Level III CFA^® FAQ

August 29-September 5, 2023
February 15-18, 2024
August 16-19, 2024

Visit the CFA Institute for more exam info.

For the nearly three decades that I have taught CFA review classes, I have found common success factors to passing the exam.

1. Start early – Candidates who began their preparations 6-8 months before the exam tend to perform better than those that begin three to four months out from the exam.
2. CFA Program curriculum – Details matter and the only way to master how the topics blend, combine and become challenging questions on exam day is to read the CFA Program curriculum (see first point above… start early).
3. Using a combination of the CFA Level 3 Videos (or One & Done^® Videos) and the Problem Solving Live Weekly Workshops that cover the depth and details of the curriculum coupled with a final review at the LevelUp 4-day BootCamps helps the candidate become razor sharp for exam testing.
4. Repetition of the problem sets found in the program curriculum helps the candidate recognize how the material will be asked by the CFA Institute on exam day thus increasing the likelihood of being able to answer the question quickly. Many candidates say that speed is extremely necessary on exam day.

The Core Curriculum Slide Book was diligently and passionately built over several years of experience teaching the Level III CFA Program curriculum. Alternative review provider slides are constructed with many different “contractors” building different slide decks for various topics without regard to continuity or context of the Level III CFA Program curriculum and are rarely updated from year to year. Details matter and many slide presentations shy away from those details as to reduce seminar time and reduce confusion for instructors. LevelUp slides are comprehensive and detailed with full regard to details required to solve afternoon item sets. One candidate called them the “Mercedes class” slides.

The LevelUp BootCamp is held over four days with over 40+ hours of instruction with one instructor, Marc LeFebvre. This time is required to adequately cover the topics, to go over tough examples and answer candidate questions. Many days last until 9 pm in the evening with Exam Strategies Workshop. Alternative live reviews are held over three days, conduct no evening workshops, end at 5 pm and often change instructors between topics thereby losing the continuity of topics.

• Cover the Level III CFA Program curriculum. The Core Curriculum Slide Book covers in detail the readings and topics in the CFA Program curriculum. The unique approach uses color codes to indicate relative importance and pictures to help with memory recall. Black and white slides with bullet points will put anyone to sleep after the first hour. Educational research shows that associating a concept with color or a picture increases retrievability. That retrievability is critical on exam day.
• Interconnected topics. Many find the material too daunting and resort to summary methods. That worked at Level I and Level II. That doesn’t work when the material is integrated and connected as the Level III curriculum. The Core Slide Book helps you connect information and guides you through the readings emphasizing exhibits (tested in prior years), examples inside the readings that are a “must do” to succeed (also tested). A unique feature of the Core Slide Book is that it references exhibits, examples, Blueboxes, and end of reading questions are sorted by topic. If you want to master “cash-flow matching” in Liability Driven Fixed Income, you will see all the resources to practice and master in a matrix that lists all the ways the topic is covered in the candidate readings.
• Four comprehensive days. The LevelUp BootCamp is held over 4 days with nearly 43 hours of instruction as compared to 3 days and 24 hours of instruction with other providers. Also, see the “Agenda” tab at the top of the page with each day’s schedule. Will that extra 50% increase in time make a difference in your succeeding? Ask past LevelUp BootCamp candidates, they will tell you. Why risk the alternative?
• Questions answered. Lastly, you get “me!” I answer your questions generally within 24 hours of receipt. I show you where in the readings the answer lies by volume, study session, reading, section and page. If you want to discuss the idea or the topic, we can always schedule a phone call or video conference. Your question won’t go to some black box. You receive my full attention.

After you purchase access to the CFA Level 3 Videos, please log into “Account” on the top of our website. This will take you to your Dashboard. On the dashboard select Weekly On-Demand Videos to start watching the videos. Study sessions will be listed on the left side of the page where you can tab through to the various topics. The one topic I do not cover is ethics, as I suspect you know that topic by Level III. The color slide book is a bound, hard copy on heavyweight paper stock.  Candidates often use these color slides for index cards. The color coding helps immensely with memory recall on exam day.

This is a great question. The video series was a hotly requested feature by candidates over the past five years. The videos will cover each reading in detail highlighting concepts and topics that very well could be part of the CFA exam. I will drill down into details that should not be glossed over, I will highlight practice problems, white text and bluebox problems that require your attention. The purpose of the videos is to have you work through the candidate readings; I will have those very readings on the screen as we work through the material via the Vital Source electronic version of the CFA Program curriculum something we don’t have as much time to do in the 40 hours of a LevelUp BootCamp.

The LevelUp BootCamp ties all the material together that is so critical for the exam success. We will cover the details once again and many tough problems to refresh your memory. What you learned months previously maybe hard to recall as you prepare for the exam. The LevelUp BootCamp intensively reviews the curriculum front to back.  The BootCamp also gives you the strategy as you prepare for the exam the last few weeks to the exam date. The two together, a weekly systematic learning approach to the CFA Program curriculum coupled with an intensive exam focused LevelUp BootCamp will be for many the formula for a “One & Done”.