CFA-L1-2026Beginner

CFA Level I exam guide

The first of three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst Program, testing a broad foundation in investment tools, asset classes, portfolio management and ethics.

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What is the CFA Level I exam?

The CFA charter is the most widely recognised credential in investment management. Level I is the first of three exams and is designed to give candidates a common vocabulary across the whole of finance: quantitative methods, economics, financial reporting, corporate finance, the main asset classes, portfolio theory and the CFA Institute's ethical and professional standards.

Level I is entirely multiple choice and is broad rather than deep. Each question tests one concept, usually at the level of knowing a definition, applying a formula or interpreting a short piece of data. Its difficulty comes from the sheer number of learning outcome statements, well over a thousand across the ten topic areas.

The exam is offered four times a year and can be sat with a bachelor's degree, or within a set period of completing one, or with a combination of professional experience and education.

Who sits it

  • Final-year undergraduates and recent graduates aiming at asset management, equity research or investment banking
  • Professionals in adjacent roles (accounting, consulting, corporate finance) moving into investments
  • Anyone who wants a structured, globally recognised foundation across all of finance

Exam format at a glance

Questions
180 multiple-choice, in two sessions of 90
Duration
Two sessions of 135 minutes, with an optional break between them
Delivery
Computer-based at Prometric test centres
Exam windows
February, May, August and November
Fees (USD)
Registration $1,140 (early) or $1,490 (standard); CFA Institute dropped its separate enrollment fee for exams from February 2026
Passing standard
Set by the CFA Institute Board of Governors after each exam; not published as a fixed percentage
Recent pass rate
43% (August 2026); 45% in February and 39% in May 2026
Recommended study
CFA Institute reports candidates average more than 300 hours

Exam-body facts last checked September 2026. Fees, dates and formats change; confirm the current details with CFA Institute before registering.

CFA Level I pass rates by sitting

SittingPass rate
August 202643%
May 202639%
February 202645%
November 202543%
August 202543%
May 202545%
February 202545%
November 202443%
August 202444%
May 202446%
February 202444%
November 202335%

Published by CFA Institute for every window. The long-run average since 1963 is 41%, and rates fell sharply during the pandemic years (as low as 22% in July 2021) before recovering to the low-to-mid forties. First-time candidates pass at a higher rate than the overall figure: 49% in August 2026.

Syllabus and topic weights

Weights for the 2026 exam windows. CFA Institute has published different weights for windows from February 2027 (notably Ethics 10–15% and Quantitative Methods 11–14%).

