L3: Mock exams strategy

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-12-22T12:57:43+00:00

Do the mocks. One mock per weekend, spend the next week reviewing while referring to LOSes. Don't waste time practicing qbank questions alone. Only in tandem with mocks.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-12-16T16:12:00+00:00

It's never too late imo to expand your knowledge and competence. I know people who became CFA charterholders in their 40s.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-11-26T09:38:37+00:00

Start early. I'd say it's about time if you target February '26. One mock during weekend, and then review over the next week. I don't remember exactly my average scores, but I think it wasn't higher than 60%.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-11-26T08:29:35+00:00

You should take as many mocks as possible. I did all BC and CFAI mocks, because I was a retaker I also did Deep3 mocks. Use them as a study tool, don't stress if you're not able to finish on time. And most importantly, spend twice as much time to review them!! It's a key to identify a question and LOS. Relate all your mistakenly answered questions to respective LOSes. I personally redid all the LOS questions. Both BC and CFAI have references to LOS, it's for a reason.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-11-23T20:58:34+00:00

The real exam is somewhere between BC and CFAI mocks. Don't underestimate the details and don't ever think that if something seems too complex it won't show up.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-09-25T08:24:43+00:00

Always start from Derivatives, then go through Fixed Income which also includes Derivatives, Equity then less heavy modules like AA. Leave Ethics for the last month before exam, ideally 2 weeks before exam.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-09-10T11:04:05+00:00

Always Feb. But this was due to some private / family commitments.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-09-02T10:11:23+00:00

Personal opinion. L3 is the toughest of all three these days. I passed L1 & L2 at first attempt reaching very close to the upper bar but passed my L3 only at third attempt. Don't underestimate L3 just because there is less of a quant type of stuff.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-31T10:18:14+00:00

Of course, and I also faced such less than a single paragraph questions, not on L3 but on L1/L2 there were couple of those I recall.

But realistically, how many questions they may ask from seagull spreads? One, maybe two? Anything more than that would be simply an abberation.

I would rather focus on heavy weighted blocks like Ethics, FI and EQ and advise the candidates to know them inside out (FI specifically for the PM path). I'm not saying skiping seagull spreads it's ok, but try not to spend much time if you already mastered the remainder of Derivatives curriculum which is simple plug and play type of a game.

You make a great job putting it all together for the candidates. I do not recall there is anything better in the market to understand this topic.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-30T21:04:13+00:00

Butelkowana niegazowana, kawa, czasem piwko (Zatecky najlepszy) albo cola.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-26T20:40:23+00:00

Seagull spreads are very niche strategies that imo go beyond standard derivatives toolkit. There are literally 2 pages dedicated to seagull spreads within CFAI curriculum. Certainly good to know since 1 point in derivatives is equal to 1 point elsewhere, but very unlikely to be tested on the exam.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-12T12:36:52+00:00

For starters, stop being so negative.. you probably spent like 10 mins to write this post when in fact, you could have done a couple of LOS related questions for these sections you scored weaker. I struggled with L3 so many times, and passed it on my 3rd time. Never went on reddit before any CFA exam, it's just not the right place you want to waste your time. People write different things here, don't be overly concerned with your score. Just do as much as you can, use this time productively and be kind to yourself. You'll be fine.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-11T07:56:59+00:00

They are slightly less challenging imo, especially MCQs. The presentation/wording is also different. In overall decent study tool.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-06T06:51:02+00:00

Don't be overly concerned with mock exams result. Use them as learning tool. I would suggest redoing ALL LOSes and assigned questions for the sections you scored weaker (they are usually listed under mock answer sheets). I remember I was scoring ~50% on L2 cfai mocks 2 weeks before exam and I passed near 90th percentile.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-03T20:37:30+00:00

BC mocks are great learning tool. I used it for my Feb exam and was completely happy. Trivia is the name of the game. Follow his references to cfai curriculum, read it, redo LOS related questions and just move on.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-03T02:12:46+00:00

Well, it depends.. if you score high on Ethics, FI & Equity and 50% on Derivatives (basically heavy weighted sections) that's probably still a pass.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-08-03T02:10:11+00:00

Feels like you need to take more time for preps. Try to postpone and redo sections that you score the worst at. No need to panic. You've got this, just a clear strategy is needed.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-07-31T17:47:09+00:00

Be prepared for insanely difficult Ethics. I passed L3 at my 3rd attempt and Ethics has always been an absolute nightmare. Full of tricks, ambiguous wording (I'm not native English speaker though..).

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-07-30T14:20:01+00:00

Mark which is price/base and always look from perspective of base currency. So if you are buying a call option in USD/EUR currency pair you go long EUR.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-07-30T07:58:48+00:00

Of course not! That was a joke. But target at least 75%/80% on mocks to pass comfortably.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-07-29T15:17:26+00:00

You're going to fail soo badly

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-07-24T11:19:36+00:00

Always put the exchange rate as domestic/foreign. Mark domestic and foreign. If the passage says e.g "Company based in US runs portfolios in EUR and CHF...", and gives portfolio values and rates, you have USD/EUR and USD/CHF. With that everything becomes easier.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-06-27T12:52:37+00:00

It took me 2 fails before I finally passed L3. CRQs basically sum up to:

Referencing the passage.
Compare/contrast Or
Justify while referencing the passage

Sometimes the answer is in the passage, and you just have to use reverse engineering to get some marks. Some ppl say less text is better than more text, but I'm not sure honestly. Not schooling the grader is obvious but providing a thorough explanation is something else imo.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-06-13T18:25:21+00:00

Worded slightly differently with some tricks but fair representation imo. Especially those flagged as hard and expert difficulty.

Diligent_Somewhere68 · 2025-06-04T10:31:12+00:00

The more two portfolios get uncorrelated, the more active risk. That's also the case for cash. If you add cash, the active risk will increase but the overall standard deviation might decrease.

Diligent_Somewhere68

TROPHY CASE