CFA Level 3

2022 CFA Curriculum Changes: Our Super Summary 6

CFA Level 3 Topic Weights (vs. Previous Year)

Topics / Weight 2018 2019 2020 2021
Ethics 10-15% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Quant Methods
Economics 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
FRA
Corp Fin
Equity 5-15% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Fixed Income 10-20% 15-20% 15-20% 15-20%
Derivatives 5-15% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Alt. Investments 5-15% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Portfolio Mgmt. 40-55% 35-40% 35-40% 35-40%

CFA Level 3 Curriculum Changes

In short, there is a much smaller revamp on the Level 3 curriculum this year (compared to last year).

There are 35 readings in 2022’s Level 3 Curriculum (vs. 38 in 2020/2021):

  • 5 readings from 2020/2021 were removed:
    • Reading 4: Professionalism in Investment Management
    • ​Reading 7: The Behavioral Finance Perspective
    • Reading 29: Taxes and Private Wealth Management in a Global Context
    • Reading 30: Estate Planning in a Global Context
    • Reading 31: Concentrated Single-Asset Positions
  • 2 new readings were added:
    • Reading 22: Topics in Private Wealth Management
    • Reading 30: Case Study in Risk Management: Institutional
  • 7 readings were updated, mostly major content revisions in Fixed Income and further simplification of GIPS (Ethics).

(source: 300 hours)

CFA Level 3 Resource 2020

CFA Level 3 Schweser Notes 2020 book 1 -5

CFA Level 2

2022 CFA Curriculum Changes: Our Super Summary 4

CFA Level 2 Topic Weights (vs. Previous Year)

Topics / Weight 2018 2019 2020 2021
Ethics 10-15% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Quant Methods 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Economics 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
FRA 15-20% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Corp Fin 5-15% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Equity 15-25% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Fixed Income 10-20% 10-15% 10-15% 10-15%
Derivatives 5-15% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Alt. Investments 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%
Portfolio Mgmt. 5-10% 5-15% 5-15% 10-15%

CFA Level 2 Curriculum Changes

In short, Level 2’s curriculum experienced a relatively small update this year.

There are 47 readings in 2022’s Level 2 Curriculum (vs. 48 in 2020/2021):

  • 3 readings from 2020/2021 were removed:
    • Reading 9 – Excerpt from Probabilistic Approaches
    • Reading 22 – Corporate Governance & Other ESG Considerations in Investment Analysis
    • Reading 40 – Publicly Traded Real Estate Securities
  • 2 new readings were added:
    • Reading 17 – Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Considerations in Investment Analysis
    • Reading 41 – Backtesting and Simulation
  • 13 readings were updated, mostly minor changes, except R33 Pricing & Valuation of Forward Commitments (Derivatives) and R35 Real Estate Investments – the latter due to merging of 2 readings into one.

(source: 300 hours)

CFA Level 2 Resource 2020

CFA Level 2 Schweser Notes 2020 book 1 -5 & QuickSheet

CFA Level 1

2022 CFA Curriculum Changes: Our Super Summary 2

CFA Level 1 Topic Weights (vs. Previous Year)

Topics / Weight 2018 2019 2020 2021
Ethics 15% 15% 15% 15-20%
Quant Methods 12% 10% 10% 8-12%
Economics 10% 10% 10% 8-12%
FRA 20% 15% 15% 13-17%
Corp Fin 7% 10% 10% 8-12%
Equity 10% 11% 11% 10-12%
Fixed Income 10% 11% 11% 10-12%
Derivatives 5% 6% 6% 5-8%
Alt. Investments 4% 6% 6% 5-8%
Portfolio Mgmt. 7% 6% 6% 5-8%

CFA Level 1 Curriculum Changes

In short, there has been lots of small updates throughout the Level 1 curriculum, but nothing major overall.

There are 60 readings in 2022’s Level 1 Curriculum (vs. 57 in 2020/2021):

  • 5 readings from 2020/2021 were removed:
    • Reading 5 – Global Investment Performance Standards
    • Reading 7 – Statistical Concepts & Market Returns
    • Reading 32 – Capital Budgeting
    • Reading 33 – Cost of Capital
    • Reading 35 – Working Capital Management
  • 8 new readings were added (mostly in Quant Methods and Corporate Issuers):
    • Reading 2 – Organizing, Visualizing, and Describing Data
    • Reading 7 – Introduction to Linear Regression
    • Reading 28 – Uses of Capital
    • Reading 29 – Sources of Capital
    • Reading 30 – Cost of Capital – Foundational Topics
    • Reading 31 – Capital Structure
    • Reading 52 – The Behavioral Biases of Individuals
    • Reading 60 – Ethics Application
  • 15 readings were updated: mostly minor changes, except Alternative Investments.

(source: 300 hours)

CFA Level 1 Resource 2020 

CFA Program Curriculum 2020 Level 1 volumes 1 – 6

CFA Level 1 Schweser Notes 2020 book 1 -5

CFA Level 1 Question Bank