List of CFA Level I topcis

The purpose of this series is to summarize the most important concepts that you will need for the CFA level I exam. Along with the summary of each topic, I will try to provide some examples to illustrate these concepts. If you are using the curriculum from CFA or KAPLAN SchweserNotes, you may notice that for some of the formulae, I don't use the same notation as those books. Furthermore, I will not exactly follow the structure of these books but I will make sure that no important concepts or problems is missed. Lastly, practice makes perfect. You should try to solve as many problems as possible to understand the concepts and ace the tests. Try taking practice tests. If you don't have practice tests from sources such as KAPLAN SchweserNotes, a good alternative source is the investopedia online quizzer.

Below are the topics in the CFA Level I curriculum. I will try to update all of them as soon as possible. The available topics are hyper-linked. 


I. Ethical and Professional Standards

1. Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct
2. Guidance for Standard I-VII
3. Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)
4. Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)

II. Quantitative Methods

1. Time Value of Money
2. Discounted Cash Flow Applications
3.1 Statistical Concepts and Market Returns (Part 1)
3.2 Statistical Concepts and Market Returns (Part 2)
4. Probability Concepts
5. Common Probability Distributions
6. Sampling and Estimation
7. Hypothesis Testing
8. Technical Analysis

III. Economics

1. Demand and Supply Analysis: Introduction
2. Demand and Supply Analysis:Consumer Demand
3. Demand and Supply Analysis:The Firm
4. The Firm and Market Structures
5. Aggregate Output, Prices, and Economic Growth
6. Understanding Business Cycles
7. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
8. International Trade and Capital Flows
9. Currency Exchange Rates 

IV. Financial Reporting and Analysis
1. Financial Statement Analysis: An Introduction 
2. Financial Reporting Mechanics

3. Financial Reporting Standards

4. Understanding Income Statements

5. Understanding Balance Sheets

6. Understanding Cash Flow Statements

7. Financial Analysis Techniques

8. Inventories

9. Long-lived Assets

10. Income Taxes

11. Long-term Liabilities

12. Financial Reporting Quality: Red Flags and Accounting Warning Signs

13. Accounting Shenanigans on the Cash Flow Statements

14. Financial Statement Analysis: Applications

V. Corporate Finance

1. Capital Budgeting

2. Cost of Capital

3. Measures of Leverage

4. Dividends and share repurchases: Basics

5. Working Capital Management

6. Financial Statement Analysis

7. The corporate Governance of listed companies: A manual for Investors

 VI. Portfolio Management

1. Portfolio Management: An overview

2. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I

3. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II

4. Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction

VII. Equity

1. Market organization and structure

2. Security market indices

3. Market Efficiency

4. Overview of Equity Securities

5. Introduction to Industry and Company Analysis

6. Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools

VIII.Fixed Income

1. Features of Debt Securities

2. Risks Associated with Investing in Bonds

3. Overview of Bond Sectors and Instruments

4. Understanding Yield Spreads

5. Introduction to the Valuation of Debt Securities

6. Yield Measures, Spot rates, and Forward Rates

7. Introduction to the measurement of Interest Rate Risk

IX. Derivatives

A. Types of Alternative Investments and Their Characteristics
B. Real Estate
C. Private Equity/Venture Capital
D. Hedge Funds
E. Closely Held Companies and Inactively Traded Securities
F. Distressed Securities/Bankruptcies
G. Commodities
H. Tangible Assets with Low Liquidity