CFA Institute publishes Level 1 topic weights. Split your study hours to match, then adjust for where you are weak. This article shows you where to find the weights, how to read them, and how to turn them into a weekly plan.
Where do the Level 1 topic weights come from?
The weights come from CFA Institute itself. According to CFA Institute's Level I exam page, as of October 2026, each of the ten curriculum topics carries a published range of exam weight, and its curriculum page shows the Level I, Level II and Level III ranges side by side for each topic. A range means the share of questions on that topic will land somewhere inside it. It is not a fixed count.
A prep provider's chart may show a single number per topic. Treat that as a guess. The ranges on CFA Institute's pages are the ones to plan from.
Which weights apply to your exam date?
CFA Institute lists two sets of Level I weights. According to its press release on curriculum updates, the new curriculum applies to candidates sitting exams beginning February 2027. The lists below are the ones CFA Institute shows on its Level I exam page.
The 2027 curriculum lists these ranges:
- Ethical and Professional Standards: 10-15%
- Quantitative Methods: 11-14%
- Economics: 6-9%
- Financial Statement Analysis: 11-14%
- Corporate Finance: 6-9%
- Equities: 11-14%
- Fixed Income: 11-14%
- Derivatives and Risk Management: 6-9%
- Alternative Investments: 6-9%
- Portfolio Construction: 8-12%
The 2026 curriculum list differs. According to the same page, it puts Ethical and Professional Standards at 15-20% and Quantitative Methods at 6-9%, and it names two topics differently: Corporate Issuers and Equity Investments. If you sit an exam before February 2027, check which list covers your window on CFA Institute's site before you plan. The rest of this article uses the 2027 list.
What do the ranges tell you about your hours?
Three things stand out in the 2027 list, and each is a plain reading of CFA Institute's own numbers.
- Four topics sit at 11-14%: Quantitative Methods, Financial Statement Analysis, Equities and Fixed Income. Ethical and Professional Standards sits at 10-15%. Together these five carry the largest weights on the list.
- Four topics sit at 6-9%: Economics, Corporate Finance, Derivatives and Risk Management, and Alternative Investments. Each is a small slice.
- Portfolio Construction sits between the two groups at 8-12%.
CFA Institute's press release also says Quantitative Methods and Equity Investments together make up about 25 percent of the Level I exam.
A range is wide on purpose, so do not build a plan that depends on the exact edge of one. Use the middle of each range as your starting point.
How do you turn weights into study hours?
Take the number of hours you can really study before your exam date, then split them by the middle of each range. The sketch below is our own arithmetic on CFA Institute's 2027 ranges, using 100 hours as the example and rounding each share. It leaves two hours spare.
| Topic | Published range | Starting hours out of 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10-15% | 12 |
| Quantitative Methods | 11-14% | 12 |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11-14% | 12 |
| Equities | 11-14% | 12 |
| Fixed Income | 11-14% | 12 |
| Portfolio Construction | 8-12% | 10 |
| Economics | 6-9% | 7 |
| Corporate Finance | 6-9% | 7 |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 6-9% | 7 |
| Alternative Investments | 6-9% | 7 |
Scale the last column to your own total. With 250 hours, multiply each figure by 2.5. The numbers are a starting split, not a promise of anything about your result.
How do you adjust the split for your weak areas?
Weights tell you what the exam asks. They do not tell you what you already know. A working analyst may know Financial Statement Analysis well and have never touched Derivatives. Spend the same hours on both and you waste time on one and run short on the other.
Adjust in three steps:
- Take a timed practice test early, before you have studied much. Sort every wrong answer by topic.
- Move hours from the topics where you got most questions right to the topics where you missed the most. Keep every topic above zero, because each carries a published weight.
- Repeat after each practice test. A weak topic that improves gives its hours back.
When two topics are equally weak, give the extra hours to the one with the larger published range, because more of the paper sits there.
What does the exam format mean for your plan?
According to CFA Institute's Level I exam page, the exam has 180 multiple-choice questions in two 135-minute sessions of 90 questions each, and it suggests allowing about 90 seconds per question. It also says all questions are equally weighted and there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. Because every question counts the same, a topic's weight is a fair guide to where the marks are.
Because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, you answer every question, including ones you are unsure of. Practice at the pace of 90 seconds per question so the weights you studied turn into answers on the day.
Exam dates, fees and rules change. Confirm the current details with the official exam body before you act on them.
Sources
- CFA Program Level I exam, CFA Institute
- CFA Program Curriculum, CFA Institute
- CFA Institute Announces Updates to CFA Program Curriculum, CFA Institute press room
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