Understand the case.
Explain the value.
Build a repeatable approach to vignettes, valuation, and investment analysis. Start with core reasoning, then practise against the curriculum for your exam year.
Browse CFA study guides ↗Exam format checked November 11, 2026 against CFA Institute. This path is year-neutral: select the 2026 or 2027 outline on the official page once you choose your sitting. Topic names and detailed learning outcomes may change. These independent guides are starting points, not complete curriculum coverage or official exam questions.
Your first four guides.
- 1↗
Vignette technique
Extract relevant facts, manage units and assumptions, and review mistakes with a repeatable item-set workflow.
- 2↗
Equity valuation foundations
Distinguish equity and firm cash flows, work a dividend valuation, and test how assumptions drive terminal value.
- 3↗
Fixed-income valuation
Discount cash flows with spot rates, derive a forward rate, and distinguish a rate scenario from a yield prediction.
- 4↗
Regression interpretation
Interpret conditional coefficients, compute a prediction, and separate statistical significance from economic usefulness.
A preparation rhythm you can adapt.
Build: work through your registered curriculum topic by topic, writing assumptions and formula inputs in your own words. Use the guides here for focused explanations.
Apply: practise item sets after each topic. Keep an error log separating conceptual mistakes, units, timing, and calculator slips.
Connect: mix topics and revisit weak areas after a delay. Use official practice questions to check transfer beyond the examples you already know.
Rehearse: take timed sessions, review every uncertain answer, and reserve time for your Practical Skills Module. Set the schedule after choosing your sitting and weekly study capacity.
The full topic roadmap.
Use this as a coverage checklist alongside the year-specific official outline. The four guides above introduce selected skills; the other areas still require your official curriculum and practice.
- Ethical and Professional Standards
- Quantitative Methods
- Economics
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Corporate Finance
- Equities
- Fixed Income
- Derivatives and Risk Management
- Alternative Investments
- Portfolio Construction