Your Guide to the CFA Level III Private Wealth Pathway

Choosing a specialized pathway at Level III is a big decision in your CFA journey. Starting in 2025, CFA Institute moved from a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum to specialized pathways for Level III. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about the CFA Private Wealth Pathway with the hopes that it will help you decide if this specialization is a good fit for you.

Table of Contents

• Private Wealth Pathway Overview

• Pros and Cons of the Private Wealth Pathway

• Private Wealth Pathway Difficulty

• Career Impact of Private Wealth Pathway

• Study Guide for Private Wealth Pathway

What is the CFA Private Wealth Pathway?

The CFA Private Wealth Pathway is one of three distinct pathways CFA Level III candidates can select when registering to sit for the Level III exam. This pathway is a great choice for candidates who want to increase their knowledge and skills for serving High Net Worth clients. This pathway covers new areas of investment management and financial planning such as philanthropy, family management and the needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients, including star athletes.

Private Wealth Pathway Curriculum vs. Level III Curriculum

The Level III exam is split into two distinct sections. Every candidate studies the common core which represents 65 to 70 percent of the total exam weight. The remaining 30 to 35 percent of the exam is dedicated to your chosen pathway. This means your specialization choice affects about one third of the points you can earn on exam day. The common curriculum topics are:

• Asset allocation

• Portfolio construction

• Performance measurement

• Derivatives and risk management

• Ethics

However there is specialized content that candidates who decide to pursue the Private Wealth Pathway will need to learn and apply during their exam. This specialized content is broken down into a few different topic areas which are:

• The Private Wealth management industry

• Working with the wealthy

• Wealth planning

• Investment planning

• Preserving the wealth

• Advising the wealthy

• Transferring the wealth

Learning Outcomes for the Private Wealth Pathway

Level III candidates who choose the Private Wealth Pathway should focus on preparing for and mastering specific learning outcomes. Below are examples of what CFA Level III candidates should be able to demonstrate after choosing this pathway.

• Analyze the private wealth management industry, including typical business models, segment-based strategies, fee and compensation structures, professional support, and regulatory and compliance considerations.

• Describe the skills required for profiling, acquiring, advising, communicating with, and educating private clients, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals, while managing family and human dynamics related to wealth.

• Recommend appropriate approaches for developing and amending a long-term framework for joint family decision making.

• Formulate goals-based financial plans and recommend strategies to achieve an individual's goals.

• Recommend and justify methods to manage a family's financial exposures holistically across their lifetime and retirement.

• Evaluate how the principles of taxation and taxes influence goals-based and holistic financial plans, and recommend appropriate liquidity strategies.

• Recommend and justify portfolio allocations and investments for a private client, and discuss the tax efficiency of investment across various asset types and recommend tax management strategies.

• Discuss and recommend wealth management planning approaches for retirement from legal, taxation, and jurisdictional perspectives, and evaluate the success of an investment program based on portfolio reporting and review.

• Analyze the types of risks relevant to human capital and recommend strategies to manage them, as well as planning and investment strategies to mitigate the corrosive influence of inflation and exchange rate risk.

• Discuss and recommend private wealth management approaches that maximize the human capital, financial capital, and economic net worth of complex family situations, entrepreneurs, and professionals, including appropriate citizenship, nationality, and legal residency planning.

• Discuss and recommend appropriate wealth management planning approaches for transferring wealth during the lifetime of the giver (gifts), at death (bequests and inheritance), and for the preservation of wealth across multiple generations through charitable giving and philanthropy.

Ease Into CFA Level III Prep With a Free CFA Practice Question

Is the Private Wealth Pathway best for you?

The Private Wealth Pathway is the best choice for CFA candidates who already manage investments for High Net Worth clients or want to start specializing in this area of investment management. Although you must stick with your choice of which Specialized Pathway to pursue after registering for the Level III exam, there are ongoing discussions about allowing CFA charterholders to add additional specializations through continued education after becoming a CFA Institute member.    

Pros of Private Wealth Pathway

• This pathway is new for the CFA Program and provides deep knowledge of the complex dynamics of serving ultra-high-net-worth private clients and their associated family business interests.

