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CFA Level 1 Formula Sheet
A free CFA Level 1 formula sheet: every formula in the notes for the 2027 curriculum, by topic and reading, free to print or save as a PDF. Each reading links to the notes that explain its formulas; for the key takeaways and exam shortcuts as well, use the cheat sheet.
Formulas by topic
The sheet holds 501 formulas from the notes; worked numbers from the examples are left out. The topics with the most are Quantitative Methods (133), Financial Statement Analysis (95) and Equities (92). Ethical and Professional Standards has no formulas; the key takeaways are on the cheat sheet. Topic weights are the ranges CFA Institute publishes for the 2027 Level I exam: Ethical and Professional Standards 10–15%; Quantitative Methods, Financial Statement Analysis, Equities and Fixed Income 11–14% each; Portfolio Construction 8–12%; Economics, Corporate Finance, Derivatives and Alternative Investments 6–9% each.
Quantitative Methods
Reading 1: Returns of Financial Assets and Instruments
- Return over a single period
- Averaging returns over several periods
- Annualizing a holding period return
- Compounding frequency and continuous compounding
- Building blocks of a required return
- Real return
- Pretax vs. after-tax nominal return
- Leveraged return
Reading 2: Types of Financial Returns
- Two sources of return
- Interest rates and the risk-free rate
- Foreign exchange rates
- The risk-return tradeoff
- Portfolio expected return
Reading 3: Benchmarking Returns
- Money-weighted rate of return (MWR)
- Time-weighted rate of return (TWR)
- What an index is and how its return is measured
- Price-weighted index
- Market-capitalization-weighted (value-weighted) index
Reading 4: The Time Value of Money in Finance
- The time value of money
- Fixed-coupon bonds
- Perpetual bonds
- Amortizing bonds and annuities
- Equity instruments
- Zero-coupon bond
- Equity: implied required return
- Equity: implied growth rate
- Forward interest rates
- Forward exchange rates
- Option values: one-period binomial model
Reading 5: Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns
- Population vs. sample
- Range and mean absolute deviation
- Skewness
- Kurtosis
- Covariance
- Correlation
- Semivariance and target downside deviation
- Coefficient of variation
Reading 6: Statistical Distributions for Financial Asset Prices and Returns
- Cumulative distribution function (CDF)
- Unconditional expected value (mean)
- Unconditional variance and standard deviation
- Unconditional covariance
- Discrete distributions
- Continuous distributions
- Conditional mean, variance and covariance
- Updating probabilities with Bayes' formula
Reading 7: Estimation and Hypothesis Testing
- The central limit theorem (CLT)
- Standard error and sampling error
- Confidence intervals
- Value at risk (VaR) — a one-tailed interval
- Test statistic for a mean
- Spearman rank correlation test
- Test of independence using a contingency table
Reading 8: The Return and Risk of a Financial Portfolio
- Expected return of a portfolio
- Portfolio variance
- Covariance and correlation
- More assets: the variance–covariance matrix
- Large portfolios: variance approaches average covariance
- Minimum-variance portfolio of two risky assets
- Adding a risk-free asset
- Utility function
- The capital allocation line (CAL)
- The capital market line (CML)
- Return-generating models and the CAPM
- Beta
Reading 9: Simulation of Financial Asset Prices and Returns
- Multivariate simulation and the Cholesky decomposition
Reading 10: Applications of Simple Linear Regression in Finance
- The model and the regression line
- Least squares criterion
- Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
- Goodness-of-fit measures
- F-test
- t-test of a regression coefficient
- Predicted values
- Confidence (prediction) interval for a predicted value
- The CAPM as a one-factor regression
Economics
Reading 12: The Firm and Market Structures
- The two concentration measures
Reading 14: Fiscal Policy
- Fiscal policy tools: spending and revenue, advantages and disadvantages
Reading 15: Monetary Policy
- Effective central banks, targeting regimes and limits of policy
Reading 17: International Trade
- Tariff welfare formulas (small country)
Reading 18: Capital Flows and the FX Market
- Nominal and real exchange rates
- Percentage change in a currency's value
- Exchange rates, trade and capital flows
Reading 19: Exchange Rate Calculations
- Currency cross-rates
- The no-arbitrage (interest rate parity) relation
- Forward quotes in points or percentages
- Forward premium or discount
Corporate Finance
Reading 20: Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership
- Key features of corporate issuers
- Public versus private companies
Reading 23: Working Capital and Liquidity
- The cash conversion cycle
- Trade credit and its cost
- Comparing CCCs
- Liquidity ratios
Reading 24: Capital Investments and Capital Allocation
- Net present value (NPV)
- Internal rate of return (IRR)
- Return on invested capital (ROIC)
- Real options
Reading 25: Capital Structure
- Calculating and interpreting the WACC
- MM Proposition II (no taxes): cost of equity and leverage
- MM with taxes
- Static trade-off theory
Financial Statement Analysis
Reading 28: Analyzing Income Statements
- Revenue over time (long-term contracts)
- Depreciation methods
- Capitalized interest
- Basic EPS
- Diluted EPS and the if-converted method
- Testing for dilution
- Vertical common-size income statement
- Margin ratios
Reading 29: Analyzing Balance Sheets
- Goodwill
- Vertical common-size balance sheet
- Liquidity ratios (short-term obligations)
- Solvency ratios (long-term obligations)
Reading 30: Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I
- Why a separate cash flow statement?