  • 1.Quantitative Methods6–9% · 34 lessons · 109 questions · 188 cards
    1. Rates and Returns
    2. Time Value of Money in Finance
    3. Statistical Measures of Asset Returns
    4. Probability Trees and Conditional Expectations
    5. Portfolio Mathematics
    6. Simulation Methods
    7. Estimation and Inference
    8. Hypothesis Testing
    9. Parametric and Non-Parametric Tests of Independence
    10. Simple Linear Regression
    11. Introduction to Big Data Techniques
  • 2.Economics6–9% · 31 lessons · 0 questions · 139 cards
    1. The Firm and Market Structures
    2. Understanding Business Cycles
    3. Fiscal Policy
    4. Monetary Policy
    5. Introduction to Geopolitics
    6. International Trade
    7. Capital Flows and the FX Market
    8. Exchange Rate Calculations
  • 3.Corporate Issuers6–9% · 22 lessons · 0 questions · 128 cards
    1. Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership
    2. Investors and Other Stakeholders
    3. Corporate Governance: Conflicts, Mechanisms, Risks, and Benefits
    4. Working Capital and Liquidity
    5. Capital Investments and Capital Allocation
    6. Capital Structure
    7. Business Models
  • 4.Financial Statement Analysis11–14% · 42 lessons · 0 questions · 218 cards
    1. Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis
    2. Analyzing Income Statements
    3. Analyzing Balance Sheets
    4. Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I
    5. Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II
    6. Analysis of Inventories
    7. Analysis of Long-Term Assets
    8. Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity
    9. Analysis of Income Taxes
    10. Financial Reporting Quality
    11. Financial Analysis Techniques
    12. Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling
  • 5.Equity Investments11–14% · 49 lessons · 0 questions · 168 cards
    1. Market Organization and Structure
    2. Security Market Indexes
    3. Market Efficiency
    4. Overview of Equity Securities
    5. Company Analysis: Past and Present
    6. Industry and Competitive Analysis
    7. Company Analysis: Forecasting
    8. Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools
  • 6.Fixed Income11–14% · 82 lessons · 0 questions · 319 cards
    1. Fixed-Income Instrument Features
    2. Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types
    3. Fixed-Income Issuance and Trading
    4. Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers
    5. Fixed-Income Markets for Government Issuers
    6. Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields
    7. Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds
    8. Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments
    9. The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves
    10. Interest Rate Risk and Return
    11. Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties
    12. Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties
    13. Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures
    14. Credit Risk
    15. Credit Analysis for Government Issuers
    16. Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers
    17. Fixed-Income Securitization
    18. Asset-Backed Security (ABS) Instrument and Market Features
    19. Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features
  • 7.Derivatives5–8% · 44 lessons · 0 questions · 136 cards
    1. Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features
    2. Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments
    3. Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses
    4. Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives
    5. Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying with Varying Maturities
    6. Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts
    7. Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps
    8. Pricing and Valuation of Options
    9. Option Replication Using Put–Call Parity
    10. Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model
  • 8.Alternative Investments7–10% · 30 lessons · 0 questions · 129 cards
    1. Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures
    2. Alternative Investment Performance and Returns
    3. Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt
    4. Real Estate and Infrastructure
    5. Natural Resources
    6. Hedge Funds
    7. Introduction to Digital Assets
  • 9.Portfolio Management8–12% · 18 lessons · 0 questions · 103 cards
    1. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I
    2. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II
    3. Portfolio Management: An Overview
    4. Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction
    5. The Behavioral Biases of Individuals
    6. Introduction to Risk Management
  • 10.Ethical and Professional Standards15–20% · 20 lessons · 119 questions · 74 cards
    1. Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
    2. Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
    3. Guidance for Standards I–VII
    4. Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)
    5. Ethics Application

Lesson, question and flashcard counts are StudyOptima's published content for each topic. Expand a topic to see its subtopics.

How to prepare for CFA Level I

  1. 1

    Treat Financial Statement Analysis, Ethics, Fixed Income and Equity as the core. Together they are roughly half the exam, and FSA in particular is the topic candidates most often fail.

  2. 2

    Do not skip Ethics. It is the heaviest single topic, it is used as a tie-breaker for borderline scores, and it is almost entirely a matter of having read the Standards and practised case-style questions.

  3. 3

    Learn the calculator early. Time value of money, bond pricing and statistics questions are much faster with the BA II Plus worksheets than by hand.

  4. 4

    Work through questions topic by topic as you finish each reading, then switch to mixed sets. Level I rewards recognising a question type in seconds.

  5. 5

    Sit at least two full 180-question mocks under exam timing. Four and a half hours of concentration is its own skill.

Study for CFA Level I on StudyOptima

372 study lessons

Condensed notes for every topic, organised by learning objective, with read-progress tracking.

1,572 practice questions

Exam-style questions with worked explanations, timed mocks, and re-drills of what you got wrong.

1,602 flashcards

Spaced-repetition review of the definitions and formulas the exam keeps coming back to.

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CFA Level I FAQ

What are the entry requirements for CFA Level I?

A bachelor's degree, or being within 23 months of completing one, or 4,000 hours of professional work experience or higher education accumulated over at least three years. You also need an international passport.

How many times can I sit Level I?

Twice per calendar year, and not in consecutive windows. There is no lifetime limit.

Which calculator can I use?

Only the Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including the Professional) or the Hewlett Packard 12C (including the Platinum, Prestige and Anniversary editions).

Is StudyOptima's CFA Level I content aligned to the 2026 curriculum?

Yes. Study materials, flashcards, the formula reference and about 1,500 practice questions are organised by the 2026 learning modules and learning outcome statements.

Related exams

CFA Level II

The second CFA exam: asset valuation in depth, tested through vignette-based item sets rather than standalone questions.

FRM Part I

The first of two exams for the Financial Risk Manager designation: the quantitative and market foundations every risk professional is expected to know.

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