Note: This article is for the 2022 CFA curriculum. For next year’s info, check out our article on 2023 CFA curriculum changes.
CFA Program’s syllabus are revised annually, and the 2022 edition is no different.
We have carefully gone through all the 2022 learning outcome statements (LOS) for each level, and compared them to 2020/2021’s, so you don’t have to! ☕
So here’s a quick summary of the latest 2022 CFA curriculum changes and topic weights for all Levels that you need to know.
Some fun facts on the recent 2022’s CFA curriculum updates for all levels:
- Corporate Finance is renamed as Corporate Issuers (?!),
- Ethics has been moved to last study session (finally).
Read on to find out more!
Why Are Curriculum Changes and Topic Weights Important?
Topic weights are key to CFA study plans, as it guides candidates on the importance of each topic for the exams. Needless to say, higher weighted topics deserve more study time, focus and practice.
Knowing the curriculum changes in advance are useful in certain circumstances, for example:
- Candidates who have yet to register for the 2022 exam, yet want to get a head start on reading existing 2020/2021 materials (remember that CFA Institute kept the 2021 curriculum the same as 2020’s due to COVID-19). They need to make sure that what they are studying now will be part of the updated curriculum;
- Candidates who are interested in getting second hand, previous year versions of third party study materials for the next exam; or
- Candidates who (unfortunately) failed a current year exam, and are planning to retake in 6-12 months time. Existing third party study materials may be re-used if the curriculum changes are minor between these 2 years.
Here are the quick summaries of the topic weights and curriculum changes that you need to know for your exam.
For each level, there is also a free 1 pager summary PDF you can download at the end of each section.
CFA Level 1 Topic Weights
There is no change to 2022’s CFA level 1 topic weights compared to 2021’s.
Note that in 2021, CFA Institute changed CFA Level 1’s topic weights to be a range rather than an absolute % as per previous years.
Looking back to 2018-2019, there were big changes whereby Financial Reporting & Analysis and Quantitative Methods’ weightings were reduced significantly, to provide a more balanced topic range.
These changes may have been done to discourage candidates from completely ignoring topics such as Derivatives and Alternative Investments for Level 1 preparations.
CFA Level 1 Topic Weights (vs. Previous Years)
| Topics / Weight | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Methods | 12% | 10% | 10% | 8-12% | 8-12% |
| Economics | 10% | 10% | 10% | 8-12% | 8-12% |
| FRA | 20% | 15% | 15% | 13-17% | 13-17% |
| Corp Fin / Issuers | 7% | 10% | 10% | 8-12% | 8-12% |
| Equity | 10% | 11% | 11% | 10-12% | 10-12% |
| Fixed Income | 10% | 11% | 11% | 10-12% | 10-12% |
| Derivatives | 5% | 6% | 6% | 5-8% | 5-8% |
| Alt. Investments | 4% | 6% | 6% | 5-8% | 5-8% |
| Portfolio Mgmt. | 7% | 6% | 6% | 5-8% | 5-8% |
| Ethics | 15% | 15% | 15% | 15-20% | 15-20% |
CFA Level 1 Curriculum Changes
In short, there has been lots of small updates throughout the Level 1 curriculum, but nothing major overall. Some notable changes:
- Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) coverage at Level 1 was updated and expanded to cover the most recent developments and their impact on investment management.
- The Level 1 Quantitative Methods topic area was revised to be more engaging and digital-friendly. It also now includes code snippets as well as Excel commands to support the data presentation. Level 1 now ends with a new Introduction to Regression reading that focuses on investment applications.
- Fixed Income readings were revised across all levels to align for ease of reading and consistency.
- The Alternative Investments readings have been updated to include a new introductory reading.
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
- 16 readings were updated: mostly minor changes, except Alternative Investments.
Overall, the 2022’s CFA Level 1 curriculum changes are nothing major, with 3-4 topics updated to better prepare candidates for a smoother transition to Level 2.
Quant Methods, Corporate Issuers (previously Corporate Finance), Alternative Investments and to a small extent Ethics have notable changes from 2020/2021’s curriculum. Other topics remain largely the same as last year’s.
More details of the changes are shown in the table below, as well as a 1 pager summary PDF you can download.
CFA Level 2 Topic Weights
Just like CFA Level 1, there are no changes to 2022’s CFA level 2 topic weights compared to 2021’s.
This is as expected given historical trends of reducing the variability in topic weight across the 10 topics, with a maximum range difference of 5% per topic.
Based on 2022’s topic weighting, it is even possible for the 10 topics to be tested evenly at 10% weighting each for CFA Level 2.
These changes may have been done to discourage candidates from purely just focusing on the (previously) big 5 topics of Level 2 (FRA, Corporate Finance, Equity Investments, Fixed Income and Derivatives).
CFA Level 2 Topic Weights (Changes vs. Previous Years)
| Topics / Weight | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Methods | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Economics | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| FRA | 15-20% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
| Corp Fin / Issuers | 5-15% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Equity | 15-25% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
| Fixed Income | 10-20% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
| Derivatives | 5-15% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Alt. Investments | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Portfolio Mgmt. | 5-10% | 5-15% | 5-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
| Ethics | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
CFA Level 2 Curriculum Changes
In short, Level 2’s curriculum experienced a relatively light update this year. Some notable changes:
- Machine Learning has been updated to apply several data cases to investment problems.
- In addition, a new Backtesting & Simulation reading provides an accessible introduction to explain how these tools are used in evaluating investment strategies and to compare their strengths and weaknesses.
- Corporate Finance is renamed as Corporate Issuers, focusing on understanding the motivations, interactions, and impacts on investors of securities issued by corporations. Corporate Issuers brings together foundation areas like economics and financial statement analysis to provide a starting point for equity and fixed income valuation.
- Fixed Income readings were revised across all levels to align for ease of reading and consistency.
- The Alternative Investments readings have been updated to include a single reading on Real Estate and revisions to Private Equity.
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
- 14 readings were updated, mostly minor changes, except R33 Pricing & Valuation of Forward Commitments (Derivatives), R18 Mergers and Acquisitions (Corporate Issuers) and R35 Real Estate Investments – the latter due to merging of 2 readings into one.
Overall, 2022 CFA Level 2’s curriculum experienced a lot of small updates, with only Derivatives, Corporate Issuers and Alternative Investments experiencing notable changes in some readings.
More details of the changes are shown in the table below, as well as a 1 pager summary PDF you can download.
CFA Level 3 Topic Weights
Just like CFA Level 1 and 2, there are no changes to 2022’s CFA level 3 topic weights compared to 2021’s.
This is as expected given historical trends of reducing the variability in topic weight across the 10 topics, with a maximum range difference of 5% per topic.
CFA Level 3 Topic Weights (Changes vs. Previous Year)
| Topics / Weight | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Methods | – | – | – | – | – |
| Economics | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| FRA | – | – | – | – | – |
| Corp Fin / Issuers | – | – | – | – | – |
| Equity | 5-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
| Fixed Income | 10-20% | 15-20% | 15-20% | 15-20% | 15-20% |
| Derivatives | 5-15% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Alt. Investments | 5-15% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% | 5-10% |
| Portfolio Mgmt. | 40-55% | 35-40% | 35-40% | 35-40% | 35-40% |
| Ethics | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% | 10-15% |
CFA Level 3 Curriculum Changes
In short, there is a much smaller revamp on the Level 3 curriculum this year (compared to last year). Some notable changes:
- Fixed Income readings were revised across all levels to align for ease of reading and consistency. E.g. notation simplification and alignment, elimination of duplication, and updating of concepts such as LIBOR to Market Reference Rates, as well as a complete revision of the challenging Yield Curve Strategies and Credit Strategies readings at Level 3 for clarity and relevance.
- Revisions to Private Wealth Management, Institutional Investors, and Performance Evaluation reflect the new 2020 GIPS standards.
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 update of GIPS (Ethics).
Overall, 2022 CFA Level 3 curriculum has notable content changes in Fixed Income, Portfolio Management and Ethics (GIPS reading only).
