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Free CFA Level 1 PDF: Notes, Topic Books and Practice Questions
Every CredGuild note for the 2027 CFA Level I curriculum as A4 PDFs, to read offline or print. Take the complete book, one topic at a time, or 50 practice questions with answers. No sign-up and no email.
Complete study notes
All 102 readings in 10 topics, with worked examples, key concepts, exam traps and shortcuts, a quick check with a full explanation after each module, and practice questions with answers at the end of every reading.
Download the complete notes (PDF)
Version v2027.1, updated October 2026. The contents and bookmarks link to every reading.
One book per topic
Easier to print: each topic as its own PDF, with the same layout as the complete book.
| Topic | Exam weight | Readings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Methods | 11–14% | 11 | Download |
| Economics | 6–9% | 8 | Download |
| Corporate Finance | 6–9% | 7 | Download |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% | 12 | Download |
| Equities | 11–14% | 12 | Download |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% | 19 | Download |
| Derivatives | 6–9% | 10 | Download |
| Alternative Investments | 6–9% | 7 | Download |
| Portfolio Construction | 8–12% | 6 | Download |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10–15% | 10 | Download |
50 practice questions with answers
Fifty questions from all 10 topics, in proportion to the exam weights, about 75 minutes at exam pace. The answers and full explanations are at the back, each with a link to the reading it comes from. None of them repeats the diagnostic test.
Studying with someone?
Send them this page. They get the same PDFs, free, with no sign-up. Sharing the page rather than the file means they always get the latest version.
Also free on the site
- The cheat sheet and the formula sheet: print them, or save them as a PDF, from the page, by topic or all at once.
- Practice questions scored as you answer, with a full explanation on every free question.
- The diagnostic test: 36 questions and a score in each topic.
CFA Level 1 PDF: common questions
Are these PDFs really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no email and no payment. You may share a file with anyone, complete and unchanged; please do not sell it or remove the CredGuild name and links.
Is this the official CFA Level I curriculum?
No. These are CredGuild's own notes, written to the 2027 curriculum and its learning outcome statements. The curriculum itself comes from CFA Institute when you register for the exam. Use the notes alongside it.
What is in each reading?
The learning outcome statements, the notes module by module (worked examples, key concepts, common exam traps, exam shortcuts and a bottom line), a quick check after each module with its answer and full explanation, and practice questions at the end with the answers. The full explanation of every practice question is free on that reading's page on the site. The complete book covers all 102 readings.
How up to date are they?
This is version v2027.1, updated October 2026. The PDFs are made from the same notes as the website and are rebuilt whenever the notes change, so the version on this page is always the latest.
Can I print them?
Yes. They are A4 with page numbers and a contents page. The topic books are easier to print than the complete book.