- Timing differences show up on the balance sheet
- The direct method
- Starting point: net income
- Investing activities (CFI)
- Financing activities (CFF)
Reading 31: Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II
- Free cash flow to the firm (FCFF)
- Free cash flow to equity (FCFE)
Reading 32: Analysis of Inventories
- Inventory ratios
Reading 33: Analysis of Long-Term Assets
- Goodwill
- Impairment of assets held for use: IFRS and US GAAP
- Ratios built from the disclosures
Reading 34: Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity
- Lessee accounting
- Defined contribution vs. defined benefit plans
Reading 35: Analysis of Income Taxes
- The income tax expense equation
Reading 36: Financial Reporting Quality
- Depreciation, amortization and impairment
- Linking the signs to what is being manipulated
- Cash flow versus earnings
Reading 37: Financial Analysis Techniques
- Activity ratios
- Liquidity ratios
- Solvency ratios
- Profitability ratios
- Two-part decomposition
- Original (three-part) DuPont equation
- Extended (five-part) DuPont equation
- Business risk and the coefficient of variation
Equities
Reading 39: Equity Instrument Features
- Preference shares (preferred stock)
Reading 41: Equity Issuance and Trading
- Quotes and the spread
- VWAP
- Float, trading volume and other liquidity measures
Reading 42: Sources of Equity Returns
- Price return and total return on equity
- Reinvested dividends
- Equity value as a present value
Reading 43: Introduction to Equity Valuation
- Book value, market capitalization and enterprise value
- Limits of book value
Reading 44: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models
- Cash flow measures for present value models and the valuation process
- Free cash flow to equity
- Free cash flow to the firm
- EBITDA
- Residual income
- Constant growth (Gordon growth) model
- Multistage (two-stage) models
- Estimating the constant growth rate
- Weighted average cost of capital
- Non-callable, non-convertible preferred
Reading 45: Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches
- Method of forecasted fundamentals
- Reconciling the two methods
- Value = assets in place + growth opportunities
- Price-to-sales (P/S)
- Enterprise value multiples
- Balance-sheet multiples
- Cash-flow multiples and yields
- Using projected future values
Reading 46: Financial Statement Forecasting in Equity Valuation
- Revenue modeling
- Expense (profit) modeling
- Financing modeling
- Start-up stage: venture capital arithmetic
- Growth stage
- Decline stage
- Enterprise value and EV multiples
- Valuing equity from forecast model outputs
Reading 47: Industry and Competitive Analysis
- Profitability
- Market share and concentration
Reading 48: Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future
- Market potential for start-up and growth companies
- Operating profitability
- Operating leverage
- Free cash flow to equity
- Working capital management
- Capital investments
- Capital structure
Reading 49: Equity Analyst Research Reports
- Two-stage FCFE valuation
Reading 50: The Capital Asset Pricing Model, Market Model, and Other Factor-Based Equity Models
- CAPM and the security market line
- Adjusted beta (mean reversion)
- Beta from comparables (pure-play approach)
- Estimating the market risk premium
- Emerging markets: country risk premium
- Arbitrage pricing theory (APT)
- The four-factor model
Fixed Income
Reading 54: Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers
- Repurchase agreements
Reading 56: Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields
- Price = present value of the promised cash flows
- Accrued interest, flat price and full price
- Matrix pricing
Reading 57: Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds
- Periodicity and the effective annual yield
- Current yield and simple yield
- Option-adjusted price and option-adjusted yield
- Z-spread
- Option-adjusted spread (OAS)
Reading 58: Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments
- Simplified valuation on a reset date
- Key formulas: money market yields
- Comparing with a semiannual-pay bond
Reading 59: The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves
- Pricing with spot rates
- Par rates
- Forward rates and notation
- Valuing a bond with forward rates
Reading 60: Interest Rate Risk and Return
- Horizon yield
- Holding period return, Macaulay duration and the investment horizon
- Calculating and interpreting Macaulay duration
