2026 Level I curriculum
All 10 CFA Level 1 subjects (topic areas) of the 2026 curriculum, with its 93 official learning modules condensed into 59 CFA Master revision modules in curriculum order, each linked to its notes, formulas and questions, with exam weights and a study order that respects which modules depend on which.
Exam questions are written against each module's Learning Outcome Statements.
Quick answer
The 2026 CFA Level 1 syllabus covers 10 subjects (CFA Institute calls them topic areas) — Quantitative Methods, Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Issuers, Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Alternative Investments, Portfolio Management, Ethical & Professional Standards — organised into 93 learning modules (102 from the 2027 curriculum). CFA Master condenses them into 59 revision modules for revision. Each learning module opens with Learning Outcome Statements, and every one of the 180 exam questions is written against an LOS.
From Quantitative Methods to Ethics, each with a published exam-weight range.
CFA Institute's official count for 2026 (102 in 2027). CFA Master condenses them into 59 revision modules.
Every module opens with Learning Outcome Statements; every exam question maps to one.
2027 topic weights: four topics change
For exams from February 2027: Ethics 15–20% → 10–15%, Quantitative Methods 6–9% → 11–14%, Derivatives 5–8% → 6–9%, Alternative Investments 7–10% → 6–9%. November 2026 candidates still sit the 2026 weights.
Curriculum order. Each module links to its free notes; the first Quantitative Methods module is open in full without an account.
6–9% exam weight · 11 revision modules
6–9% exam weight · 8 revision modules
11–14% exam weight · 9 revision modules
6–9% exam weight · 7 revision modules
11–14% exam weight · 6 revision modules
11–14% exam weight · 5 revision modules
5–8% exam weight · 2 revision modules
7–10% exam weight · 3 revision modules
8–12% exam weight · 3 revision modules
15–20% exam weight · 5 revision modules
Curriculum order is not study order. Dependency first, weight second, Ethics last but never skipped.
Quantitative Methods11 LM · 6–9%
Time value of money, statistics and probability underpin everything after it.
Financial Statement Analysis9 LM · 11–14%
The heaviest content load; equity, corporate and fixed income all reuse its ratios.
Economics8 LM · 6–9%
Light on formulas, pairs well with FSA as a change of pace.
Corporate Issuers7 LM · 6–9%
Capital budgeting and cost of capital lead straight into equity valuation.
Equity Investments6 LM · 11–14%
Builds on FSA ratios and the corporate cost of capital.
Fixed Income5 LM · 11–14%
Uses the TVM and duration mathematics from Quant.
Derivatives2 LM · 5–8%
Short, and easier once bond pricing and no-arbitrage are familiar.
Alternative Investments3 LM · 7–10%
Short and descriptive; a good change of pace late in the plan.
Portfolio Management3 LM · 8–12%
Ties equity, fixed income and quant together; best studied when those are fresh.
Ethical & Professional Standards5 LM · 15–20%
Highest weight and the tiebreaker for borderline scores; study it last so it is freshest on exam day.
Progress, quiz scores and cheat sheets save per module.
Topics, learning modules, LOS — and what changes each year.
Study each learning module from your curriculum or provider, capture it in an editable cheat sheet, and the dashboard keeps your notes, flashcards and quiz scores organised by the same syllabus.
93 learning modules across 10 topic areas in the 2026 curriculum, rising to 102 in the 2027 curriculum. CFA Master condenses them into 59 revision modules for revision.
Ethical & Professional Standards (15–20%), Quantitative Methods (6–9%), Economics (6–9%), Financial Statement Analysis (11–14%), Corporate Issuers (6–9%), Equity Investments (11–14%), Fixed Income (11–14%), Derivatives (5–8%), Alternative Investments (7–10%), Portfolio Management (8–12%). The weights are CFA Institute's published exam-weight ranges for 2026; Ethical & Professional Standards is the heaviest.
CFA Institute updates the curriculum once a year and publishes a change summary. Most years only a handful of learning modules are rewritten, merged or reweighted, so notes from the previous cycle remain largely usable — check the change list for your exam year before relying on older material. For exams from February 2027 the 2027 topic weights also move: Ethics 15–20% → 10–15%, Quantitative Methods 6–9% → 11–14%, Derivatives 5–8% → 6–9%, Alternative Investments 7–10% → 6–9%.
Not in curriculum order. Start with Quantitative Methods and Financial Statement Analysis because the investment topics depend on them, then Economics and Corporate Issuers, then Equity, Fixed Income, Derivatives and Alternatives, then Portfolio Management, and finish with Ethics so it is freshest on exam day.
CFA Institute publishes the topic outline and the full Learning Outcome Statements for each level in its candidate resources, and the complete curriculum is available to registered candidates in the Learning Ecosystem. The module list on this page mirrors that structure and links each module to free study notes.