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CFA® Program Level III exam

Key information about the CFA Program Level III exam, including structure, topic outlines, and exam tips.
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Integrate and apply

Tests how you integrate concepts and apply knowledge to real-world scenarios.

Mixed format questions

11 item sets and 11 essay sets. Both question types combine vignettes with accompanying multiple-choice items.

Two 132-minute sessions

Made up of either 6 item sets and 5 essay sets or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets.

Level III specialized pathways

Choose one of three specialized pathways – Private Wealth, Private Markets, or Portfolio Management. Candidates will have the opportunity to select the path most directly related to their interests and aspirations. 

Learn about specialized pathways

How long does it take to study for the Level III exam?

The CFA® Program enables candidates to customize their preparation to match their individual needs and circumstances. Successful candidates report studying on average over 300 hours for each level of the CFA Exam. 

Level III curriculum topics and weights

The curriculum is organized into topics, and each topic contains learning modules. There are learning outcome statements at the beginning of each learning module. Below you'll find current outlines.

    Topic weights

    Topic

    Exam weight

    Asset Allocation

    15–20%

    Portfolio Construction

    15–20%

    Performance Measurement

    5–10%

    Derivatives and Risk Management

    10–15%

    Ethical and Professional Standards

    10–15%

    Pathways (Portfolio Management or Private Markets or Private Wealth)

    30–35%
    2025 Level III topic outlines combined
    Core curriculum topics
      Alternative Investments

      This topic defines and explores alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure. You’ll learn about the characteristics they have in common and the use of alternative investments for diversification and higher returns. 

      Corporate Issuers

      In this topic, you’ll be introduced to corporate governance as well as investing and financing decisions. Gain an overview of corporate governance along with a framework for understanding and analyzing corporate governance and stakeholder management. This topic also highlights the growing impact of environmental and social considerations in investing. We cover how companies make use of leverage and manage their working capital to meet short-term operational needs. 

      Derivatives

      In this part of the curriculum, you’ll build the conceptual framework for understanding the basic derivatives and derivative markets. You’ll then be introduced to essential features and valuation concepts for forward commitments such as forwards, futures, swaps, and contingent claims. Finally, you’ll look at arbitrage, a critical concept that links derivative pricing to the price of the underlying asset.

      Economics

      Learn about the analysis of fundamental concepts of supply and demand for individual consumers and firms. This topic also covers the various market structures that firms operate in as well as macroeconomic concepts and principles, including aggregate output and income measurement, aggregate demand and supply analysis, and analysis of economic growth factors. This section of the curriculum concludes with coverage of the business cycle and its effect on economic activity. 

      Equity Investments

      Here, you’ll explore the characteristics of equity investments, security markets, and indexes and explain how to analyze industries, companies, and equity securities. You’ll also learn about the use of basic equity valuation models and global equities, which are important for meeting longer-term growth and diversification objectives.

      Ethical and Professional Standards

      The focus of this topic is ethics, related challenges to ethical behavior, and the role ethics and professionalism play in the investment industry. We’ll provide you with a framework to support ethical decision-making and examine CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct and Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). 

      Financial Statement Analysis

      Receive a thorough explanation of financial reporting procedures and the standards that govern financial reporting disclosures, with an emphasis on basic financial statements and how alternative accounting methods affect those statements and the analysis of them. You’ll also examine primary financial statements and be provided with a general framework for conducting financial statement analysis.

      Fixed Income

      In this topic, you’ll learn how to describe fixed income securities and their markets, yield measures, risk factors, and valuation measurements and drivers. We’ll also cover calculating yields, values of fixed income securities, the securitization of assets, the fundamentals of bond returns and risks, and basic principles of credit analysis.

      Quantitative Methods

      In this topic, you’ll explore quantitative concepts and techniques used in financial analysis and investment decision-making. We present descriptive statistics for conveying important data attributes, such as central tendency, location, and dispersion, and introduce characteristics of return distributions. This part of the curriculum also considers probability theory and its application in quantifying risk for investment decision-making. 

      Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning

      In this topic, we explain the fundamentals of portfolio and risk management, including return and risk measurement and portfolio planning and construction. We examine the needs of individual and institutional investors along with the range of available investment solutions. The capital asset pricing model is used to identify optimal risk in portfolios.

      Curriculum errata

      Find the latest updates and corrections to the curriculum. You can also submit suspected errors for review to ensure the most accurate and up-to-date content.

      See curriculum errata

      Level III exam format

        Exam structure

        The Level III exam consists of item sets and constructed response (essay) sets. Both question types combine vignettes with accompanying multiple-choice items for item sets and constructed response items for essay sets.

        All questions must be answered based on the information in the vignette. Hence, the items are not free-standing, as in the CFA Level I exam. You'll need to refer to the vignette before answering each item.

        Each session will have either 6 item sets and 5 essay sets or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets. This mixed distribution of item types across the two exam sessions creates a more balanced delivery of questions throughout the exam. Overall, the Level III exam contains 11 item sets and 11 essay sets for 12 points each. Twenty of these question sets are scored, and two (one item set and one essay set) are being trialed and will not be scored.

        The CFA Program curriculum topic areas for Level III will be randomly placed on the exam. All topics may be covered in either the first or second sessions, and possibly both sessions. Each vignette will begin with a statement of the topic and the total point value, which is always 12 points.

        EXAMPLE

        TOPIC: ASSET ALLOCATION
        TOTAL POINT VALUE OF THIS QUESTION SET IS 12 POINTS

        Exam duration

        The Level III exam will be 4 hours and 24 minutes, split into two equal sessions of 2 hours and 12 minutes, with an optional break in-between.

        Constructed response (essay) format

        Essay questions:

        • In the question stem, command words used will be bolded.
        • A text box is available for the response.
        • If more than one answer is requested, (for example, “Explain, with two reasons…”), the following note is included: “Note: Each explanation should be in a separate paragraph”.
          Bullet points are acceptable, as well. An important message to note – when asked to provide more than one response, the responses will be evaluated up to the number requested, and in the order presented by the candidate. Anything more than the number requested will not be evaluated.

        Calculation responses in essay questions:

        • An essay text box will accept typed words and numbers. Note that a correct numerical value typed in the essay box by itself receives full credit – formulas and explanations are not required to earn full credit. However, if a candidate chooses to describe steps used in the calculation or show values using either a math editor function or typing out variables in an equation, they may be able to earn partial credit.
        • A multiple-choice question format may occasionally be used in the essay portion of the exam and it is possible that there may be more or less than 3 answer choices. (See examples 1 and 2 below).
        Important information about essay question structure

        Each essay set will have a variable number of items, with each item worth a variable number of points. Points per item are not disclosed. 

        There may be multiple questions within one essay item. It is important to understand how many answers a candidate is expected to provide. Three examples are presented:

        EXAMPLE 1

        Determine which bond best meets the advisor’s objective.

        (Bond X, Bond Y, Bond Z)

        Justify your response.

        For this question, a candidate is expected to type two answers in the response box: the name of the bond that best meets the objective, and a reason why it best meets the objective.

        EXAMPLE 2

        Determine, based on the client’s IPS, the most appropriate index to use as a benchmark.

        (Index 1, Index 2, Index 3)

        Explain why each of the other two indices is less appropriate.

        Note: Each explanation should be in a separate paragraph.

        For this question, a candidate is expected to type three answers in the response box: the name of the index that is most appropriate, and reasons why each of the two not selected is less appropriate. 

        EXAMPLE 3

        Discuss one weakness in the risk management process for each of the following:

        i. Company A
        ii. Company B

        Note: Each discussion should be in a separate paragraph.

        For this question, a candidate is expected to type two answers in the response box: a discussion of the weakness for Company A and a separate discussion of the weakness for Company B.

        Item set format

        Each item set on the Level III exam consists of a vignette followed by 4 multiple-choice questions. The 44 multiple choice items are each worth 3 points.

        Item set vignettes will begin with a statement of the topic and total point value, for example:

        TOPIC: PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION
        TOTAL POINT VALUE OF THIS QUESTION SET IS 12 POINTS

        Examples of level III item set questions (PDF)

        Level III exam tips

        Here are some practical tips to help you perform your best on the CFA Level III exam.

        • No penalty for guessing: There is no penalty for incorrect answers, so be sure to answer every question
        • Know your calculator: Make sure you know how to use the calculator features needed to solve the formulas and examples shown in the curriculum. Familiarity with your calculator will save valuable time during the exam
        • Dress for comfort: There’s no official dress code, but dressing in layers will allow you to adjust to the room temperature and remain comfortable during the exam
        • Exam hardware and software: Make sure you’re aware of how hardware and software at test centers might affect your experience
        • Practice, practice, practice: Take a mock exam in the Learning Ecosystem to practice answering exam questions
        • Proctor assistance: During the normal course of the exam, candidates may find they need assistance from proctors. Proctors will come to workstations as quickly as possible to assist. If able, we encourage candidates to continue working on their exam until a proctor has assisted. Our exam writers have designed the exam to account for minor disruptions or pauses in order for candidates to still have adequate time to respond to all questions

        Practical Skills Modules (PSM) requirement

        In addition to completing the exam, you must complete one PSM at each level in order to receive your exam result (beginning February 2025 for Level III candidates). The same module cannot be completed at multiple levels. For example, if you complete the Python Programming Fundamentals module at Level I, you must complete a different module (Python, Data Science & AI or Analyst Skills) to meet the PSM requirement at Level II. Learn more about PSM's and see the PSM Policy for more details.

        How practice analysis keeps the CFA exam relevant

        The CFA Program curriculum and exams are shaped by our practice analysis process, which gathers insights from top industry professionals to ensure that the content reflects current investment practices. This process directly influences the Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK), which outlines the essential competencies for success in the investment profession.

        Explore the CFA® Program

        Whether you’re considering the CFA Program or already registered as a candidate, we have information and resources to help you navigate the next step.

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