CFAI Books vs Schweser Dilemma material, required, studying

Zesty

Hi, I studied from Schweser for Levels 1 and 2 and was very comfortable with it.
While studying for level 3 from Schweser alone I am feeling a bit shaky. There is a feeling that I am missing out on fine points which can appear in the exam. Since the morning session is a written exam a deeper understanding may be required. I was reading the institutional investments material, I refered to the CFAI books and realized that there is much more to it. I can’t study from CFAI books now as there is not much time. Is there any one who is solely relying on Schweser with may be some selective reading from CFAI books. Which sections do you think I should definitely read from CFAI books.
Thanks a lot.

Windjam

Hey WG, I am also mainly using Schweser. I would say you hit the nail on the head with the Institutional section. Schweser is horrible with it so I would definitely use the CFAI as a primary resource for that section. However, I have been fairly pleased with Schweser when doing the CFAI EOC questions as a whole and it is the only way I can study b/c I don’t have the time to read all of CFAI b/c of work. The best way to approach it is to 1) do the Schweser reading, 2) do the Schweser questions, 3) do the CFAI EOC questions. If you aren’t too familiar with some parts of the CFAI questions, review it in the CFAI text. Trust me, the CFAI EOC questions are completely frustrating at times. I have thrown my pencil on occasion. However, it is important to be able to weed through their answers and find the main bullet points since you will not be writing paragraphs on the exam.
One section where the Schweser questions are pointless is SS15/R42. The text focuses entirely on the option strategies and formulas, but the end questions don’t ask about them at all. The CFAI questions only focus on the formulas, so that is much better and a clear indication of what will probably be tested. Another is SS15/R41/LOSB. There are some conflicts b/w terminology and order of calculations for synthetic stock, but not a big issue. Finally, SS13/R36 (AI). Schweser touches on a lot, but still misses some details on evaluating Hedge Fund performance. There will be components that Schweser misses in every section of the text b/c it is “study notes”. I am looking to get a 70% on the exam, so I am focusing on the major topics and finding some of the small sections that Schweser doesn’t cover, but not all. Worked on Level 2, hopefully it will work on this level.