The ten topic areas at a glance
The CFA Program is organised around ten topic areas that appear at every level. What changes is not the list but the emphasis: as you climb from Level I to Level III, the same subjects are tested at greater depth and with a different purpose. The ten topics are Ethics and Professional Standards, Quantitative Methods, Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Issuers, Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Alternative Investments, and Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning.
A useful mental model is that Level I teaches you the tools, Level II teaches you to value assets, and Level III teaches you to manage portfolios. The topics carry through all three, but their relative importance moves to match that progression.
How topic weights shift by level
The table below shows the approximate emphasis of each topic area at each level. Treat these as indicative ranges — the CFA Institute publishes weights as bands and revises them periodically, so confirm the current weights on cfainstitute.org before finalising a study plan.
| Topic area | Level I emphasis | Level II emphasis | Level III emphasis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics & Professional Standards | High | High | High |
| Quantitative Methods | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Low |
| Economics | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Low-Moderate |
| Financial Statement Analysis | High | Moderate-High | Minimal |
| Corporate Issuers | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Low |
| Equity Investments | Moderate-High | High | Moderate |
| Fixed Income | Moderate-High | Moderate-High | Moderate-High |
| Derivatives | Low-Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Alternative Investments | Low-Moderate | Low-Moderate | Low-Moderate |
| Portfolio Management & Wealth Planning | Low-Moderate | Moderate | Very High |
The topics grouped by theme
Ethics and the professional foundation
Ethics and Professional Standards is the backbone of the entire programme and carries heavy weight at every level. It is not a warm-up topic — many candidates find it deceptively tricky, and it can be decisive in borderline results. The Code and Standards recur constantly in professional practice, which is why the Institute never lets its weight fall.
The analytical toolkit
Quantitative Methods and Economics give you the statistical and macro tools used throughout. Their weight is highest at Level I and tapers as the exams shift toward application. Financial Statement Analysis teaches you to read and adjust financial statements — a heavy topic at Levels I and II that all but disappears at Level III.
The asset classes
Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives and Alternative Investments cover how to value and use the major asset classes. Corporate Issuers looks at the firm's own financing and governance decisions. These grow in depth from Level I to Level II, where valuation is the focus.
Bringing it together
Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning starts modestly at Level I and becomes the dominant theme of Level III, where you learn to build portfolios and plan for individual and institutional clients. This is the topic that ties the whole curriculum into a professional discipline.
Using the weights to plan
The shifting weights are a study-planning gift: they tell you where to spend your hours at each level. At Level I, protect time for Ethics and Financial Statement Analysis. At Level II, lean into Equity and asset valuation. At Level III, prioritise Portfolio Management. With roughly 300 hours per level, allocating in rough proportion to the weights — while never neglecting Ethics — is a sound default. For a level-specific breakdown, see our Level 1 guide, and for the wider structure our levels explained and preparation guides.