The 10 CFA topic areas at a glance (Level I weights)
| # | Topic | Approx. Level I weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethical and Professional Standards | 15–20% |
| 2 | Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% |
| 3 | Equity Investments | 11–14% |
| 4 | Fixed Income | 11–14% |
| 5 | Portfolio Management | 8–12% |
| 6 | Alternative Investments | 7–10% |
| 7 | Quantitative Methods | 6–9% |
| 8 | Economics | 6–9% |
| 9 | Corporate Issuers | 6–9% |
| 10 | Derivatives | 5–8% |
Source: CFA Institute: CFA Program curriculum (2026 Level I topic weights). Weights are updated each curriculum year, so verify current values there.
Together, Ethics and Financial Statement Analysis account for roughly 26–34% of the Level I exam: the largest topic plus the heaviest technical one, and arguably the two that separate passing candidates from borderline failures.
Ethical and Professional Standards (15–20%)
Ethics is uniquely important: it is the largest single topic, and CFA Institute uses Ethics performance as a tiebreaker for borderline candidates. It covers the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, the GIPS framework, and professional responsibilities.
Study tip: don’t memorise the Standards by rote. Most Ethics questions present a fact pattern and ask you to identify a violation (or the absence of one), so learn to apply the Standards to scenarios.
Financial Statement Analysis (11–14%)
One of the three heaviest technical topics and the one that trips up the most candidates, particularly those without an accounting background: reading, analysing, and interpreting financial statements under both IFRS and US GAAP, covering the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, ratios, inventory methods, long-lived assets, taxes, and reporting quality.
Study tip: practise ratio calculations until they are automatic, and know the common IFRS/US GAAP differences, which are tested frequently.
Equity Investments (11–14%)
How stocks are valued and how equity markets function: market structure, indices, market efficiency, dividend discount models, free-cash-flow models, price multiples, and industry analysis.
Fixed Income (11–14%)
Bond markets and bond mathematics: features and types, pricing, yield measures, yield curves, credit analysis, duration and convexity, and structured products. Duration is heavily tested, so be able to calculate it and understand how convexity refines duration-based estimates.
Quantitative Methods (6–9%)
The statistical toolkit for everything else: time value of money, probability, distributions, hypothesis testing, and regression foundations. Money-weighted vs time-weighted returns and TVM fluency matter across every other topic, and on your approved calculator.
Economics (6–9%)
Micro and macro foundations: supply and demand, market structures, business cycles, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, exchange rates, and international trade.
Corporate Issuers (6–9%)
How companies raise and deploy capital: governance, capital budgeting, cost of capital, leverage, and working-capital management.
Derivatives (5–8%)
Forwards, futures, options, and swaps: their mechanics, pricing foundations, and uses for hedging and speculation. Small weight, but concepts recur at Levels II and III.
Alternative Investments (7–10%)
Private equity, private debt, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, hedge funds, and digital assets: structures, fees, and risk-return characteristics.
Portfolio Management (8–12%)
The framework that Level III later builds on: modern portfolio theory, the CAPM, the investment policy statement, and an introduction to risk management.
How the curriculum evolves at Level II
The same topic areas return, but the weights shift toward valuation and the format changes everything: every question arrives inside an item-set vignette. Financial Statement Analysis, Equity, and Fixed Income carry greater depth; the skill moves from recall to application: extracting the relevant inputs from a dense case and executing multi-step valuations without cascading errors.
How the curriculum evolves at Level III
Level III is built on a common core that every candidate takes, covering asset allocation, portfolio construction, performance measurement, risk management, derivatives and trading, and an applied return to Ethics. On top of that shared core, each candidate chooses one specialist pathway when they register: Portfolio Management, Private Markets, or Private Wealth. The exam draws on both the common core and your chosen pathway. The other half of the challenge is the format, since these are constructed-response essays that require writing a justified recommendation rather than picking one from three options.
Practise every topic, level by level
Analyst Quorum's question bank is organised by the same topic areas as the exam, with your accuracy tracked per topic and a daily review plan built from the concepts you actually missed, so your study hours go where the marks are.
Start practising for freeFree to start · sign up with your email and we’ll send your access token, with no password to remember.