CFA 2027 Level I curriculum decoded: Quant jumps, Ethics shrinks

If you’re sitting CFA Level I from February 2027 onward, the ground has moved under the curriculum — and it changes how you should budget your study hours.

The headline shifts (Level I, 2027)

●        Quantitative Methods: ~6–9% → 11–14% — the single biggest jump. Quant is now a materially larger slice of your exam.

●        Ethics: ~15–20% → 10–15% — still important, but a smaller weight than candidates are used to.

●        Derivatives: +1 percentage point; Alternative Investments: −1.

●        The seven Ethics standards are now split into individual modules, and learning modules grew from 93 to 102.

●        Three topic areas were renamed (Corporate Issuers, Equity Investments, Portfolio Management).

What this means for your study plan

1. Front-load Quant. The topics that grew deserve proportionally more of your hours. If you historically treated Quant as a quick win, that assumption no longer holds.

2. Don’t abandon Ethics. A lower weight isn’t an excuse to skip it — Ethics is still the tiebreaker near the pass line (the “Ethics adjustment”), and it’s high-yield relative to effort.

3. Use updated materials. Curriculum this different means 2026 prep notes can mislead you on weightings.

Levels II and III: the 2027 changes are much lighter — essentially an Ethics restructure, with Level III core and all three specialized pathways unchanged for 2027.

One more 2027 change that affects strategy, not content: paid deferrals end from February 2027. Combined with data showing deferred candidates pass far below first-timers, the takeaway is to register for a window you can commit to and prepare for the new weightings from day one.