CFA Level 1 Question Types
Every question format explained with tips and strategies to maximize your score.
Overview
The CFA Level 1 exam is the first step toward the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. It covers 10 topic areas including ethics, quantitative methods, economics, financial statement analysis, equity, fixed income, derivatives, alternative investments, and portfolio management.
Question Types
Calculation
Apply a formula or multi-step computation.
Strategies
- ✓Show working on scratch paper
- ✓Estimate first to catch calculator errors
Conceptual
Test understanding of definitions, relationships, and frameworks.
Strategies
- ✓Know the exact CFA Institute definition, not a textbook paraphrase
- ✓Ethics questions use the strictest interpretation
Ethics application
Apply Standards of Professional Conduct to a scenario.
Strategies
- ✓The most conservative answer is usually correct
- ✓Loyalty to client > employer > CFA Institute
General Strategies
- 1.Ethics is the highest-weighted topic — start and end your studies with it.
- 2.Use the CFA Institute curriculum or SchweserNotes; don't rely on third-party alone.
- 3.Do 1,000+ practice questions before exam day.
- 4.Master the BA II Plus calculator shortcuts (NPV, IRR, TVM, statistics).
- 5.Review wrong answers, not just right ones — understand the reasoning.