Extensive work through practice analysis and curriculum development has resulted in major revisions at Level I for 2023. These changes, coupled with the updates made for the 2022 cycle, aim to better equip candidates with the knowledge and skills that reflect current investment practice.
Interested to compare these changes against updates that were made last year? Visit Level I Curriculum: What Changed for 2022.
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 2022 curriculum.
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
The Time Value of Money
No Changes
Organizing, Visualizing, and Describing Data
No Changes
Probability Concepts
No Changes
Common Probability Distributions
No Changes
Sampling and Estimation
No Changes
Hypothesis Testing
No Changes
Introduction to Linear Regression
No Changes
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
No Changes
Understanding Business Cycles
No Changes
Monetary and Fiscal Policy
No Changes
Introduction to Geopolitics
Added
New learning module introducing geopolitics and explaining its importance for investment management
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
No Changes
Financial Reporting Quality
No Changes
Applications of Financial Statement Analysis
No Changes
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Corporate Structures and Ownership
Added
New learning module introducing business structures important for investment management
Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations
Revision
Revisions to ESG terms to align with evolving practice
Business Models
Added
New learning module examining key aspects of a business and ways an analyst can evaluate business models to support financial modeling
Capital Investments (Previously Uses of Capital)
Update
Revised content to increase relevance for external analysts valuing a company
Working Capital (Previously Sources of Capital)
Update
Revised content to increase relevance for external analysts valuing a company
Cost of Capital-Foundational Topics
No Changes
Capital Structure
Major Revision
Revised content to reduce existing theoretical content and develop a more practical focus to support valuation exercises
Measures of Leverage
No Changes
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Market Organization and Structure
No Changes
Security Market Indexes
No Changes
Market Efficiency
No Changes
Overview of Equity Securities
No Changes
Introduction to Industry and Company Analysis
No Changes
Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools
No Changes
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Fixed-Income Securities: Defining Elements
No Changes
Fixed-Income Markets: Issuance, Trading, and Funding
No Changes
Introduction to Fixed-Income Valuation
No Changes
Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities
No Changes
Understanding Fixed-Income Risk and Return
No Changes
Fundamentals of Credit Analysis
No Changes
Readings
Change
Summary of Changes
Derivative Markets and Instruments and Basics of Derivative Pricing and Valuation
Revision
Readings revised as learning modules into the following topics:
Derivative instrument and derivative market features
Forward commitment and contingent claim features and instruments
Derivative benefits, risks, and issuer and investor uses
Arbitrage, replication, and the cost of carry in pricing derivatives
Pricing and valuation of forward contracts and for an underlying with varying maturities
Pricing and valuation of futures contracts
Pricing and valuation of interest rate and other swaps
Pricing and valuation of options
Option replication using put-call parity
Valuing a derivative using a one-period binomial model
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Introduction to Alternative Investments
Revision
Previous reading streamlined and revised into learning modules covering the following topics, with no change to the content coverage:
Categories, Characteristics, and Compensation Structures of Alternative Investments
Performance Calculation and Appraisal of Alternative Investments
Private Capital, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Hedge Funds
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Portfolio Management: An Overview
No Changes
Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I
Update
Content added to support risk management for international investments with currency risk
Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II
Update
New EORQs
Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction
No Changes
The Behavioral Biases of Individuals
No Changes
Introduction to Risk Management
Update
Content added to support risk management for international investments with currency risk
Technical Analysis
No Changes
Fintech in Investment Management
Update
Updated content to reflect recent evolution in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain
Reading
Change
Summary of Changes
Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
No Changes
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)
No Changes
Ethics Application
No Changes
See all readings and exam topics in the Level I Study Sessions (candidate login required)
