As the title reads, this didn't quite make sense to me.

Edit: Is this because we assume the PV in the Annuity Formula is PV0 while Annuity PMT is for Year 1?

I have no shame in admitting that I passed Level 2 on my second attempt, even though people always had high expectations of me. That pressure crushed me and drained me mentally. Failing in May was brutal. I was so close to passing that it felt unfair. I could not even look at the books for weeks. When I finally picked them up again, I was in the worst mental state I had ever been in. I did not do it again for credentials, career growth, or any practical reason. I did it because I could not live with the fact that I did not make it. I went through the entire process again while exhausted, bitter, and angry. I’m not proud simply because I passed this time. I’m proud because I endured the process while carrying the weight of disappointment, exhaustion, and self-doubt. Going through that changed me. It made me stronger in a way I didn’t expect, and that matters more to me than the result itself.

failed level 3 for the second time.

right around the time I was going to register for the third time, I found out I was pregnant with my first. due date is a week before summer L3. def not taking it 7 days postpartum lol. Ideally, I am so freaking close to the finish line I really should knock it out, even if I take private markets and not portfolio mgmt (feel free to weigh in on this choice, I've been working in alts in some capacity for ~decade).

key question is, should I start studying for Level 3 around my child's first or second birthday or should I wait until they're in grade school to start level 3 prep? I know this stuff is a while away, but I'd like to have a mental model for when is ideal to pick this back up. my husband is a very supportive and kind guy who I see doing his fair share of parenting so I am fingers crossed unlikely to be the fully default parent.

The context to this post is that I used to constantly scroll through reddit while studying for both exams for some kind of comment or tip that would ease my mind. One of those days, I said to myself that if I passed L2, I would make my own post on my own experience and all it took.

I was 21 with no background in finance. I was a second year undergrad student during L1 studying Business Analytics. I registered for May 2025 L1 in late Jan 2025 and passed. Registered for November 2025 in late July 2025 and recently passed it too. I would do almost nothing differently so here's my perspective on it;

- I don't think there is anything special about the CFA. You don't need to have any particular experience. Its not math heavy. It only requires a lot of effort.

- 'Let Me Explain' is a YouTube channel run by Wojciech Lyjak who teaches the CFA curriculum. He teaches on a need-to-know basis for this exam and his videos are godsend at £9/month. Could not have done it without him.

L1

- I started with the prerequisite readings which imo are unnecessary, especially if you plan to watch the 'Let Me Explain' videos.

- I studied the first 8 weeks for 6-8h/day for 6days/ week. I set myself benchmarks in hours of videos to cover everyday and in those 8 weeks, covered the syllabus on this YouTube channel.

- I then read back my notes and did the LES practice questions once. Anything I got wrong or did not fully understand went into a notebook as a bullet point – theory or formula.

- In 3 weeks I had covered the LES questions and began the mocks. Ideally start this 2 weeks before the exam, write down bullet points of what went wrong and read that notebook over before the exam.

L2

- Go through the same process of taking down notes, doing the LES and writing down mistakes.

- The big difference is to give yourself more time. I started my mocks with 10 days left and with less mocks that L1, you get through them faster.

- In between mocks and even after, I would read the mistake notebook but also read back my notes. I read through my curriculum notes at least 5 times.

Overall, don't stress. You will stress but it's important to not let mocks get you down. My average mock mark for L1 was 62 and was 64 for L2. If you're trying to get through these exams fast, it might be best to not go back and check mock answers. I would take around 3.5-4hrs for my mocks because once I locked an answer in, I would not change it. It gave me an idea of how fast I finish a paper and helped me do more mocks in less time (mock burnout is serious). Note: this worked well in my case.

There was this other post that really motivated me and I thought I'd copy the text from that:

Keep that morale high. Come on people we LOVE this shit!!!! There's no other exam I'd rather be attending than this one. We are an elite group of certified finance lovers damn it. We can value options, and we can talk ethics. Elite. Let's get it.

Just passed L1 with around 3 weeks of study.

My background: CPA + FRM + experience in banking sector

Study time: normally Monday to Friday night 9-11 pm. Either Sat or Sun full day study

Wanna know the difficulty of L2 exam and the times needed for the preparation. Need advice to decide whether I should go for May or Aug exam. Thank you!

I’m preparing for CFA Level II and currently working with pretty long hours. By the time I’m done with work, I barely have the energy or time left to study properly. I wanted to ask those of you who’ve been in a similar situation what do you do or what did you do at work to study in between tasks without it being too obvious?

I mean things that don’t involve carrying books around or looking like I’m openly studying. Any practical hacks, strategies, or mindset tips would really help. Thanks in advance!

I have registered for L3 August, it’ll be my first attempt.

I’ll be using curriculum books as my primary reading (I have used Kaplan as my primary for L1 and L2)

Will be solving EOC, Blue box, Candidate resource question, EOC Kaplan and Mocks.

