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CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1: 10 topics, 180 questions, two 135-minute sessions. Official weights, then your hours.
The short version
Quick answer: The CFA Level 1 syllabus has 10 topics, tested in 180 questions over two 135-minute sessions. From February 2027, Ethics is 10–15% and Quantitative Methods rises to 11–14%. Financial Statement Analysis, Equities and Fixed Income are 11–14% each. November 2026 is the last window on the 2026 syllabus.
Guide
What Level 1 tests, and how much
It is ten topics, each with an official weight range. The weight is the share of exam questions from that topic. CFA Institute publishes a range, not a fixed number, so each exam can vary a little. Session 1 tests the first five topics. Session 2 tests the other five.
| Topic and what is inside (2027 syllabus) | Weight | ≈ Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional StandardsSession 1 · The Code of Ethics and the seven Standards of Professional Conduct, with guidance and cases. | 10–15% | 18–27 |
| Quantitative MethodsSession 1 · Returns, time value of money, statistics, hypothesis tests, simulation, simple regression and financial data science. | 11–14% | 20–25 |
| EconomicsSession 1 · Market structures, business cycles, fiscal and monetary policy, geopolitics, trade and currency (FX) markets. | 6–9% | 11–16 |
| Financial Statement AnalysisSession 1 · Income statements, balance sheets and cash flows, inventories, long-term assets, taxes, reporting quality and modelling. | 11–14% | 20–25 |
| Corporate FinanceSession 1 · Company structures, stakeholders, governance, working capital, capital investment, capital structure and business models. | 6–9% | 11–16 |
| EquitiesSession 2 · Equity markets, DCF (discounted cash flow) and relative valuation, industry and company analysis, and CAPM (capital asset pricing model). | 11–14% | 20–25 |
| Fixed IncomeSession 2 · Bond features and markets, prices and yields, the yield curve, duration and convexity, credit risk, and asset- and mortgage-backed securities. | 11–14% | 20–25 |
| Derivatives and Risk ManagementSession 2 · Forwards, futures, swaps and options, pricing by arbitrage, put–call parity and the one-period binomial model. | 6–9% | 11–16 |
| Alternative InvestmentsSession 2 · Private equity and debt, real estate and infrastructure, natural resources, hedge funds and digital assets. | 6–9% | 11–16 |
| Portfolio ConstructionSession 2 · Portfolio risk and return, portfolio planning and construction, behavioural biases and risk management. | 8–12% | 14–22 |
Plain takeaway: Ethics, Quant, FSA, Equities and Fixed Income together are at least 54% of the exam.
“≈ Questions” is the weight times 180, rounded. CFA Institute says every question carries equal marks. The “inside” lines condense the module titles in CFA Institute’s 2027 topic outline.
Two weights moved a lot. Ethics drops from 15–20% to 10–15%. Quantitative Methods rises from 6–9% to 11–14%. CFA Institute says the update centres on Quant and Equity Investments, about 25% of the exam. Quant gains a new module on data science, AI (artificial intelligence) and LLMs (large language models), like ChatGPT.
| 2026 name → 2027 name | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 15–20% | 10–15% |
| Quantitative Methods | 6–9% | 11–14% |
| Corporate Issuers → Corporate Finance | 6–9% | 6–9% |
| Equity Investments → Equities | 11–14% | 11–14% |
| Derivatives → Derivatives and Risk Management | 5–8% | 6–9% |
| Alternative Investments | 7–10% | 6–9% |
| Portfolio Management → Portfolio Construction | 8–12% | 8–12% |
Plain takeaway: on the 2027 syllabus, Quant matters as much as Ethics. Plan your hours that way.
Economics, Financial Statement Analysis and Fixed Income keep the same name and range. More detail: CFA 2027 curriculum changes.
CFA Institute released the 2027 curriculum on 26 May 2026. It says the new curriculum applies to exams from February 2027. So your window decides what you study. Level 1 runs four times a year: February, May, August and November. Pick the window first, then the matching books.
| Level 1 window | Syllabus |
|---|---|
| November 2026 | 2026 (the last window on it) |
| February 2027 | 2027 (the first window on it) |
| May, August and November 2027 | 2027 |
Plain takeaway: starting fresh today? Study the 2027 syllabus.
Exam days and registration deadlines change each window. Live dates: CFA exam dates.
CFA Institute says successful candidates report over 300 hours of preparation per level, on average. That is a reported average, not a rule. Your number depends on your background. A commerce graduate may need less time for accounting. An engineer may find Quant easier. The planner lets you tilt hours toward weak topics.
| Weeks before the exam | Hours a week for 300 |
|---|---|
| 12 weeks (about 3 months) | 25 |
| 20 weeks (about 5 months) | 15 |
| 30 weeks (about 7 months) | 10 |
Plain takeaway: starting five months out means about two hours a day, every day.
Illustrative maths only: 300 hours divided by the weeks you have.
It starts from the middle of each official weight range. For example, Ethics at 10–15% counts as 12.5%. A weak topic gets 35% more time. A strong topic gets 30% less. Those two numbers are our assumption, not CFA Institute’s. Then it scales everything to fit your hours.
Illustrative: 15 hours a week for 18 weeks is 270 hours. With every topic on OK, Ethics gets about 33 of them.
FAQs
Ten. Five are tested in Session 1: Ethics, Quantitative Methods, Economics, Financial Statement Analysis and Corporate Finance. Five are in Session 2: Equities, Fixed Income, Derivatives and Risk Management, Alternative Investments and Portfolio Construction. These are the 2027 names; some 2026 names differ slightly.
On the 2027 syllabus, no single topic leads. Ethics is 10–15%, and Quantitative Methods, Financial Statement Analysis, Equities and Fixed Income are 11–14% each. On the 2026 syllabus, used until November 2026, Ethics is clearly the largest at 15–20%.
Yes. CFA Institute released the 2027 curriculum on 26 May 2026, for exams from February 2027. At Level 1, Quantitative Methods rises to 11–14% and adds a module on data science, AI and large language models. Ethics falls to 10–15%.
180 multiple-choice questions, split into two sessions of 90 questions. Each session lasts 135 minutes, so you have about 90 seconds per question. CFA Institute says all questions carry equal marks and there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
It is risky. Every topic has a minimum weight of 6% or more on the 2027 syllabus, so each one is always tested. Even the smallest topics are worth about 11 questions. A better plan is fewer hours on strong topics, not zero.
CFA Institute says successful candidates report over 300 hours per level on average. Spread over 20 weeks, that is 15 hours a week. Over 12 weeks, it is 25 hours a week. Use the planner above to see your own split.
This planner is a study aid, not advice from CFA Institute. Topic weights and exam windows are set by CFA Institute and can change, so check cfainstitute.org before you plan. The extra time for weak topics and the revision share are our assumptions. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote or warrant the accuracy or quality of the products or services offered by QuintEdge. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
