CFA Level 3 Exam: An End in Sight?

[My 2011 Results Here]

For the last few years, every spring has been dedicated to the CFA Exams. Even though I graduated from my MBA program in 2009, I have continued to work on my professional designation, which requires that I pass three levels of exams, offered the first Saturday in June each year. Each year there is another stack of textbooks loaded with material that is tested in a pair of 3-hour exams. And they don't pull any punches. They can ask you ANYTHING... and they do. Topics for Level 3 include:
- Ethics & Standards
- Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning
- Asset Allocation
- Alternative Investments
- Derivatives
- Equity Investments
- Fixed Income Investments

Here's the low-down on my 2011 CFA Level 3 experience:

I started studying on Feb 1, skipping ethics and going right to behavioural finance (reading #7), mostly reading on the train during my commute. By the end of February I had completed reading #9. There are 48 readings, so I was on pace to finish the material by June 2012. I picked up the pace in March, but the first half of April was a total write-off because everyone in our house was sick all the time and my motivation suffered a bit. The last part of April was more productive, and I set aside one evening each week and some time on Saturday.

With one month left, I had done 18 readings (from #7 to #25 -- I have all this info recorded in my study plan). Mind you, as I went along, I was doing hundreds of practice problems, so it wasn't just reading. Anyways, I went into Total Study Mode in May, studying every evening and most of Saturdays, plus I took the final week off of work. I blasted through the remaining 2/3 of the material in one month, finishing with ethics on June 1 -- 2.5 days before the exam. I got through 1 complete practice exam and then did a complete review of the whole curriculum in the remaining 2 days. I really wish I had another few days for practice exams.



I had a little table set aside in the office in the basement where I would study with the door closed. Scott knew that he wasn't supposed to bother me, but he relished the opportunity to come in and call me up for meals. One other time, he opened the door a crack and then hurled in a Buzz Lightyear picture that he had coloured and then closed the door again. He told me that I could keep the picture in my hand all the time and take it with me to my test. He also gave me a trophy. I had explained to him that I was trying to learn all the answers to the questions so that when I took the test I could win. He figured that meant I should have a trophy. I kept it by the computer for luck while I did my final cram sessions.



On game day I was glad that I'd done that final review, because there were tons of things that I would have forgotten otherwise; however, I didn't have a great feel for the way the written sections should be answered to get maximum points, so I was overdoing it at the beginning and started to run behind by about 25 minutes. I managed to get all the questions done, but I guess that I got about a 60% score on the morning, but possibly lower. The afternoon was great and the 1000+ multiple choice questions that I'd done along the way served me well. I finished 40 minutes early and probably got about 80% for the afternoon, give or take.

Overall, estimate I got 69%, with my 90% confidence interval being about 62%-76%. Since a passing grade is generally at or just below 70%, I fear that I may have just missed it. However, I know that I did really well on the ethics and I think that will help me out if it's close.

Either way, I don't have to think about it again until that fateful Monday morning in Mid-August when I will look in my email inbox and let out a little yelp. Last year 46% of those who wrote the Level 3 exam passed. So why not me?

[My 2011 Results Here]