Overview
Each CFA level tests the same broad body of investment knowledge in a different way. Level I checks recall and basic application through standalone multiple-choice questions. Level II uses vignette-based item sets, where a case of a page or more supports several questions and much of the difficulty lies in finding the relevant facts and doing multistep calculations quickly. Level III combines vignette-supported essay (constructed response) questions with item sets and asks you to recommend and justify portfolio decisions.
Candidates rarely struggle because of one hard topic alone. More often, a heavy topic such as Financial Statement Analysis or Fixed Income falls behind schedule, Ethics is left until the final weeks, and mock exams arrive too late to change anything. We start with your exam window, your available hours and a diagnostic of where you stand, then build a plan that front-loads high-weight and cumulative topics and leaves room for two or more timed mocks.
We work alongside the CFA Institute curriculum, its practice questions and official mocks rather than replacing them. Our job is to explain difficult readings in plain language, show efficient calculator workflows, help you recognize what a question is really asking, and review your mock results so the final weeks go to the areas where marks are most recoverable.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Level I candidates from non-finance degrees who need foundations in accounting, statistics or fixed income
- Level II candidates who understand the readings but run out of time on vignette item sets
- Level III candidates preparing constructed-response answers and choosing between the three pathways
- Retakers who received a fail result and want to use the score report to rebuild a plan
- University students in finance programs planning to register during or soon after their degree
Common problems we help with
- Financial Statement Analysis and Fixed Income are taking far longer than planned
- You understand topics when reading but lose marks under time pressure in the question bank
- Level II vignettes feel long and you are unsure which paragraph holds the key figure
- Level III answers in practice lose points for missing justifications or the wrong format
- Ethics questions seem to have two reasonable answers
- You are unsure how the Practical Skills Module requirement fits into your study schedule
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Study plan from your registration date to exam day, weighted by topic weights published for your level
- Level I coaching across all ten topic areas, from Quantitative Methods and Economics to Derivatives and Portfolio Construction
- Level II item-set technique: reading the vignette, locating data and chaining multistep valuation calculations
- Level III constructed-response practice with feedback on structure, justification and use of the command word
- Level III pathway discussion: Portfolio Management, Private Markets or Private Wealth, in relation to your role and goals
- Ethical and Professional Standards casework using the Code, Standards and GIPS concepts as tested
- Financial calculator workflows for time value of money, cash-flow analysis, bond pricing and statistics
- Mock exam review question by question, with a revised plan for the remaining weeks
- Planning time for the required Practical Skills Module so it does not collide with final revision
Not included
- Sitting any exam, practice assessment or Practical Skills Module on your behalf
- Sharing, requesting or discussing live exam questions, which the CFA Institute candidate agreement prohibits
- Replacing the official curriculum; we explain and practice it, but your registration materials remain the core source
- Promising a pass result or a particular score band
What you receive
- Level-specific study plan
- A week-by-week schedule mapping readings, question practice and mocks to your exam window and available hours, with checkpoints for adjustment.
- Diagnostic and topic heat map
- A summary of accuracy by topic from your question-bank history or an early mock, showing where time is most likely to lift your result.
- Coaching sessions
- One-to-one sessions on the readings and question types you choose or that the diagnostic identifies, with worked examples you can revisit.
- Formula and concept sheets
- Condensed notes built from the formulas and ideas you actually missed, not a generic formula list.
- Written answer feedback (Level III)
- Comments on your practice constructed responses: whether the answer addresses the command word, includes a justification and uses the expected format.
- Mock debrief
- Review of each timed mock, split into knowledge gaps, misreads and time losses, with the next plan revision.
How it works
Intake
You share your level, exam window, work pattern and any previous results. Retakers send their score report so we can see topic-level performance.
Diagnostic
We review question-bank data or set a short timed diagnostic to find weak topics and pacing issues.
Plan
We agree a weekly schedule, session frequency and mock dates, leaving a final revision block of several weeks.
Coach and practice
Sessions work through difficult readings and timed question sets, with calculator practice and short topic reviews.
Mocks and final weeks
You sit official or curriculum-based mocks under exam conditions; we debrief each one and redirect the remaining time.
How we prepare CFA candidates
- Weight-first planning
- Topic weights published for each level decide how much time each area deserves; cumulative topics such as FSA are scheduled early so later readings build on them.
- Vignette reading routine
- For Level II and III item sets, reading the questions first, then scanning the case for the exact data needed, to reduce rereading.
