CFA Level III Gold Course - 2023

Darren: How’s it going? My name is Darren Degraaf, and I’d like to welcome you to Wiley Efficient Learning. And today I am here to discuss and talk to you about the virtual classroom. Before we do, I just want to do a brief introduction here about what we’re trying to do and how we differentiate ourselves.

Well, what we try and do is to make our lectures as engaging and entertaining as possible while still helping you guys master the material. We motivate you, especially during the virtual classroom.

I’m going to train you personally at Level 1. And also, our Level 2 instructor, and Level 3, we’re going to motivate you guys all the way through the program. Now, I happen to be one of the virtual classroom instructors, so I look forward to seeing you guys in the classroom. What I want to do right now is set the table or manage the expectations upfront.

Darren: So, what I want you guys to do is before you come into my class, I want to make sure that you guys have read the study guide and or watched the prerecorded lectures. Now, why is that? Because I need you guys to make a commitment to me.

And what that is, is I need you guys to put in 300 to 400 hours. That’s what successful students are saying these days that they need to do in order to pass the exam. My commitment to you is to take this energy, which I hope is coming through here in the classroom, and to keep it very engaging, focused on the core material.

So, what do I mean by core material? Well, the core material could be any concept, any LOS that is seen in multiple LOS’s. It’s seen in multiple study sessions and potentially even at multiple levels. So, an example of a core concept could be Time Value of Money.

In quantitative methods, we learn how to calculate this required return or discount rate. And then later on in equity analysis, we use that to value stocks. In fixed income, we use it to value bonds. In alternative investments, we even use it to value real estate. A good example of a trivial concept would be something like Chebyshev’s inequality.

You see it only in one lesson in the entire program, and that’s in quantitative methods. I’m not saying you guys will not see Chebyshev’s inequality on the exam. I need to be clear about that. But I’m just saying that you’re less likely to see it.

So, we have a fantastic group of instructors and subject matter experts here at Wiley. When you read the study guide or when you watch the prerecorded lectures, you’re going to see a lot of time and effort has been put into those to help you guys pass the exam.

All of the details are there. All of the Learning Outcome Statements are going to be covered. They’re going to be addressed, all the nitty-gritty details. We’ll link all of these ideas together to help you guys stay focused on the fundamental concepts. And after attending my virtual class, you’re going to practice.

So, we have a lot of practice questions. We have mock exams. We have the Wiley 11th hour. What you guys can do is using all of these products we’re going to support you and we’re going to work together to cross the finish line.

So, on behalf of the entire subject matter expert team and the team of virtual classroom instructors, I look forward to seeing you in one of our classes.