Updated 11 October 2026. Sources: CFA Institute's 2027 Level I topic weights and curriculum-change notes (linked at the end of this page).
The short version
- Same structure, new weights: ten topics and 180 questions, but Ethics falls from 15–20% to 10–15% and Quantitative Methods rises from 6–9% to 11–14%. Derivatives and Alternative Investments move by one point.
- Rebuilt: Quantitative Methods (11 modules) and Equities (8 modules become 12).
- Reorganised: Ethics splits the guidance into one module per Standard, and GIPS is removed.
- Renamed: Corporate Issuers becomes Corporate Finance, Equity Investments becomes Equities, Derivatives becomes Derivatives and Risk Management, and Portfolio Management becomes Portfolio Construction.
- Content essentially unchanged: Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Alternative Investments, Corporate Finance and Portfolio Construction keep their learning outcomes.
Topic weights, 2026 vs 2027
| Topic (2027 name) | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 15–20% | 10–15% |
| Quantitative Methods | 6–9% | 11–14% |
| Economics | 6–9% | 6–9% |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% | 11–14% |
| Corporate Finance | 6–9% | 6–9% |
| Equities | 11–14% | 11–14% |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% | 11–14% |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 5–8% | 6–9% |
| Alternative Investments | 7–10% | 6–9% |
| Portfolio Construction | 8–12% | 8–12% |
At the midpoints, a 180-question exam has roughly 9 fewer Ethics questions and 9 more Quantitative Methods questions than in 2026.
Quantitative Methods
The 2027 reading is organised around what an analyst does with returns and data, rather than around statistics chapters. Most of the tools are still there, but grouped differently, and a few are new.
- New modules: Types of Financial Returns (price return, distributions, currency effects, long-run returns by asset class) and Benchmarking Returns (money- and time-weighted returns, plus index construction, which moves here from Equities).
- New content: historical simulation and historical VaR, the moments of key distributions, conditional variances and covariances, estimating CAPM beta by regression, p-hacking, and an expanded introduction to financial data science (large language models, reinforcement learning).
- Moved in: the minimum-variance portfolio, efficient frontier, capital allocation line and capital market line now also appear in Quantitative Methods.
- Gone: Roy's safety-first criterion, the harmonic mean and jackknife resampling.
Equities
The biggest change. The 2027 Equities topic follows an equity analyst's workflow, from the instrument to the research report, in twelve modules.
- New: the shareholder voting process and proxy advisors, IPO routes (SPACs, direct listings), liquidity measures such as float and average daily volume, FCFF and residual income models, choosing a peer group, justified multiples, financial statement forecast models, sell-side and buy-side research reports, and the CAPM, beta estimation and multi-factor models for the cost of equity.
- Gone: market efficiency (the three forms and market anomalies), margin and leverage calculations, order types and trading instructions, and the taxonomy of financial intermediaries.
- Changed detail: industry concentration now uses an HHI above 1,800 as highly concentrated.
Ethics
The Code and Standards themselves are unchanged. The guidance that was one long reading in 2026 becomes seven modules, one per Standard (I to VII), which makes each Standard its own study unit. The Introduction to GIPS is removed from Level I; fair performance presentation is still tested under Standard III(D).
How to adjust your preparation
- Check your exam date. A 2026 exam follows the 2026 curriculum; a 2027 exam the 2027 curriculum.
- Keep what still counts. Seven topics barely change, so time already spent on them is not lost.
- Rebalance your hours. Quantitative Methods now weighs as much as Financial Statement Analysis, and Ethics less than before, though it is still among the larger topics.
- Re-learn Quant and Equities from the 2027 modules. Use your 2026 knowledge as a base, but study the new modules in full.
- Drop what left. Skip GIPS, market efficiency, margin calculations and safety-first.
At CheapMocks, the Academy, the question bank and the mocks follow your curriculum: set your exam date, or pick 2026 or 2027 at the top of the Academy. Lessons you finished carry over when a lesson exists in both years.
Frequently asked questions
Which curriculum applies to my exam?
Each exam year has its own curriculum. Level I exams in 2026 follow the 2026 curriculum; exams from February 2027 follow the 2027 curriculum.
Did the topic weights change for 2027?
Yes, for four topics. Ethical and Professional Standards falls from 15–20% to 10–15%, Quantitative Methods rises from 6–9% to 11–14%, Derivatives (now Derivatives and Risk Management) moves from 5–8% to 6–9% and Alternative Investments from 7–10% to 6–9%. The other six topics keep their 2026 weights.
I started studying with 2026 material. Do I have to start again?
No. Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Alternative Investments, Corporate Finance and Portfolio Construction keep essentially the same content. Focus your catch-up on the new Quantitative Methods and Equities modules, which now carry more of the exam, and drop GIPS.
Is GIPS still tested at Level I?
No. The GIPS reading is gone from the 2027 Level I curriculum. Fair presentation of performance is still tested through Standard III(D).
Does CheapMocks cover the 2027 curriculum?
Yes. Set your exam date and the Academy, question bank and mocks follow the right curriculum, 2026 or 2027. You can also switch by hand at any time.
Sources
- CFA Institute, Level I exam: topic weights 2026 and 2027
- CFA Institute, Curriculum Changes for 2027 CFA Program (PDF)
- CFA Institute, 2027 Level I topic outlines (PDF)
Weights and topic names from CFA Institute; the module-level detail is our reading of the 2027 Level I curriculum, last checked 11 October 2026. CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute. Start free.