CFA Level III Private Wealth Exam Blueprint: 2027 Scope
Map the 2027 common core and Private Wealth pathway to calculation, client-planning and fiduciary decision tasks.
Official scope and format
Checked 20 October 2026 against CFA Institute’s 2027 Private Wealth pathway outline and Level III exam page . Use your registered curriculum year and current errata.
| Official topic | Published weight range | Case-review checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Allocation | 15–20% | Interpret forecasts, constraints, liquidity and strategic versus tactical decisions. |
| Portfolio Construction | 15–20% | Compare portfolios, implementation choices, trading costs and investor requirements. |
| Performance Measurement | 5–10% | Distinguish return, attribution, appraisal and reporting evidence. |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 10–15% | Calculate payoffs and hedge exposures with consistent dates and currency quotes. |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10–15% | Apply the relevant duty to the actual client, information and authority. |
| Private Wealth pathway | 30–35% | Integrate household goals, tax, protection, investment and transfer decisions. |
These are official ranges, not a promise about any particular practice set. Our topic allocations use editorial midpoint planning and rounded case selections.
The official exam has 11 item sets and 11 constructed-response sets across two 132-minute sessions. Each session includes both formats. Two sets, one of each type, are unscored trials. Finance Prep’s item-set offering and its 11-case public exercise contain multiple-choice questions only; their 132-minute practice timing is editorial, not an official single-format session.
Private Wealth coverage map
| Planning area | Evidence to extract | Decision to demonstrate |
|---|---|---|
| Industry and adviser models | Client segment, actual service mandate, fees and conflicts. | Select a workable provider rather than assuming one model is always superior. |
| Discovery and family dynamics | Owner-specific resources, ranked goals and decision rights. | Resolve missing information and competing priorities before allocating assets. |
| Lifetime planning | Earning power, pensions, essential spending and risk protection. | Reconcile funding capacity and event-specific shortfalls. |
| Tax and jurisdiction | Basis, rates, residence, credits, account restrictions and dates. | Calculate the stated after-tax consequence and sequence implementation. |
| Investment planning | Concentration, currency, liquidity and investment constraints. | Select a feasible portfolio or staged diversification response. |
| Wealth preservation | Inflation, insurance, liability and international exposures. | Match the protection instrument to the actual economic loss. |
| Philanthropy | Donor funding needs, charitable ownership and control preferences. | Compare a suitable vehicle and its explicit costs and restrictions. |
| Family offices and transfers | Consolidated ownership records, succession, beneficiary rights and trustee powers. | Coordinate authorized actions without pooling unavailable assets. |
This is an independent readiness map derived from the outline, not a reproduction of every official learning outcome or an official examination blueprint document.
Use the map to direct review
For each attempted case, note whether the failure arose from a missing concept, an incorrect calculation, a misread date or an overlooked constraint. Revisit that specific curriculum material, then test the same principle in a fresh context. Include questions you answered correctly by guessing.
Use the separate Essay bank for written responses: being able to recognize a sound recommendation among alternatives does not demonstrate that you can formulate and justify it unaided. A static practice percentage describes this attempted material and does not predict a CFA result.
Written-response practice
The separate Essay bank contains 277 cases and 840 written parts, using the same six common-core/pathway topic homes. Draft a response before viewing the suggested answer. Self-scoring criteria and the case’s 12 practice points are editorial learning aids; individual part allocations are not official CFA marking weights. The topic map applies to both formats; case counts and written-part counts are distinct.