The CFA Level 1 Exam comprises two multiple choice exams. The topics examined are Ethics, Investment Tools, Asset Classes and Portfolio Management (see weights below).
The CFA Level 1 exam is in many ways the most challenging of the CFA exams as it is fully tested by multiple choice – subsequent exams suchs as Levels 2 and 3 are written and offer candidates the opportunity to get some ‘easy’ marks such as listing the pro’s and con’s of various valuation techniques.
The heaviest component of the exams the Investment Tools section which tests the candidate’s knowledge of valuation techniques across a wide variety of financial instruments (equities, bonds, derivatives and alternative investments). The CFA Institute lists an extremely extensive extensive set of possible items to be tested for Investment Tools, however in reality the exam questions tend to be focused on a much narrower set of items. Some topics such as recitation of the Black Scholes formula have never been asked whereas the Dividend Discount Model of valuation is tested in almost every exam.
| Topic Area | Percentage Weight (%) |
| Ethical and Professional Standards (total) | 15 |
| Quantitative Methods | 12 |
| Economic | 10 |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis | 20 |
| Corporate Finance | 8 |
| Investment Tools (total) | 50 |
| Equity Investments | 10 |
| Fixed Income | 12 |
| Derivatives | 5 |
| Alternative Investments | 3 |
| Asset Classes (total) | 30 |
| Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning (total) | 5 |
| Total | 100 |
One issue to note with the above weights is that a candidate’s Ethics score will be evaluated in the event the candidate’s exam score is marginal, thus the Ethics topic is probably the most important topic after Investment Tools.
CFA Exams are held twice annually in June and December, detailed on enrollment can be found on the CFA Institute website.