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Free study plan · CFA Level I

February 2027,
week by week.

Dates checked 16 September 2026 · by Peeter Mirlieb, AnalystForge

Sixteen weeks, ending the Sunday before the exam window opens. Week 1 starts Monday 2 November 2026. About 280 hours in total — mostly 16 to 18 a week, lighter over Christmas and New Year, heaviest in the final week.

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Dates that matter

Standard registration closes
5 November 2026
Scheduling closes
10 November 2026
Exam window
22–28 February 2027

Deadlines can change, and CFA Institute is the only authority on them. Confirm on its dates and fees page before you rely on these.

February 2027 uses a new curriculum

CFA Institute says the updated curriculum applies from the February 2027 exams and affects roughly a quarter of Level I. The biggest changes are in Quantitative Methods (more on estimation and simulation, and a new reading on financial data science, AI and large language models) and Equities (valuation built on financial-statement forecasts). Ethics now presents each Standard as its own module.

This plan uses the 2027 topic names and weights. If you are studying from older material, check your modules against the 2027 learning outcomes before you start.

The sixteen weeks

  1. Week 1 Quantitative Methods I

    2 Nov – 8 Nov · 16 h

    Rates and returns, time value of money, statistical measures. Set up your weekly routine.

    Note: Standard registration closes 5 November.

  2. Week 2 Quantitative Methods II

    9 Nov – 15 Nov · 16 h

    Probability, portfolio mathematics, estimation and simulation, hypothesis testing, regression, and the new reading on data science, AI and large language models.

    Note: Scheduling closes 10 November.

  3. Week 3 Economics I

    16 Nov – 22 Nov · 16 h

    Firms and market structures, business cycles, fiscal and monetary policy.

  4. Week 4 Economics II and Corporate Finance

    23 Nov – 29 Nov · 18 h

    Trade, capital flows and currencies; then corporate governance, capital investments and capital structure.

  5. Week 5 Corporate Finance wrap-up, Financial Statement Analysis I

    30 Nov – 6 Dec · 18 h

    Finish Corporate Finance; the financial reporting framework, income statement and balance sheet.

  6. Week 6 Financial Statement Analysis II

    7 Dec – 13 Dec · 18 h

    Cash flow statements, inventories, long-lived assets, income taxes.

  7. Week 7 Financial Statement Analysis III, Equities I

    14 Dec – 20 Dec · 18 h

    Liabilities and financial analysis techniques; then market organisation and equity indexes.

  8. Week 8 Ethics I (lighter week)

    21 Dec – 27 Dec · 10 h

    The Code of Ethics and the first Standards. Short daily sessions work well over the break.

    Note: Christmas week — 10 hours, not 18.

  9. Week 9 Ethics II (lighter week)

    28 Dec – 3 Jan · 10 h

    The remaining Standards and GIPS.

    Note: New Year week — 10 hours.

  10. Week 10 Equities II

    4 Jan – 10 Jan · 18 h

    Industry and company analysis, forecasting financial statements, and valuation built on those forecasts.

  11. Week 11 Fixed Income I

    11 Jan – 17 Jan · 18 h

    Instrument features, markets, pricing and yields.

  12. Week 12 Fixed Income II

    18 Jan – 24 Jan · 18 h

    Yield curves, interest rate risk, credit risk, securitisation.

  13. Week 13 Derivatives and Risk Management

    25 Jan – 31 Jan · 18 h

    Forwards, futures, swaps and options: pricing and valuation basics.

    Note: Australia Day is Tuesday 26 January.

  14. Week 14 Alternative Investments

    1 Feb – 7 Feb · 18 h

    Private capital, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and digital assets. Start Portfolio Construction at the end of the week.

  15. Week 15 Portfolio Construction

    8 Feb – 14 Feb · 20 h

    Portfolio risk and return, the planning and construction process, risk management and behavioural biases.

  16. Week 16 Mock exams and Ethics refresh

    15 Feb – 21 Feb · 30 h

    Two full timed mocks (two 135-minute sessions each), review every miss by topic, then re-read the Ethics Standards. Rest the day before your exam.

    Note: Heaviest week. Take leave if you can.

Where the hours go

258 hours of topic study plus 22 hours of mock exams and review. Financial Statement Analysis gets a little more than its exam weight because Equities and Fixed Income lean on it. These are this plan’s choices, not a CFA Institute recommendation — move hours toward whatever you find hardest.

Topic2027 exam weightPlan hours
Ethical and Professional Standards10–15%28
Quantitative Methods11–14%32
Economics6–9%20
Financial Statement Analysis11–14%40
Corporate Finance6–9%16
Equities11–14%30
Fixed Income11–14%36
Derivatives and Risk Management6–9%18
Alternative Investments6–9%16
Portfolio Construction8–12%22
Mock exams and review—22
Total280

Making it fit a working week

  • Sixteen to eighteen hours is roughly an hour and a half on four weeknights plus a long block each weekend day.
  • Finish each week with twenty minutes of questions on the previous weeks’ topics, so November’s work is still there in February.
  • If you fall behind, cut hours from the topic you already find easiest, not from the final two weeks.
  • CFA Institute provides practice questions and practice exams to registered candidates. Use them — they are the closest thing to the real exam.

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