• If you already work in wealth management, the scenario based structure of this pathway can be more natural than the technical requirements of the portfolio management track. This pathway can allow you to apply your daily professional experience directly to your exam preparation.

• This pathway explores the holistic wealth needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients. Areas covered include: investment management, family business interests, estate and succession planning, family governance, legal and residency issues, tax, family health, insurance, philanthropy and security.

Cons of Private Wealth Pathway

Below are some of the considerations if you decide to choose the Private Wealth Pathway:

• You may be less familiar with some of the topics in this pathway if you mainly work in valuation and security selection because it requires you to master human dynamics and tax-efficient planning rather than just asset analysis.

• Once you register for the Private Wealth Pathway, you cannot change it for that exam window.

• This is less established than the traditional Portfolio Management Pathway.

How Difficult is the Private Wealth Pathway?

The difficulty of the CFA Private Wealth Pathway, relative to other Specialized Pathways, is subjective and depends on your individual experience and knowledge. Because over half of the CFA Level III curriculum is shared across all Specialized Pathways, it's reasonable to consider them equally challenging. Ultimately, how difficult you find the Private Wealth Pathway will be determined by your unique background.

The difficulty of this pathway is also tied to the exam format. Level III includes constructed response questions where you must write out your answers. Instead of just picking a multiple choice option you must justify your recommendations for a specific family. An Equity Research Associate who is used to numerical data may find the subjective nature of these written answers more challenging than the math used in earlier levels.

What is the Career Impact of the CFA Private Wealth Pathway?

The impact on your career from choosing to pursue the Private Wealth Pathway at the Level III will be similar to the impact you’d receive by choosing a different Pathway. Your CFA designation won’t change based on your specialized pathway so amongst your co-workers, it may be obvious that you specialized in private wealth but to the general public you will be categorized as someone who passed all three CFA exams.

Now if you plan on applying to a new job or keep your LinkedIn Profile up to date, you can add a note in your resume or profile about how you specialized in Private Wealth but your CFA designation will not change. 

How Does Having a CFA Charter Benefit Private Wealth Managers?

Becoming a CFA Charterholder does benefit Private Wealth Managers even more than it used to with the introduction of this new specialized pathway specifically for Private Wealth Managers. By choosing the Private Wealth Pathway you will demonstrate your commitment to mastering the specific challenges that wealthy families face. 

The Private Wealth Pathway is a way for you to demonstrate an understanding of the unique, holistic, and complex needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients. High net worth clients often seek out CFA Charterholders because it signifies a standard of ethics and technical skill that is unmatched in the financial services industry.

CFA Level III Private Wealth 6-Month Study Plan

Below is a free study plan for CFA candidates who have decided to pursue the CFA Level III Private Wealth Pathway using Kaplan Schweser’s CFA Level III Ultimate Prep Package.

Essential Study Materials for Private Wealth Pathway

Below are some free and paid study materials for CFA Level III candidates who decide to specialize in the Private Wealth Pathway. 

Free CFA Level III Study Tools

There are many free CFA Level III study materials that candidates can explore to get introduced to specific content topics or refresh their memory. Some options include free practice questions, product samples, and informational videos.

CFA Level III Study Packages

To fully master the technical requirements of the CFA Level III exam, it may be wise to consider a CFA prep package. CFA Level III study packages provide the structure to navigate the latest CFA curriculum, including in-depth coverage of private equity strategies across the company life cycle. These paid resources are essential for learning how to estimate key inputs for venture capital and buyout situations or analyzing complex financial ratios used in private debt investments. 

CFA Level III Exam Quiz

Answer these five questions to test your readiness for the Level III Exam

Written by Kaplan Schweser experts, reviewed by David McMeekin, CFA, FRM, ERP, SCR, RAI, PRM, CAIA. David is a Director of Product management at Kaplan Schweser and an experienced CFA and FRM Instructor, and content creator. David gained his CFA Charter in 2003, the FRM in 2004, and has been teaching/designing prep materials for both programs ever since.