CFA® Curriculum Guide Across All 3 Levels

CFA Level II Curriculum Overview

The CFA Level II curriculum emphasizes application and analysis through vignette-style item sets. Candidates use investment tools, financial reporting, valuation models, and portfolio concepts to analyze realistic scenarios.

Topic Weights

Level II weights remain balanced across the 10 core topic areas, with significant emphasis on valuation, financial statement analysis, ethics, portfolio management, and applied reasoning.

Curriculum Focus

Level II requires candidates to interpret information, identify relevant data, apply valuation and analytical tools, and choose the best answer within a scenario. Passive reading is not enough; practice should mimic vignette-based exam conditions.

Learn more about the CFA Level II curriculum.

How to Approach Level II More Effectively

• Prioritize valuation, financial reporting, ethics, and portfolio tools.
• Practice with full vignette-based item sets to build stamina and context switching.
• Retakers should check for reorganized modules or LOS updates that may change how topics connect.

2027 Level II Curriculum Note

The 2027 CFA Institute update highlights Ethics updates across all three levels and Practical Skills Module updates. Candidates should still confirm the official current-year Level II topic outline before reusing 2025 or 2026 materials.

CFA Level III Curriculum Overview

The CFA Level III curriculum applies investment analysis to portfolio construction, risk management, performance measurement, ethics, and pathway-specific decision-making. After completing the core curriculum, candidates prepare for one of three specialized pathways.

Topic Weights

Core Level III topics account for roughly 65–70% of the exam. The selected pathway accounts for 30–35% and determines specialized content depth.

Curriculum Focus

Level III emphasizes integration: candidates must explain, justify, recommend, and apply investment concepts to individual, institutional, and pathway-specific scenarios.

Learn more about the CFA Level III curriculum.

Specialized Pathways

Portfolio Management: Multi-asset strategies, institutional portfolio design, and advanced portfolio construction.

Private Wealth: Tax-aware planning, long-term client goals, behavioral considerations, and risk constraints.

Private Markets: Private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and alternative investment decision-making.

How Pathways Affect Preparation

• All candidates complete the same core Level III curriculum.
• Pathways determine deeper conceptual focus and the scenarios candidates practice most heavily.
• Working professionals may benefit from choosing a pathway aligned with their career goals, but exam readiness should remain the primary consideration.

2027 Level III Curriculum Note

The 2027 CFA Institute update highlights Ethics updates across all three levels and a new Level III Practical Skills Module on due diligence scheduled for release in 2026. Candidates should verify their pathway and current-year topic outline before reusing older Level III materials.

2027 CFA Level I Curriculum Changes

CFA Institute released 2027 CFA Program curriculum updates that primarily affect Level I Quantitative Methods and Equity Investments, with Ethics content also updated across the program. These changes apply to candidates sitting exams beginning February 2027.

2027 Changes at a Glance

Area	What Changed	What Candidates Should Do
Quantitative Methods	More applied investment use cases, expanded estimation and simulation coverage, portfolio optimization alignment, and an introduction to financial data science, AI, and large language models.	Start practice questions earlier. Focus on applied reasoning, not only formula recall.
Equity Investments	More practical application, including forecasting, modeling, valuation narratives, analyst reports, cost of equity, and multi-factor approaches.	Practice scenario-based valuation and forecasting questions. Learn to interpret and communicate investment insights.
Ethics	Updated across all three CFA levels to reflect the Standards of Practice Handbook v12, with each Standard presented as its own module.	Use current-year Ethics materials and practice application-style questions. Do not rely on outdated Ethics summaries.
Timing	The 2027 curriculum applies to candidates sitting exams beginning February 2027.	Match your materials to your registered exam window before building a schedule.

Quantitative Methods: More Applied, Not Necessarily Higher Weight

For 2027 Level I candidates, Quantitative Methods becomes more application-focused, with greater emphasis on real-world investment use cases, estimation, simulation, portfolio optimization, and financial data science. Do not treat this as just a reading update; adjust your practice strategy so you spend more time solving applied Quant questions under exam-like conditions.

Why This Change Matters

• Quant has often been treated as a secondary section because its official Level I topic weight is lower than some major asset-class and financial statement topics. That approach is risky for 2027 candidates because the content is more applied and harder to master through rereading alone.
• Treat Quantitative Methods as a higher-preparation-risk topic, not because its official weight exceeds Equity Investments, Fixed Income, or Financial Statement Analysis, but because the updated content requires practice with investment scenarios and quantitative reasoning under time pressure.

