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CFA® Level 3 BootCamps allow you to immerse yourself in the Level 3 curriculum for four intense days of expansive, comprehensive, detailed exam prep. Pass this extremely challenging exam with Marc’s unparalleled CFA Level 3 knowledge and methods to pass the exam. Find out why they call him “The Sensei.”
LevelUp BootCamps run Thursday through Sunday, 8am CST until after 6pm CST.
The LevelUp BootCamps are recorded and viewable until past the exam window.
LevelUp 4-Day BootCamps are truly “bootcamps,” in every sense of the word. The LevelUp BootCamps are four long days (10+ hours per day) of hard work during which we cover nearly every page of the CFA Program curriculum.
Each LevelUp BootCamp runs Thursday to Sunday from 8am CST to after 6pm CST all four days. On Friday evening, we will do an “exam strategy” two-hour session lasting late into the evening.
Each day consists 4-6 class blocks lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes each with 15 min breaks in the morning and afternoon blocks with a 30 minute break for lunch.
An agenda is emailed prior to the LevelUp BootCamp. The ebb and flow may change slightly each day based on candidate questions.
If we do not cover a topic in the Levelup BootCamp, a video covering that topic will be provided in the post Bootcamp videos.
Arrive to the BootCamp rested and prepared for four hard days of work.
8:00 am – 9:45 am CST
Ethics and Behavioral Finance
We begin the day with how to approach ethics… the right way and how to accomplish this task with as little as 20 minutes a day. We move on to one of the hardest, most nebulous topics in the Level III material, Behavioral Finance.
9:45 am – 10:00 am
Break
Your thinking can I do this all four days… say “Yes I can!”
10:00 am – 11:45 am
Private Wealth PMgt
We then move on to the private wealth investor with intro and topics. The “Topics” reading is a combined reading of estate planning, taxes and concentrated asset positions. All have been heavily tested previously.
11:45 am – 12:15 pm
Lunch
Eat protein and hydrate, your body will love you.
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Private Wealth PMgt Continued
We wrap up the individual investor with the single concentrated asset reading and the individual risk management.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Break
Go get caffeine!
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm maybe longer
Institutional PMgt
We wrap up the day with a whopping yet exciting institutional investor. Pay attention we will dive deep into the bank and insurance institutional investors with stdev and duration of the equity for these institutions. Lastly we will cover the mini cases…. oh yeah… and prepare ourselves for a busy second day ahead.
8:00 am – 9:45 am CST
Cap Mkt Expectations Part I and Part II
Candidates loath this material because it’s long and they get lost with the intent of the two readings. This stuff is actually exciting (growth trends, biz cycles and BOP) and once we unearth its real potential and how it’s asked on exams you’ll be begging for CME questions on the next exam.
9:45 am – 10:00 am
Break
33% BootCamp completed…can Marc keep up this energy for the whole four days? Oh yes he CAN!
10:00 am – 11:45 pm
Capital Market Exp. Part II and Intro to Asset Allocation
CME part II is all about forecasting asset class returns, once we establish the economic fundamentals in CME part I then this part is easy. CME I and II lay the foundation for asset allocation and the three readings in that next topic area.
11:45 pm – 12:15 pm
Lunch
No carbohydrates or you’ll be asleep by 1 pm, just in time for derivatives – oh yeah!!
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Asset Allocation
We cover three asset allocation readings and the real kicker… Real World Constraints in Asset Allocation, this my friends will be the money exam questions.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Break
Feeling sleepy… I told ya not to eat carbs. Go get a nice espresso. 😉
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm
Asset Allocation and then Option Strategies
Now begins the fun… option strategies, swaps and futures…lots of quant fun Let’s do this!
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Break
Dinner! Because you’ll need it for whats next.
4:15 pm – 6:00 pm
Option Strategies & Futures/Swaps – Yes on a Friday night we knock down the balance of derivatives but hold on for Saturday morning fun with currency risk mgt.
6:00 pm – All Hours of the Night
Exam Review and Strategy – Hey You Signed Up for This!
The hardest part of the Level III exam is only 5 inches. That five inches is between your ears. We will tackle the challenges candidates face on the essay exam, how to approach your answers, trips and traps of the constructed response portion of the exam and how to best prepare for the hardest day of your educational career and nail it with success
We discuss all the details regarding the computer based exam format, the best way to maximize points while minimizing time (Easter egg hunting), how to start your exam and how NOT to start the exam. How to prepare for the exam 6 weeks prior, the week off and the few days before the exam. We discuss “mental blind spots” to those places you can make mistake on the exam because you don’t even see the mistake you’re making (and its not cured by more studying). You’ll want to attend this class for sure…it can save you upwards of 25-28 points on the exam.
8:00 am – 9:45 am CST
Derivatives – Swaps & Futures
I know you are tired, so am I but we have two more days and we have to nail currency risk management, so get some coffee and settle in.
9:45 am – 10:00 am
Break
Just think only two more days of all this! Yessirrree but we are on the downhill side now.
10:00 am – 11:45 pm
Currency Risk Mgt
P/B and the magic of the base, it’s all about the base baby! Short futures, FX swaps and long puts with delta again. We will so crush these topics if they show up on the exam.
11:45 pm – 12:15 pm
Lunch
Eat protein. Hydrate. Call your mom 😉 Pet your dog. If you have a cat…eye roll…go clean the kitty litter box.
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Fixed Income
After intro to fixed income it gets deep… duration (Macauley, modified, effective, dispersion, convexity), single and multiple liability immunization, pensions and benchmark based fixed income investing…oh my!
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Break
Caffeine! Breathe, it will be okay.
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm
More Fixed Income
Yield curve strategies (parallel, yield curve shifts, change in curvature),
4:15 pm – 4:30 pm
Break
Quick dinner!
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
And Yet More Fixed Income
We have to wrap up YC strategies before we call it a night. Hang on we can do hard things.
8:00 am – 9:45 am CST
Fixed Income Credit Strategies
This reading gives candidates so much trouble. Partly due to the errata in the reading but just the presentation is not well done. I promise I can help with this reading and make you more comfortable once we are done.!
9:45 am – 10:00 am
Break
Caffeine and maybe a donut.
10:00 am – 11:45 pm
More Credit Strategies
Can I have another SIR! Why YES you can.
11:45 pm – 12:15 pm
Lunch
Go tell those who you love that this will all be over soon.
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Equity Portfolio Mgt
Intro, passive, active and portfolio construction.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Break
What the last break… nah… give me more your thinking!
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm
Perf Evaluation & Mgr Selection
Great quant topic that is always tested and so many candidates struggle with micro (BHB vs. Brinson Fachler methods), but not us, we will master this and you will be begging for this topic to be on the June exam… grrr… give it to me you’ll say!
We will run out of time BUT…I will post videos on:
Next Level III CFA Exam:
