FAQS

As a student myself, I understand how frustrating it can be to spend countless hours studying, only to feel like it was all for nothing. Without proper planning, it’s easy to forget what we’ve learned over time, especially because the curriculum is so vast and the information keeps piling up. After creating these tools, which helped me pass the L3 exam after failing due to a poor review strategy, I was able to better organize my study time, which allowed me to make significant progress compared to my old method. Previously, I would just study everything—summarizing, doing all the exercises, reading, and repeating the cycle—only to realize later, and closer to the exam, that I couldn’t remember half of it, while stress was building up.

These resources are designed to determine the optimum days for reviews based on the number of times a topic has been reviewed, the date of the last study session, and the review frequency path the student wants to follow. This approach makes study sessions more strategic and effective. Additionally, a traffic light system helps students easily prioritize what to review first, reducing the time spent deciding whether to study something new or revisit older material.

They also offer flexibility with customizable study paths to suit individual needs. Students can adjust these paths for different sections, such as Study Notes, Formulas, Examples, and the Question Bank. A time tracker monitors how much time is dedicated to each topic, while a dashboard—featuring confidence level indicators, stats, and charts—gives students a clear overview of their progress, helping them stay organized and make adjustments as needed.

Overall, these features will help you focus on your weaknesses by identifying, prioritizing, reviewing, and tracking them, ensuring a more efficient and focused study plan.

A minimum of 300 hours of study is recommended to pass the exam, but the key factor is how you invest those hours. For example, if you study something, forget half of it, then repeat it and forget part of it again, and so on, you’re wasting time. You might put in a lot of hours and sacrifice, but you’re not focusing your energy and retention in the right way.

Tracking your progress and focusing on areas that need attention is vital. Analyzing your study sessions helps optimize your time, ensuring that every hour is spent wisely. This is where my Excel study tool can help, as it allows you to revisit the material at the right intervals, based on your preferences, to maximize retention. It also incorporates a built-in timer to track where you’ve dedicated your study hours and your confidence level in each study session.

While the CFA official materials are essential, creating your own summaries can help reinforce what you’ve learned. If you haven’t done that, my summaries are a great supplement to the official notes, helping you focus on the key points.
I recommend investing more than the minimum 300 hours. It’s better to overprepare and feel confident than to fall short, struggle during the exam, and have to retake it. Consistency is crucial: study daily, review regularly, and practice a lot. This is a long race, and you’ll need to put in many hours and build momentum!

Yes, this tool, along with others I will develop, will be updated over time. The goal is to remain responsive to students’ needs and feedback, continually improving to provide the best possible resources for their studies. And not a penny extra, if new versions are released within the same year, they will be offered to users for free. For example, if there are three updates in 2025, those three updates will be provided at no additional cost.

All registered users, as they are in the database, will be notified whenever an update is available, ensuring they are always able to access the latest improvements.

As for adapting the tools to other fields of study, it is something we can definitely explore. While the tools are currently designed for CFA studies, adapting them to other areas would involve some adjustments, but it is certainly feasible.

For now, I provide Excel tools for study management for L1, L2, and L3. After that, I’ll be releasing materials specifically for the CFA L3 Portfolio Management pathway, including formulas and study summaries for the most crucial parts of each topic. If all goes well, I plan to expand from there. 

While I believe the original CFA materials are the best resource for a comprehensive understanding, their vast volume can sometimes make it difficult to focus on what’s most important, which can feel overwhelming. This is where I believe my study summaries can add value, especially as the exam approaches and time becomes more limited. My summary resources focus on the core content I consider most essential, helping you stay focused on what’s vital while reinforcing your knowledge alongside the CFA materials.

Yes, I shared my CFA experience in detail on Reddit in a thread I created, where I discussed my journey, challenges, and key lessons learned. You can access the thread here: Passing Level 3 CFA Exam: Lessons Learned. Although this thread is focused on Level 3, everything I discuss is also applicable to Levels 1 and 2. The strategies, tips, and approaches I share can help at any stage of the CFA exams.

The essay portion of the CFA Level 3 exam can be quite challenging, but with the right approach, it’s manageable. Here are some tips that helped me succeed: CFA Level 3 Essay Preparation Tips for Improving Performance. I am sharing these tips because, when I was studying, I would’ve loved if someone had shared this info with me. And so, I thought that developing a detailed thread could be helpful for the CFA student community.

You can contact me at prepnex.eu@gmail.com to set up tutoring lessons. The classes will preferably be live via Skype, but I am open to other systems. Ideally, I would need some notice in advance to prepare the materials and ensure the class is as useful as possible. Classes should be scheduled within European hours, from 8 AM to 10 PM CET, with some exceptions if needed.

The tutoring will mainly focus on the L3 Portfolio Management pathway, but I can also cover certain areas for L2 and L1 as needed. Just send me an email, and we can discuss how I can help 🙂

Please note that the classes will not be recorded, but screenshots can be taken, and students are encouraged to take notes during the session.

For other locations, the class times would be as follows:

• USA (Eastern Time – EST) & Canada (Eastern Time – EST): 2 AM to 4 PM
• USA (Pacific Time – PST) & Canada (Pacific Time – PST): 11 PM to 1 PM
• UK (GMT): 7 AM to 9 PM
• Australia (AEDT): 6 PM to 8 AM

If you spot any mistakes in my materials, please email me with details about the error and where it’s found. Mistakes can happen. Even CFA materials have errata sheets, which you can access here: https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/candidate-resources/submit-errata. Your feedback helps me improve the quality of my resources, and I’d really appreciate it if you let me know so I can fix any issues quickly.
Also, if you think the website could be improved in terms of functionality or design, feel free to share your ideas so I can make it better and improve your experience.

I’m working towards becoming a CFA Institute-approved prep provider. I’ve already developed a substantial portion of my own materials for CFA Level 3, and once I meet the experience requirement, I would like to officially join the CFA Institute Prep Provider Program. Helping others with their prep is something that motivates me to continue, and I’m very open to any feedback as I’m always eager to improve!