CFA Level I Study Notes
Use this library to study or review the CFA® Level I curriculum one concept at a time. The free notes are organized across all ten topic areas, so you can search for a specific idea, browse the topic you are working through, or continue in curriculum order.
Each note explains where the concept fits, what you need to understand, and how you may need to use it in a Level I question. Worked examples, comparison tables, common exam traps, and practice questions are included where they make the topic easier to learn and apply.
Browse CFA Level I Study Notes by Topic
Level I covers a broad foundation in investment analysis, financial reporting, economics, ethics, and portfolio management. Choose the topic you are studying now, or move through the library in the order used by your study plan.
Alternative Investments
Alternative investment structures and returns, private capital, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, hedge funds, and digital assets.
Corporate Issuers
Business structures, stakeholder relationships, corporate governance, working capital, capital allocation, capital structure, and business models.
Derivatives
Forwards, futures, swaps, options, derivative markets, cost of carry, arbitrage, replication, pricing, valuation, and one-period binomial models.
Economics
Market structures, business and credit cycles, fiscal and monetary policy, geopolitics, international trade, capital flows, and exchange rate calculations.
Equity Investments
Financial markets, security indexes, market efficiency, equity securities, company and industry analysis, forecasting, and the main approaches to equity valuation.
Ethical & Professional Standards
Ethics, professional conduct, the Code and Standards, GIPS, and the judgment needed to evaluate short scenarios. Regular review helps you become more comfortable with the wording and reasoning used in ethics questions.
Financial Statement Analysis
Financial statements, revenue and expense recognition, inventories, long-term assets, income taxes, reporting quality, financial ratios, and introductory financial modeling.
Fixed Income
Bond features and cash flows, issuance and trading, pricing and yields, term structure, duration, convexity, credit analysis, and securitization.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio risk and return, diversification, CAPM, performance measures, portfolio planning, investment policy statements, behavioral biases, and risk management.
Quantitative Methods
Rates and returns, time value of money, statistics, probability, portfolio mathematics, simulation, hypothesis testing, regression, and big data techniques. These tools support calculations and analysis across several later topics.
Find a CFA Level I Study Note
Search the full Level I library by concept or filter the notes by topic. Results appear in curriculum order by default, which helps you review foundational ideas before moving into concepts that build on them.
Review Level I Concepts With More Context
Learn the Core Idea
Each note starts by placing the concept in plain language and explaining where it fits within the topic. This gives you a useful mental model before you work through formulas, rules, or detailed applications.
See How It Is Tested
The explanation connects the concept to the skills Level I questions may require, such as calculating a result, interpreting an outcome, identifying a relationship, or comparing two alternatives. You can then focus your review on the parts of the concept you need to apply.
Catch Common Mistakes
Common exam traps explain where candidates may reverse a relationship, choose the wrong formula, overlook an assumption, or misread a scenario. Recognizing these patterns makes plausible distractors easier to evaluate.
How to Use CFA Level I Study Notes
A practical review sequence for candidates studying around a busy schedule is:
Start with the topic you are currently studying.
Open the concept that needs more attention.
Read the main explanation and work through the example or framework.
Answer the practice question before checking the solution.
Use the related or next note to continue through the topic.
Return to mixed practice once you can explain and apply the concept confidently.
Want a More Structured Way to Prepare for Level I?
Free CFA Level I study notes are useful when you need to learn or review a specific concept.
A KeyPoint Level I study package adds structured lessons, more practice questions, mock exams, and progress tracking, helping you work through the curriculum with a clearer study plan.
More CFA Level I Study Resources
Use these resources alongside the study notes when you need formula review, calculator guidance, additional questions, or a more structured preparation plan. Only live destinations should appear.