- Command-word drills
- For Level III constructed responses, practicing what 'calculate', 'justify', 'recommend' and 'determine' each require so answers earn the available points without padding.
- Calculator fluency
- Timed drills on the approved financial calculator for TVM, NPV and IRR, bond yields and descriptive statistics, so arithmetic stops eating minutes.
- Ethics case method
- Identifying the relevant Standard, the specific action in question and whether it breaches the Standard, the approach that separates similar-looking answer choices.
- Error log
- Every missed practice question is tagged as concept, misread or time; the pattern shapes the next week of study.
How the three levels differ
According to the CFA Institute exam pages, each level is about 4.5 hours of testing split into two sessions (135-minute sessions at Level I and 132-minute sessions at Levels II and III), delivered as computer-based exams. Results are reported as pass or fail. Exam windows, session details and topic weights are updated periodically, so we always check the current CFA Institute pages for your level before building a plan.
- Level I: standalone multiple-choice questions across ten topics, from Ethical and Professional Standards to Portfolio Construction
- Level II: vignette-supported multiple-choice item sets, with heavier emphasis on valuation and analysis
- Level III: vignette-supported essay and multiple-choice questions on asset allocation, portfolio construction, performance measurement, derivatives and risk management, ethics, and a pathway
- Practical Skills Modules: CFA Institute states that at least one module must be completed at each level before your result is released
Choosing a Level III pathway
Level III candidates now choose one of three pathways: Portfolio Management, Private Markets or Private Wealth. The core of the exam is shared, and the pathway content adds a specialized portion. We talk through how each pathway relates to your current role, your interests and the readings you find most natural, but the choice and the registration are yours, and pathway rules should be confirmed on the CFA Institute site at the time you register.
After a fail result
A fail result at Levels I and II comes with a score report showing performance by topic relative to other candidates. We use that report to separate topics that need rebuilding from topics that need only practice, and we look honestly at whether time, technique or content was the main issue before recommending a plan for the next window.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Sample plan revision: Level II candidate after a first mock
An invented Level II candidate working in corporate banking took a timed mock twelve weeks before the exam. Names and figures are fictional and for illustration only.
What the mock showed
Strong results in Corporate Issuers and Economics, weak results in Fixed Income and Derivatives, and five item sets left partly unanswered because of time spent rereading vignettes.
Plan changes
Two extra weeks for term structure, binomial trees and swap valuation; daily twenty-minute timed item sets using the questions-first reading routine; calculator drills for bond pricing.
Next checkpoint
A second mock at week seven to confirm whether pacing has improved before moving into full revision of Ethics and Equity valuation.
Illustrative example only. The candidate and results are invented, and no result is promised; real plans depend on your own diagnostic and time.
What you’ll need to provide
- Your CFA level, exam window and registration status
- Access to your own curriculum readings and practice results, or exports and screenshots of them
- Previous score reports if you are retaking
- Realistic weekly study hours and blackout weeks for work or travel
- For Level III, your pathway choice or the options you are considering
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Your level and the number of topics you want covered
- Session frequency and the number of weeks until your exam window
- Amount of written feedback on Level III constructed responses
- Whether you need foundational accounting, statistics or economics review first
Turnaround depends on
- Weeks remaining before your exam window and whether registration is already complete
- Hours per week you can study alongside work
- Time needed to schedule mocks with debrief sessions before the final revision block
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Do you provide your own CFA curriculum or notes?
We work from the official CFA Institute curriculum you receive at registration and create targeted notes and examples from the areas you find difficult. If you already use a third-party provider's notes or question bank, we can work with those alongside the curriculum.
Can you tell me what was on a recent exam?
No. Candidates agree not to disclose exam content, and we do not request or use it. We prepare you through the curriculum, official practice material and original examples that reflect the published question formats.
How many hours should I plan per level?
CFA Institute suggests several hundred hours per level, and most candidates need more at Level II. We turn your real weekly availability into a plan and tell you plainly if the exam window you picked looks too tight.
Can you help only with Ethics or one topic?
Yes. Focused coaching on a single topic area, such as Ethics, FSA or Fixed Income, is common, especially in the final months.
Do you help with the Practical Skills Modules?
We help you plan time for the required module and can explain background concepts it draws on, but you complete the module yourself.
I failed Level I with a result close to the pass line. What now?
Send your score report. We look at topic performance, your study log and how your mocks went, then suggest whether to keep your methods and extend practice or change your approach to specific topics.