An independent, unofficial guide to the CFA Level III exam — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by CFA Institute.
AA3CME3PMIPS3PWM3IPM3 DRM3BF3FI3EQ3ETH3
| Topic | Weight | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| AA3 — Asset Allocation | 10–15% | Asset-only vs. liability-relative allocation, goals-based investing, human capital. |
| CME3 — Capital Market Expectations | 5–10% | Building-block yields, Grinold-Kroner, business-cycle vs. secular views. |
| PMIPS3 — Portfolio Management and IPS | 10–15% | The IPS process, risk capacity vs. willingness, the portfolio management process. |
| PWM3 — Private Wealth Management | 5–10% | Concentrated positions, tax-loss harvesting, estate planning, framing effects. |
| IPM3 — Institutional Portfolio Management | 5–10% | Pensions, endowments, insurers, sovereign funds, LDI, vintage-year diversification. |
| DRM3 — Derivatives and Risk Management | 5–10% | Collars, duration overlays with swaps/futures, straddles, VaR. |
| BF3 — Behavioral Finance | 5–10% | Cognitive vs. emotional biases, disposition effect, anchoring, choice architecture. |
| FI3 — Fixed Income Portfolio Management | 5–10% | Immunization, cash flow matching, contingent immunization, LDI. |
| EQ3 — Equity Portfolio Management | 5–10% | Passive vs. active, completeness funds, market-neutral construction, portable alpha. |
| ETH3 — Ethics, GIPS & ESG | 10–15% | Suitability, conflict disclosure, fiduciary duty, GIPS composites, ESG integration. |
The real Level III exam mixes item-set multiple-choice questions (3 options each) with constructed-response essay questions across two 2h12m sessions, organized around core topics plus a chosen applied pathway. This portal instead offers a focused, timed testlet per topic — pick one topic and work through every original multiple-choice question currently live for it (30 per topic, 4-option format), against a rough pacing clock (~1.5 min/question). Treat this as topic-by-topic MCQ drilling, not a full-length two-session replica and not a substitute for essay practice.
CFA Institute does not publish numeric scores or the Minimum Passing Score (MPS) in advance — Level III is graded strictly pass/fail against an MPS set each cycle by a standard-setting panel, and that MPS is not a fixed percentage. The accuracy percentage shown after a mock testlet here is compared against an illustrative 65% self-check line only, not any official or predictive pass mark.