Level I Curriculum: What Changed for 2022
The CFA® Program curriculum equips candidates with relevant knowledge and skills that reflect current investment management practice.
As part of our commitment to prioritizing the interests of our candidates and helping minimize the impact of pandemic-related disruptions, CFA Institute froze the 2020 CFA Program curriculum for 2021 exam administrations. This meant that all candidates who took exams in 2021 were tested on the 2020 CFA Program curriculum. Despite this freeze for candidates, the curriculum continued to evolve. Extensive work through practice analysis and curriculum development has resulted in revisions across all levels of the curriculum.
When you register for your CFA Program exam, you receive the curriculum aligned with the exam you will take. Exam questions will be based solely on the current curriculum year readings.
Refer to the key and tables below to see what has changed in Level I of the CFA Program curriculum over the past two years, and download our Level I infographic (pdf) and Guide to 2022 CFA Program Curriculum Changes (pdf) for more information.
- Update: Smallest degree of change. Data, examples, and references were brought up to date.
- Revision: Medium degree of change. Content was adjusted and improved for clarity or accuracy.
- Major Revision: Largest degree of change. Content was rewritten or significantly altered to reflect new guidance or advances in the industry.
- Added: New area of content introduced to the curriculum.
- Dropped: Reading no longer appears in the curriculum. Material was no longer relevant or was better captured elsewhere.
- No Changes: Content remains the same as in the 2020 curriculum.
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| The Time Value of Money | No Changes | |
| Statistical Concepts and Market Returns | Dropped | |
| Organizing, Visualizing, and Describing Data | New | Replaced "Statistical Concepts and Market Returns" with focus on organizing, visualizing, and describing data |
| Probability Concepts | Revision | Added new visuals/investment-oriented examples and content on Bayes' Formula |
| Common Probability Distributions | Major Revision | Added new visuals/investment-oriented examples Consolidated content on distributions from other readings Enhanced Monte Carlo simulation content |
| Sampling and Estimation | Revision | Added new visuals/investment-oriented examples and new content on sampling methods |
| Hypothesis Testing | Complete Revision | Completely new reading with focus on six-step process for hypothesis testing |
| Introduction to Linear Regression | Complete Revision | Completely new reading, moved down from Level II, duplicated in Level II for 2022 only |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Topics in Demand and Supply Analysis | No Changes | |
| The Firm and Market Structures | No Changes | |
| Aggregate Output, Prices, and Economic Growth | Updated | New material on quantitative easing |
| Understanding Business Cycles | Updated | New material on credit cycles |
| Monetary and Fiscal Policy | No Changes | |
| International Trade and Capital Flows | No Changes | |
| Currency Exchange Rates | No Changes |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis | No Changes | |
| Financial Reporting Standards | No Changes | |
| Understanding Income Statements | No Changes | |
| Understanding Balance Sheets | No Changes | |
| Understanding Cash Flow Statements | No Changes | |
| Financial Analysis Techniques | No Changes | |
| Inventories | No Changes | |
| Long-Lived Assets | No Changes | |
| Income Taxes | No Changes | |
| Non-Current (Long-Term) Liabilities | Revision | Revised material on leases and lease accounting to reflect new treatment and new examples A handful of EORQs revised |
| Financial Reporting Quality | No Changes | |
| Applications of Financial Statement Analysis | No Changes |
New Topic Title and Focus, Previously titled "Corporate Finance"
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations | Major Revision | Significant addition of ESG content |
| Uses of Capital | Revision | Consolidated Level I and Level II Capital Budgeting readings Updated material on commonly used investment decision criteria and capital investment analysis from an external analyst standpoint. |
| Sources of Capital | Major Revision | New coverage on financing methods and their considerations Dropped material on working capital management and evaluation of projects reflecting a corporate insider's perspective. |
| Cost of Capital-Foundational Topics | Revision | Dropped material on project cost of capital analysis reflecting a corporate insider's perspective Moved country risk premiums to Level II Removed duplicative coverage in Level II Return Concepts |
| Capital Structure | Major Revision | Revised and moved Level II 2020 reading New coverage on firm's use of debt in life cycle |
| Measures of Leverage | No Changes |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Market Organization and Structure | No Changes | |
| Security Market Indexes | No Changes | |
| Market Efficiency | Revision | Revised Behavioral Finance/Market Anomalies section |
| Overview of Equity Securities | No Changes | |
| Introduction to Industry and Company Analysis | Revision | Streamlined and added material for Industry Classification section |
| Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools | No Changes |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-Income Securities: Defining Elements | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Fixed-Income Markets: Issuance, Trading, and Funding | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Introduction to Fixed-Income Valuation | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Understanding Fixed-Income Risk and Return | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Fundamentals of Credit Analysis | Revision | Eliminated duplication and overlap Made notations consistent Added some content |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Derivative Markets and Instruments | No Changes | |
| Basics of Derivative Pricing and Valuation | No Changes |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Alternative Investments | Major Revision | Revised or updated majority of content Added content on private debt, timber, and farmland |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Management: An Overview | No Changes | |
| Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I | No Changes | |
| Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II | No Changes | |
| Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction | Major Revision | Added ESG considerations |
| The Behavioral Biases of Individuals | Added | New reading moved from Level III Revised with new examples New EORQs |
| Introduction to Risk Management | No Changes | |
| Technical Analysis | Major Revision | Revised with new content and over 40 real-life examples of technical analysis |
| Fintech in Investment Management | No Changes |
| Reading | Change | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession | Revision | Added material on professionalism moved from Level III |
| Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct | No Changes | |
| Guidance for Standards I–VII | No Changes | |
| Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) | Revision | Heavily revised to align with new 2020 GIPS Standards |
| Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) | Dropped | Refers to new 2020 GIPS Standards |
| Ethics Application | New | All new content illustrates Code and Standards |
See all readings and exam topics in the Level I Study Sessions