2016 CFA L3 Advice and Consolidated Resouce Toolkit

[GothamSenator]

With so many posts and resources available, like many others, I thought I’d tmake an attempt to add my two pennies as well as aggregate some of the most helpful resoureces I’ve come across. I hope both are helpful and serve you well as you progress through the final stage of this LONG journey - best of luck!!

ADVICE/THOUGHTS (Feel free to add some more)
1. Start a little earlier than you’re thinking now and ease into your routine - Make a PLAN! Monitor and revise plan as necessary, fiinding a balance as best you can - consistency is key!
2. Know thyself - Only you know if videos or reading or whatever mode of learning works best for you, trust yourself and lean on your strenghts.
3. Quality over quantity - No matter what, number of hours are only a yardstick. Focus on quality of the your studying and, more importantly, your UNDERSTANDING.
4. Practice writing answers from the very beginning - Writing out responses will allow you to kill two birds with one stone. By focusing on writing you will gain adequate proficiency for the much talked about AM session as well as solidify understanding.
5. Be an analyst and do your due diligence - No time like the present to start. It’s like I tell my staff, I’m happy to answer/entertain/debate any question, but be sure you’ve Googled it, have done some research and tried to get an understanding first. At Level III, there’s zero room for mental laziness.
6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF - Perhaps this should have been first. At this stage, you know your stuff. Study hard, trust your instincts and believe in yourself. Confidence will add many points on exam day.
TOOLKIT (again, feel free to add)
CFAI Topic Weights:
http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/exam_topic_a...
CFA Level III Exam Details:
http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/level_III_ex...
LOS Command Words: http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/Documents/cfa_and_cipm_los_command_...
Changes in 2016 Level III Curriculum: http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-level-iii-forum/91344573
Level III Topics by CFAI Study Session (dated but helpful, not much has changed period-over-period):
http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-level-iii-forum/91307254
Senor S2000magician’s website: http://financialexamhelp123.com/cfa-level-iii/


LOTS of past CFAI L3 AM practice exams:
CFAI Page: http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/candidate/Pages/essay_ex...
1999 - 2013: http://www.justlevel3.com/downloads/
Printable Flashcards (based on 2014 curriculum - again, not much has changed, very valuable):
https://github.com/krispharper/CFA-Notes
NOTE on flashcards: printing may take some experimenting. I simply did double sided on card stock, but play with a couple pages first to see what works. Here is how another AFer (onlysimon) made it work:

onlysimon wrote:
certainly takes a little skill, I have less than that. (I have an A4 non-duplex printer.)
1) I downloaded the ZIP file from the link
2) I opened the pdf files with nitro reader.
3) from the print menu I printed ‘all odd pages’ (prints come out print side up)
4) taking the stack of printed paper, reversed the order.
5) put the stack print side up into the paper tray.
6) then printed ‘all even pages’.
hey-presto note cards! well they are not perfect. I can’t cut them into A6 because some of the text overruns, so I cut them by hand with scisssors and they are rather odd sizes.. but I’m not complaining they seem pretty succinct notes.
my guess is to do a good job you need to start with the .tex files and use some other tool..

GIPS (focus on required): http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2010.n5.1
CFA Glossary: http://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/tools/glossary/Pages/index.aspx

 

[GothamSenator]

Note: The AM session and guidline answers typically are made available in late December early January.