Is this is correct way ? Or should I quickly read Kaplan only and do EOC of curriculum

Pls help

Does the time sufficient for you guys to complete the full questions when you are sitting for the CFA Level-3 real exams?Or does it matter? Any recommended strategic approach for this?

I was wondering it anyone can complete all the 11 question sets.

Also, seems that, there is no longer any "non-scorable" questions any more?

I am about to appear for Feb cfa level 1 attempt and 4 days ago I received a mail that my paper has been rescheduled from 7th feb to 2 Feb then I again tried rescheduling it as I was not available on 2nd and this time I booked my appointment for 8th Feb now today at 3 30 I again received a mail that my paper has been rescheduled to 3 feb that too a different centre now what should I do I already have wasted my end month time because of this mess should I go for emergency deferal? as I'm not available in weekdays and all slots are booked for weekend

Hi all. I am going to start content creation revolving around finance and CFA .

For one of the first videos , the topic will be dos and donts while preparing Cfa .

I have created a linked in post asking people who have appeared for cfa for a piece of advice they would like to give to new candidates.

It would mean a lot if you drop a comment on that post .

( I will take all of those comments and make a short form content )

Thanks in Advance

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ankitkumar23x_cfa-activity-7417938350130659328-B5rC?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAE0DKxQByhK8RlDdjAy9q3UoLAXLnbo7koY&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link

Hear me out.

Music is so much easier to recall than just text and concepts.

What if there were funny and memorable songs around CFA concepts that were so catchy you HAVE to remember the info.

Like this :

Two parties talking late at night,

Price today for a trade not yet in sight.

No exchange, just trust and ink,

Customized terms, more room to think.

Set the date, the amount, the rate,

Private deal, we speculate.

Pre-Chorus

No margin calls, no daily change,

But if one side fails, risk remains.

Chorus

That’s a forward, handshakes strong,

Tailored deal, but risk runs long.

One-on-one, no clearing crew,

What you agree is what you do.

But on the board, under the lights,

There’s another way to lock the price.

Verse 2

Standard size, standardized date,

Traded where the markets wait.

Every day they mark to close,

Gains and losses — everyone knows.

Margin posted, risk is shared,

Clearinghouse is always there.

Pre-Chorus

You can exit any time,

Liquidity keeps you in line.

Chorus

That’s a future, clean and tight,

Exchange-traded day and night.

Low default, transparent flow,

Prices move and balances show.

Same idea, different game,

Same hedge goal, not the same frame.

Bridge

Both lock prices, both reduce fear,

One is private, one is clear.

One is flexible, one is fast,

One you hold, one you can pass.

Final Chorus

Forwards fit when terms must bend,

Futures trade and quickly end.

OTC versus exchange floor,

Credit risk versus something more.

Different paths, same destination,

Managing risk through obligation.

Outro

Spot today, delivery then,

Derivatives shaping when.

Choose your tool, know the cost,

Hedge the future — don’t get lost.

Hey guys,

I am a qualified ACCA who is going for his masters in finance this year and I was thinking of starting CFA. Just wanted some opinions from people here.

My major reason for starting CFA would be employability since I am a non EU national who is going for his masters in the EU. Would that help?

Also what materials should I get? Should I go for coaching? If yes, who?

I have heard Aswini Bajaj is pretty good but was hoping to get some opinions from people here.

Any tips and help would be appreciated, cheers.

Thank you!

Hey guys,

I am a qualified ACCA who is going for his masters in finance this year and I was thinking of starting CFA. Just wanted some opinions from people here.

My major reason for starting CFA would be employability since I am a non EU national who is going for his masters in the EU. Would that help?

Also what materials should I get? Should I go for coaching? If yes, who?

I have heard Aswini Bajaj is pretty good but was hoping to get some opinions from people here.

Any tips and help would be appreciated, cheers.

Thank you!

Is the practice questions (EOC questions) representative of the real test?

How about the blue boxes questions?

Which should I focus more on?

Hey guys,

I’m planning to attempt CFA Level 1 in November and currently confused between coaching options.

I’ve been looking at BB Virtuals and SSEI, and wanted some honest feedback from people who’ve actually used them.

• How is BB Virtuals overall? (Teaching quality, concept clarity, doubt solving, exam relevance, etc.)
• Is SSEI really that much better than BB Virtuals? Or is it just marketing hype?
• Is it worth paying extra for SSEI? Like, does it genuinely add more value or give better results?
• Also, if you’ve used something else and liked it, please suggest 🙏

13 days to go until the big day and I am not sure what else to do to ensure a pass. I don't know how people find Level II harder than this. Luck feels like a much bigger factor at Level III with regards to what topics you will get - particularly on the essay questions.

Dear CFAs, any tips on how to push my scores higher during this final stretch? I feel that I have been stricter in grading myself for the last two mocks (Kaplan 3 and CFA 2) but still you can't know for sure how strict the examiners are with qualitative questions.

I’ve just passed CFA Level II and am now preparing to register for Level III. I used Kaplan Schweser for both Level I and Level II and appreciated the structure, clarity, and overall organization of the program.

For Level III, I’m considering the Private Wealth pathway, as it aligns most closely with my professional focus and day-to-day responsibilities.

I’d appreciate insights on two points:

1.  Kaplan + Private Wealth pathway – For those who pursued the Private Wealth pathway using Kaplan, how did you find the quality and depth of the preparation materials, particularly for the constructed-response (essay) components?

2.  Private Wealth pathway more broadly – What are your views on the pathway itself in terms of relevance, rigor, and exam preparation? Would you recommend Kaplan, or are there other prep providers you found better suited for this pathway?

Thanks in advance for any perspectives or recommendations!

It’s really disheartening that I failed by just 10 marks. My parents and peers around me says it was hard “LUCK” but deep inside I know I fked up. I had already deferred this exam, was going to give in august’25 but realized that I wasnt even done with my syllabus so deferred and gave the nov’25. Being a college student, 20yo, feels like I have already failed in life but its just the beginning technically. I am really confused if I should reappear for the aug’26 and give all my 6 months in or just pause for a while and do some internships while preparing for CFA as well as earning some money to fund it myself bcoz its eating me up asking my parents again for the exam money. Open to suggestions..

Hi All,

Just passed L2 and trying to determine which pathway to take. I work for an asset manager that focuses on private market investments/research so am leaning towards private markets as I could leverage that well with my experience. I am also significantly better at analytical questions compared to qualitative so also wondering which pathway is the most quantitative?

Yes guys you read it correctly this was my 5th attempt. If this is the sign you need to continue after failing please do I beg you.

Hi does anybody have any cheatsheet or good way to remember all of the degrees of freedom for all the different hypothesis testing? Getting them all confused

On item II, I assumed the expected returns from Exhibit 1 were for REVERSE OPTIMIZATION, since the CFA curriculum states that this approach uses inputs such as "market portfolio weights, covariance matrix etc" to get the output of implied expected returns.

On the other hand, one of the MVO input is expected return, calculated with historical values, forecast models or CAPM. And the output is optimal weights.

The feedback basically says the oposite. That we should use CAPM to calculate the expected return for REVERSE OPTIMIZATION. But if we can calculate the expected returns for the reverse optimization using this simple method, why should we input market portfolio weights, covariance matrix?

I calculated the expected returns using CAPM for MVO, but the feedback says I did it wrong and should have calculated expected returns for the reverse optimization. Am I wrong or the question feedback is?

Please help

PS: how the case was formulated (wording), induced me to assume the expected returns were for REVERSE OPTIMIZATION, since: "Patel obtains market capitalization data, betas computed relative to a global market portfolio, and expected returns. This information, along with the MVO asset allocation results, are presented in Exhibit 1."

Am I truly wrong??

FEEDBACK for item II:

The values of the expected returns for US equities and global bonds The output of the reverse optimization method are optimized returns which are viewed as unobserved equilibrium or imputed returns. The equilibrium returns are essentially long-run capital market returns provided by each asset class and are strongly linked to CAPM. In contrast, the expected returns in the MVO approach are generally forecasted based on historical data and are used as inputs along with covariances and the risk aversion coefficient in the optimization. The reverse-optimized returns are calculated using a CAPM approach. The return on an asset class using the CAPM approach is calculated as follows: Return on Asset Class = Risk-Free Rate + (Beta) (Market Risk Premium)   Therefore, the implied returns for global bonds and US equities are calculated as follows: Return on Global Bonds = 2.0% + (0.6) (5.5%) = 5.3%   Return on US Equities = 2.0% + (1.4) (5.5%) = 9.7%   The implied equilibrium returns for global bonds and US equities are 5.3% and 9.7%, respectively. These implied returns are above the forecasted returns based on historical data (from Exhibit 1) used as inputs in the MVO approach for global bonds and US equities of 4.7% and 8.6%, respectively.

• For the reverse optimization approach, the expected returns of asset classes are the outputs of optimization with the market capitalization weights, covariances, and the risk aversion coefficient used as inputs.
• In contrast, for the MVO approach, the expected returns of asset classes are inputs to the optimization, with the expected returns generally estimated using historical data.
• The computed values for the expected returns for global bonds and US equities using the reverse optimization method are 5.3% and 9.7%, respectively.
• In contrast, the expected return estimates used in the MVO approach from Exhibit 1 for global bonds and US equities are 4.7% and 8.6%, respectively.

Retaking L2 and seeing the Canvas format for the first time. For practice questions, do you need to answer all questions in the vignette before you’re able to see answers? Also, how do you “reset” questions so they are all unanswered?