Trending Content - Off Topic Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
July 31, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
Congrats bro! How long did you study for each level?
Thanks man! Studied 60-80hrs for L1 / 225-250hrs for L2 / 150-175hrs for L3. All in all put in 450-500hrs across all 3 levels. Thankfully I passed them all on the first try, if I didn't I'm not sure I would've had the motivation to re-take honestly. It's utterly useless in my day to day
Jesus don't most people put in 300hrs per level?? You basically passed on half the time wtf
Side note, I never understood those people that put in 500hrs for a single level and manage to somehow fail
Congrats man! I'm on Level 2 and already burnt out.
It's a bear man, know how you feel. I did the method of cramming everything in 2 months w/ a less than ideal quality of life in those periods, but on flip side it wasn't 6 months. Just gotta keep at it bro, make sure you have things to look forward to every weekend to keep yourself motivated. Best of luck!!
First off congrats. Secondly, how did you study? I passed I and II on my first try but found out I failed 3 this morning. Not an ideal start to my day. I feel like I put in the hours but I can only assume my free response was not great.
Ah sorry to hear that man. I spend more time doing practice questions vs. reading the material. Just did a bunch of them and then did a bunch of practice tests (I think the week before the exam I was going 1 practice test a day....not fun but effective). Take a moment & recover yourself, you're near the finish line!
Congrats! Hopefully your firm covers your yearly dues.
Yessir, it was my firm that forced me to take this exam so thankfully they do cover the dues
Nice
Congratulations
What did you use to pass L3? Just the CFA material? Kaplan?
Both CFA material and Kaplan. Mostly relied on CFA material is Kaplan isn't as good at L3. Bought MM but didn't end up using it much
For L3, I used Kaplan and the CFA material and I got beneath the 10% percentile rank (I passed L1 and L2 on my first tries). Guess I just suck at L3.
Congrats. I know its a bitch. How much do you think you retained?
About 2% maybe. I know not to call myself a "CFA" and that I can't "guarantee superior returns." That's about it tbh
Congratulations ! I passed as well, am now networking to get a better understanding of asset management
Congrats
Thank you !
Congrats! Time for Level 4
I would but heard the pass rate is 0%
Congrats! I'm sure it feels great to be done. I'm listening to MM for L1 right now.
Thanks man, does feel awesome. Still don't feel like I've processed it haha
Best of luck, L1 I found was very easy. L2 really does require a lot of time and L3 there's almost a luck element to the essay portion. Regardless just hunker down for L1 and you can go from there
What's MM
Mark Meldrum, I liked his videos
What is MM
Mark Meldrum
I thought it’s multi manager
Congrats. Level 2 in 3 weeks myself, 340h in currently. Doing it strictly on CFA material, haven't used either of my prep exams yet. Should hit 400+ hours.
Going to start looking for an ER role after L2.
Best of luck man! So w/ L2 there was a TON of memorization but with practice you can certainly do it. L3 multiple choice I actually found to be easier than L2 but harder than L1, the Essay section is where they get you. But that's a ways off for you anyway, you got this! 400+hrs is WAAAAY more than you need so sounds like the foundation is really solid
Congrats dude!
What did you end up drinking?
Natty, what else? In all seriousness, a bunch of nice wine and sake. Can't go wrong
Congratulations. I know a lot of people on this forum say CFA's not worth it, blah blah blah, but I've actually found the events they put on are pretty well done and informative. Great for networking too. Enjoy and congratulations on the big achievement.
Thanks a bunch man, sounds like you've also completed it so good stuff. Yeah the tough thing w/ CFA is that the actual curriculum is largely useless (though they do have good events). Which is fine as there are other certifications like it but it is also slowly losing its value -- emphasis though on SLOWLY. In 30yrs it won't matter at all, in 20yrs it'll be somewhat useful but over the next 10-15yrs it's extremely useful in AM / SS ER / WM / IR / endowment & other allocation roles (or at very least it'll give you a leg up vs candidates that don't have it). So it's a tough spot in some ways to justify the time investment considering the above for a lot of folks. I myself only took it because my firm basically forced me to, though now it's nice to have it because it gives me better exit opps to other AMs or to some of the roles above
I did get the charter this year after the May exam. I don't work in ER or AM like you do, so I appreciate the take. It sounds like it's less of a gatekeeper than it was previously in the industry. BUT. I don't know if I necessarily agree that it's losing its value. Folks I have met are in the industry are very well aware of what it is and appreciate the rigor of the curriculum and the discipline it takes to get it. A very surprisingly high number who would not directly benefit from the charter tell me how they attempted a level or two once upon a time. And I work in real estate investment, which is the most paint-chip-eating segment of finance where it's arguably the least applicable.
The other hypothesis I have is that hiring standards are cyclical and that the lessened importance of the charter over the past five-ten years in hiring is just a function of the labor market. I wouldn't be surprised that if we return to an environment where we have more resumes competing for each job, hiring managers are going to start talking about the charter again. Who knows though. In any event, hope you enjoy the events and most importantly take advantage of having your life back mang
Congrats..I’m a bit late to the party here, I have one month left until I take level 3. Did you find lvl 3 easier than 2? I ask because the material seems easier for me but I also have 5 years experience in wealth management/portfolio management. Any tips on how to hit it home this last month? I’ve been just doing a crazy amount of questions.
Ah just saw this -- hope the test went well. I did find L3 to be easier than L2, but I'd say L3 has wider bands for success / failure due to the written portion
I just did a bunch of practice problems and probably did like 1 mock a day for the week preceding the exam (some I'd also taken before a few weeks prior to gauge progress)
I used to work with a guy who was a Navy SEAL and then he got his CFA charter after the military. Smart guy.
Qui voluptas ut pariatur architecto dolorem. Dicta et voluptas aut eveniet quae. Aliquid dolorem unde consequuntur ipsum esse animi laboriosam.
Recusandae accusamus sed voluptas ratione illum quae. Qui veniam eveniet quia placeat. A eius aut ab aut suscipit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Quia soluta et rerum ut pariatur nihil voluptatem. Architecto eum dolorem sapiente voluptatum illum. Et ullam magnam iure enim. Quia impedit quod sed porro voluptatibus dolorem.
Sed similique doloribus tenetur suscipit deleniti temporibus a. Ut porro debitis porro commodi. Qui eveniet maiores velit exercitationem autem quas et non. Cumque ab reprehenderit dolorem eius et eum natus nisi. Voluptatum ut facilis libero voluptatibus. Architecto molestiae quis veniam autem ab sed doloremque.
Vero officiis hic est in vitae cum ea. Cupiditate distinctio officiis dolores magnam.
Sed dolores quaerat rerum architecto eos in. Suscipit doloremque et provident non officiis sapiente nihil.