Reading 61: Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties
- Modified duration
- Approximate modified duration
- Money duration and PVBP
Reading 62: Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties
- Convexity from the cash flows
- Approximate convexity
- Price change using duration and convexity
- Money convexity
Reading 63: Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures
- Why effective duration and effective convexity for bonds with embedded options
- Percentage price change for a change in the benchmark yield
- Key rate duration and shaping risk
Reading 64: Credit Risk
- Measuring credit risk
- Market factors: liquidity
Reading 69: Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features
- Mortgage pass-throughs and CMOs
- Commercial mortgage-backed securities
Derivatives
Reading 70: Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features
- Long and short exposure
Reading 71: Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments
- Value at expiration and profit for long and short option positions
Reading 72: Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses
- Risks
Reading 73: Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives
- Replicating forwards (underlying with no costs or benefits of holding)
- Spot versus expected future price, and the cost of carry
- Currency forwards
Reading 74: Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying With Varying Maturities
- Value and price of a forward: at initiation, during its life, at expiration
- Implied (no-arbitrage) forward rates
- Forward rate agreements (FRAs)
Reading 75: Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts
- Interest rate futures
Reading 76: Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps
- Solving for the par swap rate
- Value during the life
Reading 77: Pricing and Valuation of Options
- Moneyness, exercise value and time value
Reading 78: Option Replication Using Put-Call Parity
- Put–call parity
- Put–call forward parity and options in corporate finance
- Option view of a firm (equity and debt)
Reading 79: Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model
- Call: long \(h\) shares, short one call
- Put: long \(h\) shares, long one put
- Risk neutrality
Alternative Investments
Reading 80: Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures
- Calculating the performance fee
Reading 81: Alternative Investment Performance and Returns
- Life cycle and the J-curve
- Leverage
- After-fee return mechanics
Reading 84: Natural Resources
- Commodity valuation: cost of carry
Reading 85: Hedge Funds
- Where returns come from, index biases and diversification
Portfolio Construction
Reading 87: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I
- Utility function
- Adding the risk-free asset: the capital allocation line
- One asset
- Two assets: covariance
- Correlation
- Portfolio standard deviation
- Investing in assets that are less than perfectly correlated
Reading 88: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II
- Adding a risk-free asset to a risky portfolio
- The capital allocation line (CAL) and the capital market line (CML)
- Systematic and unsystematic risk
- Return generating models and the market model
- Calculating and interpreting beta
- The CAPM, its assumptions, and the security market line (SML)
- Applying the CAPM and the SML: finding mispriced securities
Reading 89: Portfolio Management: An Overview
- Measuring the benefit: the diversification ratio
- Mutual funds and other pooled investments
Ethical and Professional Standards
CFA Level 1 Formula Sheet: common questions
Is the formula sheet free?
Yes. It is free to read, print or save as a PDF, with no account.
Does it cover the whole 2027 curriculum?
Yes. It has every formula in the notes for the 102 readings of the 2027 curriculum, grouped by topic and reading.
What is the difference between the formula sheet and the cheat sheet?
The formula sheet has only the formulas. The cheat sheet also has the key takeaways and exam shortcuts of every reading.
What is the difference between the formula sheet and the notes?
The notes explain each formula, with worked examples and practice questions; each reading on this sheet links to them. The formula sheet is for checking the equations quickly.
Can I print one topic?
Yes. Choose a topic, or all topics, next to the print button and use Print / Save as PDF. Each topic starts on a new page.