Arif Irfanullah
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- Jun 18, 2026
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Before talking about questions from past mock exams which are still relevant, I want to acknowledge the fact that there have been debates on this forum as to whether or not it is ethical to use past-year mock exams published by the CFA Institute for exam preparation. My opinion is that it is okay because:
If you are still reading, I presume you agree with the opinion I expressed above. Now it is time for my second opinion: The CFA Institute’s questions are an excellent source of practice. This is particularly true for the Level III essay exam. You will notice that sample answers provided by the CFA Institute are short, crisp and to the point. This is how you need to write on the actual exam. Learn this technique now… and not in the last few days before the exam. By then it might be too late.
I do have a word of caution, though. The curriculum changes every year and hence some questions might not be relevant. The table below is my attempt at identifying questions from the 2006 to 2011 Level III essay exams which are still relevant for 2014 Level III candidates. I cannot guarantee that the information presented here is 100% accurate. If you spot any errors please write to me at [email protected]. Next month I’ll try to update this post to identify relevant questions from the 2012 and 2013 exams.
Study hard. Practice harder.
Regards,
Arif Irfanullah
Year Question Relevant SS Comment 2006 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS (return calculation, risks, constraints). Part D is irrelevant/obsolete 2006 2 Yes 8 ALM, Monte Carlo, Choosing appropriate asset allocation 2006 3 Yes 9 Pure bond indexing, active investing strategies 2006 4 Yes 5 DB Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors 2006 5 Yes 8 Strategic asset allocation, whether investments are suitable 2006 6 Yes 5 Differences between pension fund IPS and foundation IPS 2006 7 Yes 8 Corner portfolios 2006 8 Yes 18 GIPS 2006 9 No - 2006 10 Yes 13 Characteristics of hedge fund benchmarks (only part A is relevant) 2006 11 Yes 16 Components of trading costs (only part A is relevant) 2006 12 No - 2007 1 Yes 3 and 4 Individual IPS, Investor personality type 2007 2 Yes 4 and 8 Part A and B: Outright sale, Exchange funds, Completion Portfolios. Part C: Asset allocation 2007 3 Yes 3 Behavioral biases 2007 4 Yes 8 Asset classes, Black Litterman 2007 5 Yes 5 Endowment IPS, constraints, risk 2007 6 Yes 5 Life insurance company IPS, constraints, risks 2007 7 Yes 16 Corridor widths, rebalancing strategies 2007 8 Yes 11 Active management, style drift, core satellite 2007 9 Yes 17 Currency, security, market allocation return 2007 10 Yes 6 Grinold-Kroner Model (only part B and C are relevant) 2008 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS, constraints, risk ability 2008 2 Yes 3 Behavioral biases 2008 3 Yes 5 Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors 2008 4 Yes 8 Corner portfolios, Sharpe Ratio, Asset allocation, ALM approach 2008 5 Yes 9 and 10 Sector rotation trades, interest rate convexity, spread duration 2008 6 Yes 13 Cash and carry arbitrage 2008 7 Yes 14 Types of risk, stress testing methods 2008 8 Yes 16 Trading tactics, VWAP 2008 9 Yes 16 CPPI, Constant Mix, Buy and hold strategies 2008 10 Yes 17 Performance attribution analysis 2008 11 No 17 Obsolete 2009 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS, constraints, risk ability 2009 2 Yes 4 Life cycle investing 2009 3 Yes 5 Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors, Spending rule 2009 4 Yes 5 WACC, Pension assets in WACC calculations, Equity Beta 2009 5 Yes 6 Grinold-Kroner, Taylor Rule 2009 6 Yes 8 Strategic asset allocation, whether investments are suitable 2009 7 Yes 11 Active and passive equity investments, portfolio construction methods, investment styles 2009 8 Yes 13 Commodities, swaps 2009 9 Yes 14 and 15 Options, Counterparty risk, Credit risk in a swap 2009 10 Yes 16 Corridor widths, rebalancing strategies 2009 11 Yes 17 Benchmark selection, Performance measures (sharpe, m2, treynor, etc) 2010 1 Yes 4 Individual investor portfolios, TDA and Taxable accounts 2010 2 Yes 3 and 5 Insurance company IPS, behavioral biases 2010 3 Yes 5 Pension funds 2010 4 Yes 6 and 7 Only Part C is relevant 2010 5 Yes 8 Corner portfolios, Sharpe Ratio, Currency return and risk 2010 6 Yes 9 Immunization portfolio, Dollar Safety margin 2010 7 Yes 15 Option strategies (butterfly, straddle etc.) Target beta using futures 2010 8 Yes 16 VWAP, Implementation shortfall, corridor widths 2010 9 Yes 17 Benchmark selection, Performance Attribution 2011 1 Yes 3 and 4 Behavioral biases, Estate planning 2011 2 Yes 4 Individual investor portfolios 2011 3 Yes 5 Institutional investor portfolios 2011 4 Yes 7 Cobb douglas, H Model, Fed Model, Yardeni Model 2011 5 Yes 8 ALM, Black Litterman, Resampled frontier, Monte carlo 2011 6 Yes 9 Dollar duration, rebalancing, trade types, 2011 7 Yes 12 ADRs (Only Part E is revelant) 2011 8 Yes 14 Historical and Analytical VAR, Hedge currency risk using futures (Part A + B used in quiz) 2011 9 Yes 17 Performance attribution, sector allocation returns
- The CFA Institute has been making this material available to candidate over the years at no extra charge.
