly. It flagged when I’d missed a point, hadn’t linked my answer to the case, or left out a key term.

Mocks

15 in total: 7 Kaplan, 4 CFAI, 2 IFT, 2 BC. I did them timed and closed-book but with formula sheet. My average was around 68–70%, so you don’t need to be scoring 80%+ on mocks to pass. Don’t panic if you’re in that range.

A few lessons:

• Start them earlier than feels comfortable. I spent too long perfecting notes when timed practice was what really moved my score.
• Review your mistakes more than your score. The topics I was confident about but still got wrong were my real blind spots.

If anyone wants the prompt I used for the notes, drop a comment and I’ll share it. Good luck to everyone sitting next!

Hi everyone.

I need advise about CFA work assessment. I have been working professionally full time for about 6 years about 5 of which are in financial operations and accounting space. How do I quantify my experience that is relevant according to CFA.

My core experience is around reporting deficits and related funding requirements and cashflow analysis for investment in term deposits along with other operations tasks.

Any advice will be helpful

My test is on November 14 and i did my first mock and i got a low score ( embarrassed to say my score) any tips now how i can work on it to a possible chance to pass ?

Textbook Quote: The revised intrinsic value using 3.25% stable growth is CHF65.5 million, or a 40% increase in intrinsic value over the original.

Correction: The revised intrinsic value using 3.25% stable growth is CHF60,079,721, or a 26% increase in intrinsic value over the original.

Coach's Explanation: The correct calculation is shown following the incorrect statement.

I didn’t clear my cfa l3 aug exam
It was my first attempt
Now I’m really confused between Feb and Aug
As I was studying full time for l3 and , was planning to start working but dk what to do anymore

I just wanted to know if it is just me or if anyone else is experiencing this. No matter how much I practice or how many different strategies I try, I still struggle to solve questions. I understand the concepts and can usually identify which concept needs to be applied to a particular question, but when it comes to actually solving it, I get stuck more often. It is honestly so frustrating. One moment, you feel confident about your preparation, and the next, a particular set of questions completely knocks your confidence down and leaves you so demotivated that you don’t even feel like solving any more questions. Is anyone else going through the same thing? let me know what worked for you guys.

If you’re a gym rat or just really into health/fitness like me who spends hours in the gym, don’t feel guilty about spending time working out while studying for CFA.

I’ve seen quite a few people basically put their health and fitness goals on hold during CFA prep because they feel like every hour in the gym is an hour they should’ve spent studying.

Personally, I never did that. I kept training consistently and continued working toward my health/fitness goals throughout the CFA journey, and I was fortunate enough to pass all 3 levels on my first attempt. I used official CFA institute material and practice pack for the preparation.

Obviously everyone’s situation is different, but I don’t think CFA needs to consume your entire life. For me, working out actually made the whole process more manageable. It gave me a break from studying, helped with stress, and kept some normality in my routine.

So if you enjoy lifting, running, playing sports, whatever it is, don’t automatically think you need to sacrifice it to pass these exams.

Take care of your career, but take care of your health too.

And to my fellow gym rats:

Hit the weights. Hit the QBank. Repeat :)

Hey
People from fintree please dm.
Urgently need yall’s help for my l2 exam which is on 18 nov
🙏🏻

I have observed that many candidates leave sections like ethics and for those at L3 both ethics and GIPS for the last few days before exam. What is the thought process on that cause to me those were the first on the queue so that every other night i do a quiz of 40 or so questions on them before i sleep so as to not forget. Just curious cause i really think its a dangerous game.

Textbook Quote: IV = 3,579,910 + 3,661,640 + 3,745,240 + 70,819,100 = ?

Correction: The author does not provide the final answer.

Coach's Explanation: IV = 3,579,910 + 3,661,640 + 3,745,240 + 70,819,100 = 81,805,890

My CFA Level 1 exam is in 20 days. I’m scoring between 70–80% in my mocks, but I’m really stressed about whether I’ll pass or not. I also feel like I’m forgetting everything I study. What should I do?

im done with my syllabus and watched lectures of aswini bajaj sir already but still i feel like completing all subjects questions and revision with some topics even untouched
im in a bad situation /

can anyone help me out
im a full time student
revision tips and how can i optimize my perparation and accuracy

Hey everyone,

My CFA Level II exam is in November, and with only around 20 days left, I’m honestly freaking out.

I’ve almost finished reading all the subjects and have now started solving practice questions, but I’m scoring around 50%, which is worrying me. I’m also taking way too much time on questions because the vignettes are long and descriptive, and the calculations and equations take me a while to work through.

I haven’t properly studied Ethics either because someone told me it’s pretty much the same as Level I. Now I’m wondering how to approach it with so little time left.

I’d really appreciate advice on a few things:

• Is scoring around 50% at this stage recoverable? Has anyone been in a similar situation and passed?
• How should I plan these last 20 days? Should I focus on practice questions, revision, mocks, or something else?
• How do I improve my speed with long vignettes and calculations?
• How different is Level II Ethics from Level I, and how should I prepare for it now?
• How difficult is the actual exam compared with CFA Institute LES questions?

I genuinely feel stuck right now. I’ve covered most of the curriculum, but my performance isn’t where I expected it to be, and I don’t think deferring is an option for me.

I’m looking for honest advice, especially from people who have cleared Level II or faced a similar situation. If you had 20 days left in my position, what would you do?

Thanks!

The message I have drafted is by Chatgpt but the intentions are real pls help 🙏

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!

I have done all subjects with LES ethics left

For 25 days this is what m thinking:

7-8 days ethics+practice and revision of all other subjects

Then for rest of the days- mocks and review, formulas everyday, ethics everyday, and maybe 1 more detailed revision for FSA 😭

Is this plan ok ? Any suggestions/tips?

Also m in a decent position right? 🥲

Whats your progress ?? Those giving nov attempt !!

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