The CFA Study Roadmap replaces the "what should I study this week" guesswork with a fixed calendar: a 20-week, 300+ hour plan for Level 1 and a 22-week, 350+ hour plan for Level 2, each broken down by topic weight, study hours and exact week number. Instead of improvising a schedule from scratch, you open the PDF and follow week 1 through the mock-exam weeks at the end.
What's Inside the CFA Study Roadmap
| Section | What you get |
|---|---|
| Level 1: 20-week roadmap | All 10 topics mapped to exam weight, study hours and a specific week number, ending weeks 19-20 with full revision and 3 mock exams |
| Topic weights & hours | Full breakdown — e.g. Ethics 15-20% / 36 hrs (weeks 1-3), FSA 11-14% / 48 hrs (weeks 7-9), Portfolio Management 8-12% / 24 hrs (weeks 17-18) |
| Daily study plan & mock schedule | Weekday (2.5-3 hrs) and weekend (4-5 hrs) routines toward 300+ total hours, with mocks at weeks 14, 17, 19 and 20 |
| Top-scorer tips & mistakes | Start-with-Ethics tactics, 2,000+ practice questions, spaced repetition for formulas, and why you shouldn't skip CFAI end-of-chapter questions |
| Level 2: 22-week roadmap | Vignette-focused plan with topic weights and hours, ending weeks 19-22 with intensive review and 4 mock exams |
| Level 2 strategy & mistakes | Topic-by-topic traps — IFRS vs US GAAP, duration/convexity misapplication, regression-assumption mix-ups — and a depth-first, 350+ hour strategy |
| Exam day strategy | The one-week-before checklist, pacing (~1.5 min/question at L1, ~3 min/vignette question at L2), and what to do once results land |
Six Facts From the Roadmap Worth Knowing Now
- Level 1 targets 300+ study hours over 20 weeks — 2.5-3 hours on weekdays, 4-5 hours on weekend days, with one rest day a week built in.
- Ethics gets 36 hours in weeks 1-3 at a 15-20% exam weight, and FSA is the single highest-hour topic at 48 hours across weeks 7-9.
- The plan schedules 3 Level 1 mocks starting week 14, aiming for 70%+ before exam day, plus a minimum of 2,000 practice questions from the CFAI question bank.
- Level 2 needs 350+ hours over 22 weeks — the roadmap notes Level 2 pass rates run around 44%, which is why it shifts the approach from breadth to depth.
- Pacing differs sharply by level: about 1.5 minutes per question at Level 1 versus about 3 minutes per vignette question at Level 2.
- Results land 6-8 weeks after your window closes — the roadmap's after-exam section tells you what to do with the topic-level breakdown either way.
Download the CFA Study Roadmap (2026 Edition) — Free
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Who Should Download This
The roadmap is written for registered CFA Level 1 and Level 2 candidates who know they're sitting an exam but haven't turned that into a week-by-week calendar. If you're staring at 300+ hours of prep and don't know where to start, or you're mid-way through and unsure whether you're behind schedule, this replaces the guesswork with fixed weeks and hour targets. Haven't registered yet? Start with our CFA Starter Kit for eligibility, fees and exam windows first.
CFA Study Roadmap: Frequently Asked Questions
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The roadmap targets 300+ hours over 20 weeks — 2.5-3 hours on weekdays and 4-5 hours on weekend days, with one rest day per week.
Start with Ethics — it carries a 15-20% weight, can act as a tie-breaker near the passing score, and the plan gives it 36 hours across weeks 1-3.
The Level 1 plan schedules 3 mocks starting at week 14, and Level 2 schedules 4 mocks in the final weeks; aim for 70%+ on mocks before exam day.
Level 2 is vignette (case-study) based, so the approach shifts from breadth to depth: 350+ hours over 22 weeks, reading each vignette twice, and building per-topic formula sheets. For a deeper walkthrough, see our blog post on preparing for CFA Level 2.
Results are released approximately 6-8 weeks after your exam window, with topic-level breakdowns you can use to plan a retake if needed.
More Free CFA Resources
- CFA Starter Kit — eligibility, 2026 fees in INR, exam windows and scholarships before you register
- CFA Study Materials Guide — Schweser vs CFAI vs UWorld vs Mark Meldrum, compared honestly
- CFA Career Playbook — resumes, networking and salary negotiation for charterholders
- Not sure CFA is the right cert? Compare it against FRM, ACCA and CPA in our finance certification comparison matrix
- Deep dives on the blog: how to study for Level 1, preparing for Level 2 and is CFA actually difficult?
