My L3 books arrived this week, so I thought I would ease my way back into studying.
I started with ethics and now on to behavioural finance.
Maybe, it is because I am out of practice of studying, but I am finding it tough going.
Behavioural finance was a topic I was looking forward to, maybe it’s me, or not very well written? I feel this L3 could be a real slog, are there any LOS or subject matters to look forward to?
Cheers.
it only gets worse. The only quant related LOS’s are in Derivatives
Tks, your username says it all.
I was genuinely hoping things would get a little more interesting.
Same here too mate! Totally stuck, the topics put me to sleep especially behavioural finance 
The behavioral finance readings in particular came in under expectations. I found them verbose, yet superficial. I started there and they put me to sleep for weeks trying to get through it. I expected that part to be interesting, which I didn’t expect from GIPS reporting for private equity firms, for example.
I also came to dread the writings of H. Gifford Fong.
I had to slog through the Level III readings, but to be fair they do teach the basics on how to manage a portfolio or even an asset management company: managing client expectations, portfolio risk, foreign market investments, the right way to report results, etc.
Building a hedge fund is something I actually want to do, so I found the Level III useful if tedious.
Hey, soraj and perdition. I am also gonaa start my level 3 studies in a day or two. Hope we can encourage and help each other along this journey and get this thing done and over with. btw are you guys using cfa books or schweser.
why not start with the most interesting parts first? get your momentum going. You don’t have to go in the order the chapters are printed.
Tks DD, as I asked “does it get any better?”
I have not read through the curriculum yet, so I don’t know which are the interesting parts !
it depends on you. i found the financial parts more interesting, i think it was the capital markets part. try that.
It picks up and gets a lot more interesting. Behavioral is a real drag, but you’ll get into some other material that is really cool. Derivatives is nowhere near as hard as it was in Level II.
Tks guys, good to hear it picks up a little.
I only intend to use CFA readings and mocks for L3.
Wait till you get to GIPS! That will just crush all your motivation in life.
+100%. And because it is the last in line - you should swallow GIPS being screwed up by the first 17 sessions.
I too just began my studies and have been experiencing the same lack of motivation or slog through the Behavorial finance book. Keep in mind you probably just took four months off of studing and getting back into it will be difficult. At least that is what I experienced after level I as I tried to get into level 2. I am trying to cruise through the books and then do it again through the Schweser notes just to reinforce the important information. I find the CFAI material overly verbose as many has stated before so I am hoping Schweser can save me once again after a good read through of the CFAI books. Good luck and lets get through this last step
I’m not having trouble getting into the swing of studying but I am having trouble getting my brain geared back up for more CFA style critical thinking. After the level 2 test this year I went straight into studying for the Series 53 for work. The 53 was easily passed in two weeks. Then in late August I got sponsored for the Series 4. After dumbing it down in my study habits I passed it too in 2-3 weeks.
Now when I open the CFA books I don’t know what’s important and what’s not. Complete turnaround from FINRA exam studying back to CFA style studying. People at my job don’t understand since they all think the series exams are “super hard.”
My plan is to go through the schweser notes first, then CFAI EOC’s, then Mock exams. Seems to work so far for me.
As a response to my original post, for those just starting their L3 studies, thankfully it did get a little better!
Behavioural finance did pick up, I do feel the material could have been covered in 1/2 the number of words?
Moving on to IPS and the subject matter is now far more interesting.
Sure Rain01… Haa its going to be a long journey… I am planning to start full throttle from Oct 20th… As the experienced people have said, I think I am also going to start with something interesting and keep GIPS/BFinance on hold
I use Finquiz notes and CFAI text…
As you progress through the material, the readings build around a central theme – developing portfolios for various clients. It branches off in places and gets naturally sidetracked. Vols 2 and 3 are more about this idea, and can be quite interesting in places. Then, vols 4 and 5 are more Level 2-ish with just a whole smattering of ideas, some of which you’ll wonder WTF. Vol. 6 is really kind of a wierd potpori of shit, (although you’ll need some time and energy to get through Performance Attribution). Then the finally parting shot of CFA is the lovely GIPS reading. Then you’re done!