- Some candidates will have taken the exam in the past and so will have past mock exams; it is only fair that other candidates also have an opportunity to practice from these mock exams.
- The terms of use say that “… mock exam is provided to currently registered CFA candidates…” My interpretation is that currently registered candidates can use current and past mock exams.
If you are still reading, I presume you agree with the opinion I expressed above. Now it is time for my second opinion: The CFA Institute’s questions are an excellent source of practice. This is particularly true for the Level III essay exam. You will notice that sample answers provided by the CFA Institute are short, crisp and to the point. This is how you need to write on the actual exam. Learn this technique now… and not in the last few days before the exam. By then it might be too late.
I do have a word of caution, though. The curriculum changes every year and hence some questions might not be relevant. The table below is my attempt at identifying questions from the 2006 to 2011 Level III essay exams which are still relevant for 2014 Level III candidates. I cannot guarantee that the information presented here is 100% accurate. If you spot any errors please write to me at [email protected]. Next month I’ll try to update this post to identify relevant questions from the 2012 and 2013 exams.
Study hard. Practice harder.
Regards,
Arif Irfanullah
Year Question Relevant SS Comment 2006 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS (return calculation, risks, constraints). Part D is irrelevant/obsolete 2006 2 Yes 8 ALM, Monte Carlo, Choosing appropriate asset allocation 2006 3 Yes 9 Pure bond indexing, active investing strategies 2006 4 Yes 5 DB Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors 2006 5 Yes 8 Strategic asset allocation, whether investments are suitable 2006 6 Yes 5 Differences between pension fund IPS and foundation IPS 2006 7 Yes 8 Corner portfolios 2006 8 Yes 18 GIPS 2006 9 No - 2006 10 Yes 13 Characteristics of hedge fund benchmarks (only part A is relevant) 2006 11 Yes 16 Components of trading costs (only part A is relevant) 2006 12 No - 2007 1 Yes 3 and 4 Individual IPS, Investor personality type 2007 2 Yes 4 and 8 Part A and B: Outright sale, Exchange funds, Completion Portfolios. Part C: Asset allocation 2007 3 Yes 3 Behavioral biases 2007 4 Yes 8 Asset classes, Black Litterman 2007 5 Yes 5 Endowment IPS, constraints, risk 2007 6 Yes 5 Life insurance company IPS, constraints, risks 2007 7 Yes 16 Corridor widths, rebalancing strategies 2007 8 Yes 11 Active management, style drift, core satellite 2007 9 Yes 17 Currency, security, market allocation return 2007 10 Yes 6 Grinold-Kroner Model (only part B and C are relevant) 2008 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS, constraints, risk ability 2008 2 Yes 3 Behavioral biases 2008 3 Yes 5 Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors 2008 4 Yes 8 Corner portfolios, Sharpe Ratio, Asset allocation, ALM approach 2008 5 Yes 9 and 10 Sector rotation trades, interest rate convexity, spread duration 2008 6 Yes 13 Cash and carry arbitrage 2008 7 Yes 14 Types of risk, stress testing methods 2008 8 Yes 16 Trading tactics, VWAP 2008 9 Yes 16 CPPI, Constant Mix, Buy and hold strategies 2008 10 Yes 17 Performance attribution analysis 2008 11 No 17 Obsolete 2009 1 Yes 4 Individual IPS, constraints, risk ability 2009 2 Yes 4 Life cycle investing 2009 3 Yes 5 Pension fund IPS, constraints, risk factors, Spending rule 2009 4 Yes 5 WACC, Pension assets in WACC calculations, Equity Beta 2009 5 Yes 6 Grinold-Kroner, Taylor Rule 2009 6 Yes 8 Strategic asset allocation, whether investments are suitable 2009 7 Yes 11 Active and passive equity investments, portfolio construction methods, investment styles 2009 8 Yes 13 Commodities, swaps 2009 9 Yes 14 and 15 Options, Counterparty risk, Credit risk in a swap 2009 10 Yes 16 Corridor widths, rebalancing strategies 2009 11 Yes 17 Benchmark selection, Performance measures (sharpe, m2, treynor, etc) 2010 1 Yes 4 Individual investor portfolios, TDA and Taxable accounts 2010 2 Yes 3 and 5 Insurance company IPS, behavioral biases 2010 3 Yes 5 Pension funds 2010 4 Yes 6 and 7 Only Part C is relevant 2010 5 Yes 8 Corner portfolios, Sharpe Ratio, Currency return and risk 2010 6 Yes 9 Immunization portfolio, Dollar Safety margin 2010 7 Yes 15 Option strategies (butterfly, straddle etc.) Target beta using futures 2010 8 Yes 16 VWAP, Implementation shortfall, corridor widths 2010 9 Yes 17 Benchmark selection, Performance Attribution 2011 1 Yes 3 and 4 Behavioral biases, Estate planning 2011 2 Yes 4 Individual investor portfolios 2011 3 Yes 5 Institutional investor portfolios 2011 4 Yes 7 Cobb douglas, H Model, Fed Model, Yardeni Model 2011 5 Yes 8 ALM, Black Litterman, Resampled frontier, Monte carlo 2011 6 Yes 9 Dollar duration, rebalancing, trade types, 2011 7 Yes 12 ADRs (Only Part E is revelant) 2011 8 Yes 14 Historical and Analytical VAR, Hedge currency risk using futures (Part A + B used in quiz) 2011 9 Yes 17 Performance attribution, sector allocation returns