CFA® Level I Study Notes
Topic-by-topic summaries of what the Level I exam actually tests
How to use these notes
The notes below follow the ten topics of the CFA® Level I curriculum, ordered as the curriculum presents them, with each topic’s published weight range. They are condensed summaries of the concepts, formulas and distinctions that appear most frequently in questions — designed for review alongside heavy practice-question drilling, not as a substitute for the curriculum. Each page ends with the traps that catch prepared candidates. Curriculum details evolve year to year; always verify against the current official curriculum from CFA Institute.
ETH Ethical & Professional Standards 15–20%
The Code of Ethics, the seven Standards of Professional Conduct, material nonpublic information and the mosaic theory, duties to clients and employers, and GIPS fundamentals.
Read the notes →QM Quantitative Methods 6–9%
Time value of money, rates of return, descriptive statistics, probability, common distributions, sampling, hypothesis testing, and simple linear regression.
Read the notes →ECON Economics 6–9%
Elasticities, market structures, the business cycle, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, GDP accounting, exchange rates, and international trade.
Read the notes →FSA Financial Statement Analysis 11–14%
The three statements and their linkages, revenue recognition, EPS, inventory methods, long-lived assets, deferred taxes, cash flow classification, and ratio analysis with DuPont.
Read the notes →CI Corporate Issuers 6–9%
Corporate governance and stakeholders, capital allocation with NPV and IRR, cost of capital and WACC, capital structure theory, leverage measures, and working capital.
Read the notes →EQ Equity Investments 11–14%
Market organization and indexes, market efficiency, industry analysis, dividend discount models, sustainable growth, price multiples and justified P/E, and enterprise value.
Read the notes →FI Fixed Income 11–14%
Bond features and covenants, price–yield relationships, spot and forward rates, duration and convexity, credit risk components, and securitization basics.
Read the notes →DER Derivatives 5–8%
Forward commitments vs contingent claims, futures mechanics, no-arbitrage forward pricing, swaps, option moneyness and value drivers, put–call parity, and binomial valuation.
Read the notes →ALT Alternative Investments 7–10%
Hedge funds, private capital, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and digital assets — fund structures, fees, performance measurement quirks, and commodity term structure.
Read the notes →PM Portfolio Management 8–12%
Diversification and the efficient frontier, the CAL and CML, beta and the CAPM, Sharpe and Treynor ratios, the IPS, risk management frameworks, and behavioral biases.
Read the notes →More resources
- CFA® Level I exam guide — format, windows, fees, eligibility, study plan
- CFA® Level I exam FAQ
- 20 free practice questions with explanations
- CFA Institute (authoritative reference)
Turn notes into a passing score
900 originally authored practice questions and a 540-question mock bank, weighted to the published outline, with LOS-anchored explanations.
For exam preparation reference only — condensed summaries of publicly known curriculum concepts. Independent study aid. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of this product. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
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