Free study plan · 2027 exam windows
CFA Level 1 Study Plan
A free CFA Level 1 study plan for the 2027 exam: pick your exam window and the hours you can give each week, and get a week-by-week schedule through all 102 readings and the 3,369-question bank. No sign-up needed.
Not sure which topics need the most time? Take the free diagnostic test first: 36 questions, with a score in each topic.
This exam date suggests 20 hours a week to study every reading, answer every question once, and take both mock exams. At 18 hours a week, the number below is what you can finish.
This week so far: no study time yet, against the 18 hours you set. Finishing what is left takes 20 hours a week, about 38 hours to make up before the exam.
Study plan
Your plan runs through Feb 21
- Days until the exam window opens
- 140
- Weeks
- 19
- Questions in the bank
- 3,369
The first pass covers all 3,369 questions. After that, this window fits no further full pass. 1 mock exam sits at the end.
398 questions include the explanation for everyone. The other 2,971 explanations are part of Pro. A free account can still answer 50 new questions a day and includes the first mock exam; the second mock is part of Pro.
- Foundation
- Build
- Mastery
- Mocks
Week 1 · Foundation · starts Oct 5 · 187 min of notes · 198 questions
| Returns of Financial Assets and Instruments | Quantitative Methods | 53 min | 74 Qs | |
| Types of Financial Returns | Quantitative Methods | 36 min | 19 Qs | |
| Benchmarking Returns | Quantitative Methods | 49 min | 61 Qs | |
| The Time Value of Money in Finance | Quantitative Methods | 49 min | 44 Qs |
Week 2 · Foundation · starts Oct 12 · 276 min of notes · 196 questions
| Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns | Quantitative Methods | 58 min | 60 Qs | |
| Statistical Distributions for Financial Asset Prices and Returns | Quantitative Methods | 62 min | 46 Qs | |
| Estimation and Hypothesis Testing | Quantitative Methods | 68 min | 67 Qs | |
| The Return and Risk of a Financial Portfolio | Quantitative Methods | 88 min | 23 Qs |
Week 3 · Foundation · starts Oct 19 · 264 min of notes · 193 questions
| Simulation of Financial Asset Prices and Returns | Quantitative Methods | 45 min | 16 Qs | |
| Applications of Simple Linear Regression in Finance | Quantitative Methods | 61 min | 29 Qs | |
| Introduction to Financial Data Science | Quantitative Methods | 32 min | 25 Qs | |
| The Firm and Market Structures | Economics | 49 min | 65 Qs | |
| Understanding Business Cycles | Economics | 30 min | 21 Qs | |
| Fiscal Policy | Economics | 47 min | 37 Qs |
Week 4 · Foundation · starts Oct 26 · 241 min of notes · 193 questions
| Monetary Policy | Economics | 49 min | 47 Qs | |
| Introduction to Geopolitics | Economics | 31 min | 24 Qs | |
| International Trade | Economics | 38 min | 28 Qs | |
| Capital Flows and the FX Market | Economics | 41 min | 31 Qs | |
| Exchange Rate Calculations | Economics | 26 min | 29 Qs | |
| Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership | Corporate Finance | 30 min | 18 Qs | |
| Investors and Other Stakeholders | Corporate Finance | 26 min | 16 Qs |
Week 5 · Foundation · starts Nov 2 · 212 min of notes · 145 questions
| Corporate Governance: Conflicts, Mechanisms, Risks, and Benefits | Corporate Finance | 27 min | 16 Qs | |
| Working Capital and Liquidity | Corporate Finance | 30 min | 22 Qs | |
| Capital Investments and Capital Allocation | Corporate Finance | 41 min | 35 Qs | |
| Capital Structure | Corporate Finance | 43 min | 28 Qs | |
| Business Models | Corporate Finance | 23 min | 15 Qs | |
| Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis | Financial Statement Analysis | 48 min | 29 Qs |
Week 6 · Foundation · starts Nov 9 · 158 min of notes · 187 questions
| Analyzing Income Statements | Financial Statement Analysis | 107 min | 152 Qs | |
| Analyzing Balance Sheets | Financial Statement Analysis | 51 min | 35 Qs |
Week 7 · Build · starts Nov 16 · 254 min of notes · 173 questions
| Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I | Financial Statement Analysis | 65 min | 59 Qs | |
| Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II | Financial Statement Analysis | 26 min | 14 Qs | |
| Analysis of Inventories | Financial Statement Analysis | 43 min | 44 Qs | |
| Analysis of Long-Term Assets | Financial Statement Analysis | 59 min | 25 Qs | |
| Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity | Financial Statement Analysis | 61 min | 31 Qs |
Week 8 · Build · starts Nov 23 · 238 min of notes · 208 questions
| Analysis of Income Taxes | Financial Statement Analysis | 62 min | 41 Qs | |
| Financial Reporting Quality | Financial Statement Analysis | 58 min | 38 Qs | |
| Financial Analysis Techniques | Financial Statement Analysis | 92 min | 106 Qs | |
| Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling | Financial Statement Analysis | 26 min | 23 Qs |
Week 9 · Build · starts Nov 30 · 223 min of notes · 171 questions
| Equity Instrument Features | Equities | 26 min | 25 Qs | |
| Equity Jurisdictions, Classes, and the Voting Process | Equities | 27 min | 15 Qs | |
| Equity Issuance and Trading | Equities | 49 min | 32 Qs | |
| Sources of Equity Returns | Equities | 37 min | 17 Qs | |
| Introduction to Equity Valuation | Equities | 33 min | 19 Qs | |
| Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models | Equities | 51 min | 63 Qs |
Week 10 · Build · starts Dec 7 · 263 min of notes · 200 questions
| Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches | Equities | 57 min | 34 Qs | |
| Financial Statement Forecasting in Equity Valuation | Equities | 46 min | 54 Qs | |
| Industry and Competitive Analysis | Equities | 43 min | 34 Qs | |
| Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future | Equities | 54 min | 40 Qs | |
| Equity Analyst Research Reports | Equities | 29 min | 24 Qs | |
| The Capital Asset Pricing Model, Market Model, and Other Factor-Based Equity Models | Equities | 34 min | 14 Qs |
Week 11 · Build · starts Dec 14 · 184 min of notes · 165 questions
| Fixed-Income Instrument Features | Fixed Income | 23 min | 17 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types | Fixed Income | 38 min | 42 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Issuance and Trading | Fixed Income | 31 min | 26 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers | Fixed Income | 32 min | 16 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Markets for Government Issuers | Fixed Income | 24 min | 11 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields | Fixed Income | 36 min | 53 Qs |
Week 12 · Build · starts Dec 21 · 164 min of notes · 206 questions
| Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds | Fixed Income | 33 min | 61 Qs | |
| Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments | Fixed Income | 20 min | 15 Qs | |
| The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves | Fixed Income | 25 min | 41 Qs | |
| Interest Rate Risk and Return | Fixed Income | 30 min | 23 Qs | |
| Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties | Fixed Income | 28 min | 40 Qs | |
| Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties | Fixed Income | 28 min | 26 Qs |
Week 13 · Mastery · starts Dec 28 · 289 min of notes · 187 questions
| Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures | Fixed Income | 27 min | 34 Qs | |
| Credit Risk | Fixed Income | 35 min | 20 Qs | |
| Credit Analysis for Government Issuers | Fixed Income | 16 min | 8 Qs | |
| Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers | Fixed Income | 25 min | 13 Qs | |
| Fixed-Income Securitization | Fixed Income | 17 min | 9 Qs | |
| Asset-Backed Security (ABS) Instrument and Market Features | Fixed Income | 26 min | 17 Qs | |
| Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features | Fixed Income | 33 min | 16 Qs | |
| Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features | Derivatives | 27 min | 7 Qs | |
| Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments | Derivatives | 31 min | 31 Qs | |
| Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses | Derivatives | 20 min | 11 Qs | |
| Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives | Derivatives | 10 min | 12 Qs | |
| Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying With Varying Maturities | Derivatives | 22 min | 9 Qs |
Week 14 · Mastery · starts Jan 4 · 337 min of notes · 174 questions
| Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts | Derivatives | 18 min | 7 Qs | |
| Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps | Derivatives | 21 min | 6 Qs | |
| Pricing and Valuation of Options | Derivatives | 25 min | 21 Qs | |
| Option Replication Using Put-Call Parity | Derivatives | 20 min | 14 Qs | |
| Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model | Derivatives | 20 min | 8 Qs | |
| Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures | Alternative Investments | 33 min | 26 Qs | |
| Alternative Investment Performance and Returns | Alternative Investments | 39 min | 13 Qs | |
| Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt | Alternative Investments | 24 min | 19 Qs | |
| Real Estate and Infrastructure | Alternative Investments | 30 min | 12 Qs | |
| Natural Resources | Alternative Investments | 24 min | 11 Qs | |
| Hedge Funds | Alternative Investments | 35 min | 21 Qs | |
| Introduction to Digital Assets | Alternative Investments | 48 min | 16 Qs |
Week 15 · Mastery · starts Jan 11 · 164 min of notes · 214 questions
| Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I | Portfolio Construction | 55 min | 75 Qs | |
| Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II | Portfolio Construction | 63 min | 105 Qs | |
| Portfolio Management: An Overview | Portfolio Construction | 46 min | 34 Qs |
Week 16 · Mastery · starts Jan 18 · 175 min of notes · 140 questions
| Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction | Portfolio Construction | 41 min | 38 Qs | |
| The Behavioral Biases of Individuals | Portfolio Construction | 38 min | 24 Qs | |
| Introduction to Risk Management | Portfolio Construction | 32 min | 20 Qs | |
| Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession | Ethical and Professional Standards | 28 min | 24 Qs | |
| Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct | Ethical and Professional Standards | 36 min | 34 Qs |
Week 17 · Mastery · starts Jan 25 · 134 min of notes · 230 questions
| Guidance for Standard I: Professionalism | Ethical and Professional Standards | 64 min | 141 Qs | |
| Guidance for Standard II: Integrity of Capital Markets | Ethical and Professional Standards | 27 min | 32 Qs | |
| Guidance for Standard III: Duties to Clients | Ethical and Professional Standards | 43 min | 57 Qs |
Week 18 · Mastery · starts Feb 1 · 163 min of notes · 189 questions
| Guidance for Standard IV: Duties to Employers | Ethical and Professional Standards | 40 min | 61 Qs | |
| Guidance for Standard V: Investment Analysis, Recommendations, and Actions | Ethical and Professional Standards | 34 min | 33 Qs | |
| Guidance for Standard VI: Conflicts of Interest | Ethical and Professional Standards | 33 min | 42 Qs | |
| Guidance for Standard VII: Responsibilities as a CFA Institute Member or CFA Candidate | Ethical and Professional Standards | 25 min | 25 Qs | |
| Application of the Code and Standards: Level I | Ethical and Professional Standards | 31 min | 28 Qs |
Week 19 · Mock exam 1 · starts Feb 8 · 180 questions · 4 h 30 min · score and topic scores after both sessions
How this plan works
The plan takes the readings in curriculum order. Each week you read a few readings and then answer their questions, at about 4 minutes a question so there is time to study the explanation. Once every reading is done, the remaining weeks go back over the question bank, and the last weeks hold two 180-question mock exams when there is time for them. Readings you have already read or practiced drop out, and the plan is rebuilt whenever you change the exam window or the hours.
CFA Level 1 study plan: common questions
Is the CFA Level 1 study plan free?
Yes, with no sign-up. Without an account your progress is kept on this device; with a free account it is saved to your account, and the plan picks up from where you are.
How many hours a week do I need?
It depends on how many weeks are left. For the window you pick, the plan suggests enough hours to read every reading, answer every question once and take both mock exams. Enter fewer hours and it shows how much you would finish.
Does the plan cover the whole curriculum?
Yes. It schedules all 102 readings of the 2027 curriculum in curriculum order, and all 3,369 questions in the bank.
Do I need Pro to follow the plan?
No. The plan and the notes are free, and a free account can answer 50 new questions a day. A free account also includes the first of the two mock exams in the plan's last weeks; Pro adds the second one and the full explanation on every question.
How do the mock exams fit in?
Once the readings and the first pass of questions are done, the plan places two mock exams at the end. Each is a 180-question paper in two timed sessions of 90, drawn from the same bank.