What High-Scoring Quant Prep Looks Like

• Work through applied QBank sets that require you to choose and execute the correct method for an investment problem. After each wrong answer, identify why your approach was incorrect, not just which answer was right. Pattern recognition in Quant is built through repeated practice, not by rereading theory after every mistake.

Equity Investments: Practical Forecasting and Modeling Added

The Equity Investments updates emphasize practical application, including financial statement forecasting, modeling, valuation, analyst reports, cost of equity, and communicating investment insights. This is closer to how equity analysis is performed in real-world analyst roles.

What Changed Inside Equity Investments

Subtopic	2027 Status	Study Implication
Equity valuation frameworks	Core content retained and applied more practically	Know the frameworks and practice using them in scenarios.
Financial statement forecasting	Expanded emphasis	Practice building and interpreting revenue, margin, investment, and financing assumptions.
Financial modeling	Expanded emphasis	Move beyond formula identification into model interpretation.
Equity analyst reports	New/expanded practical content	Understand report structure, recommendations, and how insights are communicated.
Cost of equity and multi-factor approaches	New/expanded practical content	Practice estimating and interpreting inputs using realistic market data.

What This Means for Your Prep

For Equity Investments, the change is primarily in how you practice. Reading alone will not be enough. Add scenario-based valuation questions, forecasting practice, and questions that ask you to interpret analyst conclusions or investment narratives.

Ethics: Updated Across All CFA Levels

Ethics remains a high-priority area and is updated across all three CFA levels for 2027. Candidates should use current-year materials that reflect the latest Standards of Practice Handbook guidance and practice applying the Standards to specific situations.

Do not rely on outdated Ethics summaries or old memorization checklists. For Level I, confirm the official topic outline for your exam window and focus on current Code and Standards application questions.

Ethics Area	2027 Prep Guidance
Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct	High priority. Know the structure, responsibilities, and application of the Standards.
Guidance for Standards I–VII	High priority. Practice scenarios that ask whether conduct violates or conforms to the Code and Standards.
Application of the Code and Standards	High priority. Expect application, interpretation, and judgment-based practice.
Older Ethics materials	Use with caution. Check against the current topic outline and current Standards of Practice Handbook guidance.

How to Adjust Your CFA Level I Study Plan for 2027

The 2027 updates do not mean every topic needs more reading time. The main adjustment is to move earlier into applied practice, especially in Quantitative Methods and Equity Investments, while keeping Ethics current and application-focused.

Study Adjustment	What to Do	Why It Matters
Start Quant practice earlier	Pair Quant readings with applied QBank sets from the beginning. Do not wait until every reading is complete.	The updated Quant content rewards reasoning and application, not only formula recall.
Shift Equity practice to scenarios	Use questions that require forecasting, valuation interpretation, analyst report analysis, and cost-of-equity reasoning.	The 2027 Equity Investments update is more practical and career-oriented.
Keep Ethics current	Use current-year Ethics content and scenario-based questions. Remove or flag outdated Ethics notes.	Ethics is updated across all CFA levels and remains heavily tested.
Check your exam window	Use 2026 materials for 2026 exams and 2027 materials for February 2027 or later Level I exams.	Using the wrong curriculum year can create unnecessary gaps or wasted study time.

Practical Steps by Exam Window

Weeks to Exam	Recommended Adjustment	Focus
16+ weeks	Build the foundation and begin QBank practice alongside readings.	TVM, probability, statistics, foundational Equity concepts, Ethics structure, and early applied practice.
8–15 weeks	Move to practice-heavy review.	Use a 2:1 practice-to-reading ratio for Quant and Equity. Add mixed sets and revisit weak areas.
4–7 weeks	Prioritize timed practice and mocks.	Timed QBank sets, mock exam sections, and targeted drills for weak subtopics.
Under 4 weeks	Review, drill, and simulate.	Formula review, Ethics scenarios, high-yield QBank sets, and mock review. Avoid starting large new content blocks unless unavoidable.

How UWorld Helps You Turn the CFA Curriculum Into Practice

Understanding the curriculum is only the first step. UWorld CFA prep helps candidates turn topic weights and curriculum updates into exam-style practice with detailed explanations, performance tracking, and tools designed for self-studiers and busy professionals.

1. Use the QBank to practice applied Quantitative Methods and Equity Investments questions throughout your study schedule.
2. Review detailed rationales so you understand why an answer is right and why the other choices are wrong.
3. Use performance analytics to identify weak topics before mock exams.
4. Use UAsk support, where available, to clarify concepts during study sessions.