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CFA® Program · Level I
CFA Level I — the foundations
Level I is the broadest of the three exams — ten topics that build the analytical vocabulary you'll use for the rest of your CFA journey and your career in investment management.
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Level IAt a glance
- Topics10
- Questions180
- Recommended study300+ hoursacross the level
- Topics10weighted by the official curriculum
Exam format and topic weights are set by CFA Institute. WSU is an independent provider and not affiliated with them.
Curriculum
§ 01What Level I actually covers.
Every topic with its published weight, so study time can be allocated against the exam rather than against intuition.
| Topic | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Methods | 6–9% | Time value of money, statistics, hypothesis testing — the maths spine that every other topic borrows from. |
| Economics | 6–9% | Micro and macro fundamentals, business cycles, monetary policy, currency and trade. |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% | Reading and adjusting income statements, balance sheets and cash flows under IFRS and US GAAP. |
| Corporate Issuers | 6–9% | Capital structure, working-capital management, governance, ESG and stakeholder analysis. |
| Equity Investments | 11–14% | Market structures, equity valuation models and industry analysis. |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% | Bond pricing, yield measures, duration and convexity, securitised products. |
| Derivatives | 5–8% | Forwards, futures, swaps and options — pricing logic and arbitrage relationships. |
| Alternative Investments | 7–10% | Private equity, real estate, hedge funds, commodities and infrastructure. |
| Portfolio Management | 8–12% | Modern portfolio theory, the IPS framework, risk management foundations. |
| Ethics & Professional Standards | 15–20% | The CFA Institute Code & Standards — the heaviest single topic and an exam-day differentiator. |
| 10 topics | 100% | Weights are published by CFA Institute and may be stated as ranges. |
Outcomes
§ 02What a Level I candidate should own.
The capabilities the level is testing for, stated as things you should be able to do rather than chapters you should have read.
- Apply the time-value-of-money framework to discounting, annuities and loan amortisation problems.
- Walk through any 10-K and adjust statements for comparability across firms and reporting standards.
- Value equity using DDM, FCFE and multiples-based approaches, and choose the right model for the asset.
- Price fixed-income securities, compute yield and risk measures, and read a yield curve.
- Recognise ethics violations under the CFA Institute Code & Standards — the highest-weighted topic.
- Build a defensible Investment Policy Statement and explain how it drives portfolio construction.
The sitting
§ 03The shape of the exam.
How the paper is structured and how long you have: the constraints worth rehearsing under before exam day.
Questions180 multiple-choice
Duration4h 30m total
Sessions2 × 2h 15m
Recommended study300+ hours
Recent Level I pass rates have hovered around 35–45%. The CFA Institute publishes them after every cycle.
On WSU
§ 04The module set, tuned for Level I.
What the platform provides against this level specifically.
- Topic-weighted question bankFilter 2,800+ Level I questions by topic, subtopic, difficulty and your own weak spots, so every minute of practice is targeted.
- Concept-level analyticsSee exactly which Learning Outcome Statements you have mastered and which still need work — no more averaging away your weaknesses.
- WSU AI tutorA CFA-tuned assistant that explains every wrong answer in plain English, references the curriculum, and adapts to where you are stuck.
- Full-length mock examsTime-pressured 180-question simulations with the same topic weights as the real exam — the closest you can get without sitting it.
Compare the three levels on the programme overview, or see every capability on the features page.
Ready to prepare for Level I?
Pick your sitting on the next page — every Level I tier includes the full question bank, mock exams, and the AI tutor.
Wall Street Uni is an independent study platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute.