1.2 Official Source Control and 2026 Curriculum
Key Takeaways
- Use CFA Institute pages, PDFs, policies, and the Learning Ecosystem as the source of record for exam facts.
- The 2026 Level I curriculum covers ten topic areas across ethics, tools, financial statement analysis, corporate issuers, asset classes, and portfolio management.
- Official facts should be separated from local notes, practice explanations, and third-party summaries.
- Do not publish a raw passing score because CFA Institute does not publish the MPS as a stable public percentage.
Source control before study volume
CFA preparation attracts summaries, tutor notes, forum claims, and old pass-score rumors. Some may help with learning, but they should not control facts. The source of record for this guide is CFA Institute: the Level I exam page, curriculum overview, 2026 topic outlines, policies, identification policy, exam results page, and official result releases.
Source control matters because CFA Program details can change. Fees, windows, policies, curriculum names, and result releases are not static forever. A candidate who writes down the source and date can update cleanly. A candidate who blends old notes with current facts may make registration or study decisions on stale information.
| Fact type | Preferred source |
|---|---|
| Exam format | CFA Institute Level I exam page. |
| Curriculum scope | Curriculum overview and 2026 topic outlines. |
| Rules and policies | CFA Program policies. |
| Identification | CFA Program identification policy. |
| Fact type | Candidate use |
|---|---|
| Exam format | Confirm sessions, question count, and item type. |
| Curriculum scope | Build the topic map and reading plan. |
| Rules and policies | Check attempts, deferrals, scheduling, and candidate conduct. |
| Identification | Confirm passport requirements before registration and test day. |
| Fact type | Source-control use |
|---|---|
| Results and pass rates | Use official releases and avoid unsupported score claims. |
| Learning tools | Use official curriculum, practice, mocks, study plans, and PSM access. |
The 2026 curriculum map
The Level I curriculum covers Ethical and Professional Standards, Quantitative Methods, Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Issuers, Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Alternative Investments, and Portfolio Management. Those are the same large buckets used throughout this guide.
The topic outline gives more detail without needing to copy long lists. Quant includes rates, returns, time value, statistics, probability, inference, regression, simulation, and data concepts. Economics covers markets, cycles, policy, geopolitics, trade, capital flows, and foreign exchange.
Financial statement analysis covers the reporting framework, statements, cash flows, inventories, long-lived assets, liabilities, equity, taxes, reporting quality, ratios, and modeling basics. Corporate issuers covers governance, stakeholders, liquidity, capital allocation, capital structure, and business models.
The asset-class chapters cover equity markets and valuation, fixed-income instruments and risk, derivative basics, alternative investment categories, and portfolio management. Ethics stays central because conduct rules affect research, recommendations, client relationships, employers, markets, and the profession.
MPS discipline
The Minimum Passing Score is set by CFA Institute and is not published as a stable raw percentage. Do not tell yourself that Level I is passed by scoring a public 70%. That claim is not source-controlled. It can also distort study behavior by making candidates chase a false threshold.
The better rule is to build margin. Aim for consistent performance across topics, improve weak areas through an error log, and treat mock scores as diagnostics rather than guarantees. If CFA Institute has not published the exact raw threshold for your form, you should not pretend to know it.
Source-control workflow
Create a notes page called official facts. Record the source, date checked, and fact. Keep a separate page for tutor tips and practice insights. When a third-party explanation conflicts with CFA Institute, update the explanation or discard it. The official source controls.
This workflow also protects the rest of the guide. Every later chapter can teach aggressively, but logistics and policies should stay anchored to CFA Institute. That is how the guide stays useful without turning unofficial commentary into authority.
Which source should control a Level I candidate's claim about current exam format?
A study group says the public CFA Level I passing score is always 70%. What is the best response?
Which topic list best reflects the Level I curriculum structure?