MurtaqaCFA Level I Readiness
AR
Murtaqa guide

The Ten CFA Level I Topics

Understand the ten CFA Level I topics, their published 2026 weight ranges, and the evidence to build.

The ten measured topics

Ethical and Professional Standards

Ethical frameworks, professional conduct, independent judgment, duties to clients and markets, and fair presentation.

Identify the duty, affected party, relevant information, and preventive action before comparing options.

Quantitative Methods

Time value, probability, statistics, sampling, hypothesis testing, regression, and interpretation.

Estimate direction and units, calculate, then explain the economic meaning and reasonableness.

Economics

Supply and demand, market structures, cycles, inflation, growth, policy, trade, and currencies.

Draw the causal path from a shock to price, quantity, output, and currencies.

Financial Statement Analysis

Statements, disclosures, accounting choices, assets, taxes, ratios, earnings quality, and cash flow.

Connect each transaction to all three statements, ratios, cash flow, and earnings quality.

Corporate Issuers

Governance, stakeholders, capital budgeting, cost of capital, leverage, financing, and working capital.

Translate the decision into cash flows, discount rates, incentives, liquidity constraints, value, and risk.

Equity Investments

Markets, orders, indexes, industry and company analysis, and fundamental valuation.

Identify whether the decision is execution, comparison, or valuation, then test assumptions.

Fixed Income

Bond features, valuation, yields, spot rates, curves, duration, convexity, securitization, and credit.

Draw cash flows and the curve, then separate risk-free rate moves from spread and sensitivity.

Derivatives

Forwards, futures, swaps, options, payoffs, value, and no-arbitrage.

Draw the payoff, state each party's rights and obligations, then apply replication or cost of carry.

Alternative Investments

Real estate, infrastructure, private equity, hedge funds, commodities, fees, liquidity, and valuation.

Compare net return, liquidity, valuation, cash flows, and specific risk before diversification benefit.

Portfolio Management

Risk and return, diversification, CAPM, portfolio planning, investor objectives, constraints, and the IPS.

Start from the IPS and evaluate an asset's contribution to portfolio risk and return.

How to study across topics

  • Choose the concept or formula before reading the options.
  • Write inputs, assumptions, and units before calculating.
  • Explain the result in financial or ethical terms.
  • Use mixed timed sets and classify repeated errors by cause.
Primary references

Official sources

Links should be rechecked before a high-stakes decision.

Turn the guide into evidence

Choose your assessment depth

Use Quick for a directional reading or Full when you want broader evidence and a richer report.