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CFA Level I topic weights for 2027

10 topic areas, ranked by weight, with the modules, key terms and practice links for each.

The weights at a glance

Multiple-choice questions over 4.5 hours, in two sessions of 135 minutes. Offered in February, May, August and November.

Topic areaWeightRelative size
Ethical & Professional Standards10–15%
Quantitative Methods11–14%
Financial Statement Analysis11–14%
Equities11–14%
Fixed Income11–14%
Portfolio Construction8–12%
Economics6–9%
Corporate Finance6–9%
Derivatives6–9%
Alternative Investments6–9%

Weights are the published bands from CFA Institute's 2027 topic outlines, checked in October 2026. The midpoint is shown only to rank topics.

What each topic covers

Ordered from the heaviest weight down. Module names follow the official outline.

Ethical & Professional Standards

10–15% of the exam

The Code, the seven Standards, and how examiners phrase violations.

  • Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
  • Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
  • Guidance for Standard I: Professionalism
  • Guidance for Standard II: Integrity of Capital Markets
  • Guidance for Standard III: Duties to Clients
  • Guidance for Standard IV: Duties to Employers
  • Guidance for Standard V: Investment Analysis, Recommendations, and Actions
  • Guidance for Standard VI: Conflicts of Interest
  • Guidance for Standard VII: Responsibilities as a CFA Institute Member or CFA Candidate
  • Application of the Code and Standards: Level I

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Code of Ethics · Standards of Professional Conduct · Fiduciary duty · Material non-public information · Mosaic theory · Front-running · all 15.

Quantitative Methods

11–14% of the exam

Returns and benchmarks, time value, distributions, portfolio maths, regression.

  • Returns of Financial Assets and Instruments
  • Types of Financial Returns
  • Benchmarking Returns
  • The Time Value of Money in Finance
  • Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns
  • Statistical Distributions for Financial Asset Prices and Returns
  • Estimation and Hypothesis Testing
  • The Return and Risk of a Financial Portfolio
  • Simulation of Financial Asset Prices and Returns
  • Applications of Simple Linear Regression in Finance
  • Introduction to Financial Data Science

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Time value of money · Present value · Future value · Annuity · Perpetuity · Effective annual rate · all 48. Worked guides: BA II Plus keystrokes for CFA and FRM.

Financial Statement Analysis

11–14% of the exam

The three statements, inventories, long-lived assets, quality of earnings.

  • Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis
  • Analyzing Income Statements
  • Analyzing Balance Sheets
  • Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I
  • Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II
  • Analysis of Inventories
  • Analysis of Long-Term Assets
  • Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity
  • Analysis of Income Taxes
  • Financial Reporting Quality
  • Financial Analysis Techniques
  • Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Accrual accounting · Balance sheet · Income statement · Statement of cash flows · Cash flow from operations · Free cash flow · all 23.

Equities

11–14% of the exam

Market organisation, indexes, industry analysis, dividend models.

  • Equity Instrument Features
  • Equity Jurisdictions, Classes, and the Voting Process
  • Equity Issuance and Trading
  • Sources of Equity Returns
  • Introduction to Equity Valuation
  • Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models
  • Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches
  • Financial Statement Forecasting in Equity Valuation
  • Industry and Competitive Analysis
  • Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future
  • Equity Analyst Research Reports
  • The Capital Asset Pricing Model, Market Model, and Other Factor-Based Equity Models

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Perpetuity · Index weighting · Free cash flow · EBITDA · Return on equity · Weighted average cost of capital · all 25.

Fixed Income

11–14% of the exam

Pricing, yield measures, duration, convexity, credit spreads.

  • Fixed-Income Instrument Features
  • Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types
  • Fixed-Income Issuance and Trading
  • Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers
  • Fixed-Income Markets for Government Issuers
  • Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields
  • Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds
  • Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments
  • The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves
  • Interest Rate Risk and Return
  • Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties
  • Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties
  • Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures
  • Credit Risk
  • Credit Analysis for Government Issuers
  • Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers
  • Fixed-Income Securitization
  • Asset-Backed Security (ABS) Instrument and Market Features
  • Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Yield curve · Interest coverage ratio · Par value · Coupon rate · Yield to maturity · Current yield · all 19. Worked guides: Duration and convexity: how good is the approximation? · BA II Plus bond price keystrokes.

Portfolio Construction

8–12% of the exam

Risk and return, the CAPM, IPS construction, behavioural biases.

  • Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I
  • Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II
  • Portfolio Management: An Overview
  • Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction
  • The Behavioral Biases of Individuals
  • Introduction to Risk Management

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Standard deviation · Covariance · Correlation · Required rate of return · Market efficiency · Market-capitalisation-weighted index · all 26. Worked guides: Value at Risk: the square-root-of-time rule.

Economics

6–9% of the exam

Market structures, business cycles, policy, trade and exchange rates.

  • The Firm and Market Structures
  • Understanding Business Cycles
  • Fiscal Policy
  • Monetary Policy
  • Introduction to Geopolitics
  • International Trade
  • Capital Flows and the FX Market
  • Exchange Rate Calculations

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Price elasticity of demand · Gross domestic product · Real versus nominal · Inflation · Core inflation · Monetary policy · all 16.

Corporate Finance

6–9% of the exam

Governance, working capital, capital allocation, capital structure.

  • Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership
  • Investors and Other Stakeholders
  • Corporate Governance: Conflicts, Mechanisms, Risks, and Benefits
  • Working Capital and Liquidity
  • Capital Investments and Capital Allocation
  • Capital Structure
  • Business Models

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Net present value · Internal rate of return · Working capital · Operating leverage · Financial leverage · Weighted average cost of capital · all 20.

Derivatives

6–9% of the exam

Forwards, futures, swaps, options and arbitrage-free pricing.

  • Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features
  • Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments
  • Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses
  • Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives
  • Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying with Varying Maturities
  • Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts
  • Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rate and Other Swaps
  • Pricing and Valuation of Options
  • Option Replication Using Put–Call Parity
  • Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Lognormal distribution · Cash flow additivity · Derivative · Forward contract · Futures contract · Initial and variation margin · all 21. Worked guides: Valuing an interest rate swap: a worked example.

Alternative Investments

6–9% of the exam

Private capital, real estate, natural resources, hedge funds, digital assets.

  • Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures
  • Alternative Investment Performance and Returns
  • Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt
  • Real Estate and Infrastructure
  • Natural Resources
  • Hedge Funds
  • Introduction to Digital Assets

Topic map and sample questions. Key terms: Survivorship bias · Contango and backwardation · Private equity · Leveraged buyout · Venture capital · Hedge fund · all 21.

Plan around it

Checked 28 October 2026. CFA® and FRM® are registered trademarks of their respective owners; Groundlearn is not affiliated with CFA Institute or GARP. Always confirm the current outline with the exam body.

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