2027 CFA® Program Level I curriculum · free
CFA Level 1 Notes
Free CFA Level 1 notes for all 102 readings in the 10 topics of the 2027 CFA Level I curriculum. No sign-up is needed: open any reading below. Each one follows the curriculum's learning outcome statements, with worked examples, key formulas, the common exam traps and free practice questions.
For revision: the cheat sheet collects the bottom line of every module, and the formula sheet collects every formula.
Quantitative Methods~10 h 1 min
How to measure and compare returns, discount cash flows, describe return data with statistics and probability distributions, test hypotheses and fit a simple regression. It ends with simulation and an introduction to financial data science.
- 1Returns of Financial Assets and Instruments
- 2Types of Financial Returns
- 3Benchmarking Returns
- 4The Time Value of Money in Finance
- 5Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns
- 6Statistical Distributions for Financial Asset Prices and Returns
- 7Estimation and Hypothesis Testing
- 8The Return and Risk of a Financial Portfolio
- 9Simulation of Financial Asset Prices and Returns
- 10Applications of Simple Linear Regression in Finance
- 11Introduction to Financial Data Science
Economics~5 h 11 min
How firms behave in different market structures, why economies move through business cycles, and what fiscal and monetary policy can do. The second half covers geopolitics, international trade, capital flows and exchange-rate arithmetic.
Corporate FinanceFormerly Corporate Issuers~3 h 40 min
How companies are organized and governed and whose interests they serve, how they manage working capital and liquidity, which investments they choose and how they fund them, and how a business model earns its money.
Financial Statement Analysis~11 h 38 min
Reading the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement; the accounting for inventories, long-lived assets, leases, pensions and income taxes; judging reporting quality; ratio analysis; and a first financial statement model.
- 27Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis
- 28Analyzing Income Statements
- 29Analyzing Balance Sheets
- 30Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I
- 31Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II
- 32Analysis of Inventories
- 33Analysis of Long-Term Assets
- 34Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity
- 35Analysis of Income Taxes
- 36Financial Reporting Quality
- 37Financial Analysis Techniques
- 38Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling
EquitiesFormerly Equity Investments~8 h 6 min
How shares are issued, traded and voted, where equity returns come from, and how analysts value a company with discounted cash flow models and multiples. It also covers industry and company analysis, research reports and factor models such as the CAPM.
- 39Equity Instrument Features
- 40Equity Jurisdictions, Classes, and the Voting Process
- 41Equity Issuance and Trading
- 42Sources of Equity Returns
- 43Introduction to Equity Valuation
- 44Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models
- 45Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches
- 46Financial Statement Forecasting in Equity Valuation
- 47Industry and Competitive Analysis
- 48Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future
- 49Equity Analyst Research Reports
- 50The Capital Asset Pricing Model, Market Model, and Other Factor-Based Equity Models
Fixed Income~8 h 47 min
Bond features, cash flows and markets; prices, yields and spreads; the term structure of interest rates; duration and convexity as measures of interest rate risk; credit analysis; and securitized debt such as asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities.
- 51Fixed-Income Instrument Features
- 52Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types
- 53Fixed-Income Issuance and Trading
- 54Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers
- 55Fixed-Income Markets for Government Issuers
- 56Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields
- 57Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds
- 58Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments
- 59The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves
- 60Interest Rate Risk and Return
- 61Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties
- 62Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties
- 63Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures
- 64Credit Risk
- 65Credit Analysis for Government Issuers
- 66Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers
- 67Fixed-Income Securitization
- 68Asset-Backed Security (ABS) Instrument and Market Features
- 69Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features
Derivatives~3 h 34 min
What forwards, futures, swaps and options are and why issuers and investors use them, how no-arbitrage pricing and replication set their values, put-call parity and the one-period binomial model.
- 70Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features
- 71Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments
- 72Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses
- 73Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives
- 74Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying With Varying Maturities
- 75Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts
- 76Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps
- 77Pricing and Valuation of Options
- 78Option Replication Using Put-Call Parity
- 79Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model
Alternative Investments~3 h 53 min
How alternative investments differ from stocks and bonds, how the funds are structured and paid, how their returns are measured, and the main types: private equity and debt, real estate and infrastructure, natural resources, hedge funds and digital assets.
Portfolio ConstructionFormerly Portfolio Management~4 h 35 min
Portfolio risk and return and the benefit of diversification, the capital market line and the CAPM, the portfolio management process and the investment policy statement, behavioral biases and an introduction to risk management.
Ethical and Professional Standards~6 h 1 min
Why trust matters in investment work, the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and the seven Standards of Professional Conduct with guidance for each Standard, and how to apply them to the kind of cases set at Level I.
- 93Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
- 94Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
- 95Guidance for Standard I: Professionalism
- 96Guidance for Standard II: Integrity of Capital Markets
- 97Guidance for Standard III: Duties to Clients
- 98Guidance for Standard IV: Duties to Employers
- 99Guidance for Standard V: Investment Analysis, Recommendations, and Actions
- 100Guidance for Standard VI: Conflicts of Interest
- 101Guidance for Standard VII: Responsibilities as a CFA Institute Member or CFA Candidate
- 102Application of the Code and Standards: Level I
CFA Level 1 notes: common questions
Are these CFA Level 1 notes free?
Yes. The notes for every reading, the worked examples and figures, the cheat sheet and the formula sheet are free to read, with no account. A free account also lets you answer questions from the full question bank, up to 50 new questions a day.
Do they cover the whole 2027 curriculum?
Yes. There are notes for all 102 readings in the 10 topics of the 2027 CFA Level I curriculum, in the curriculum's order and with its terms. Each reading page lists the learning outcome statements it covers.
Do they replace the CFA Institute curriculum?
No. They are condensed notes written by CredGuild to help you learn and revise each reading; the curriculum remains the full reference. CredGuild is not affiliated with CFA Institute.
What does each reading page include?
The notes for each module, worked examples, key-concept boxes for the main formulas, the common exam traps, exam shortcuts and a bottom line, followed by practice questions that explain the answer and every wrong option.
How do the notes and the question bank work together?
Read a reading's notes, then test yourself on the same reading in the question bank. A free account shows whether each answer is right and links back to the notes; Pro adds the full explanation on every question.
How long does it take to read all the CFA Level I notes?
At the pace in the Minutes column, about three times a straight read, the notes come to about 65 h 26 min. Practice questions and mock exams come on top of that.