Other topics remain largely the same as last year’s.
More details of the changes are shown in the table below, as well as a 1 pager summary PDF you can download.
It seems that 2020/2021’s CFA books are largely still quite transferable to 2022 (excluding a few chapters with major revisions) – I hope you’ve found the above useful in your next CFA exam study preparations!
Meanwhile, here are a few related articles of interest for your CFA exam preparations:
Hello,
I can see that there is 5 new LOS added for Reading 14 of Level 3 in 2022.
Do you know if CFA publish the list of these 5 new LOS?
Thanks in avance,
Hi, could anyone please help me with the following:
I sat CFA Level III exam in May 2021 but didnt pass. Can i use the same books (Schweser books included) for September 2022 Level III exam?
Would be grateful for your response/help.
Hi Farhan, sorry for 2022 exams you’ll need 2022 books. You can use this article to compare the curriculum changes/differences, although it is a risk you take if there are big changes and you may miss out some new readings you need to know for the exam.
Hi, I will be giving my exam in Feb 2023, so when will Ibe able to get schweser 2023 materials? I am a working professional and from engineering background so I was thinking of starting early with the preperation.
Hi Atharva, I’ll ask our partner Schweser directly and get back to you.
Hi Atharva, Kaplan Schweser has told us that there isn’t exact date fixed on this as yet, but they generally try to ensure that products are at least available for preorder on Schweser.com in time for the opening of Feb 2023’s registration.
thank you most useful
You’re welcome Igor!
Anyine knows what happened to readings 12-13-14 from 2020 to 2022? It is not mentioned above. Thanks
Hi Antoine, do you mean for Level 3?
Oh yes, I mistakenly labelled them as readings 7-9 when they should have been readings 12-14 in 2020. Corrected them!
Thanks for spotting that 🙂
I’m confused by the description of the changes to “Introduction to Linear Regression” for L2. What is meant by “new reading duplicated for L2 2022 only”? If it is a new reading, what is being duplicated?
Thanks!
Dan
Hi Dan, that’s a good question, happy to explain.
If you refer to Level 1’s 2022 curriculum, this same chapter is repeated there in Quant Methods as well (Reading 7).
CFA Institute is basically planning to move this “Introduction to Linear Regression” chapter to Level 1 going forward, but if you’re a new CFA L2 candidate in 2022, it would have meant you missed out on this chapter, and therefore this is repeated in Level 2’s curriculum in 2022 only, and would be phased out in Level 2’s 2023 curriculum.
Hope this makes more sense!
Why does it say “notable content changes in Portfolio Management?”
I only see MINOR changes in R26.
The only major changes in the L3 curriculum seems to be in Fixed Income, correct?
The use of ‘notable’ was directly from CFA Institute. I would define ‘notable’ as ‘clear’ rather than ‘major/minor’, which is subjective. If you have a look at our detailed breakdown of curriculum changes of Level 3 you’ll see that there are some changes in Portfolio Management that are worth mentioning (hence ‘notable’). Hope that helps!
Perhaps an obvious question, but if we are planning to do the November exam (either L2 or 3), if our Kaplan Schweser and CFAI books say 2021 on the front of them, is that the correct syllabus for the Nov 2021 exam? Or will it have changed already? I bought my books earlier this year planning ahead to Nov
If it says 2021, it will work for any exam window in 2021. So specifically for you, your books contain the correct syllabus for 2021.
thanks Zee
No problem!
Hello! I am looking to register for the CFA in August for the February 2022 session, will I still get the 2020 materials if I do so or do I have yo register next year? Thank you in advance.
You’ll get 2022 materials from CFA Institute if you register for Feb 2022. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the reply!
I have the 2019 Schweser Notes material for CFA L1. Would it be very difficult to pass Feb 2022 L1 with this? Thanks in advance.
My advice is to always use updated materials if you can. I personally don’t think it’s worth using extra time and effort keeping track of changes as you study. But everybody’s circumstances are different, and that’s why we have this curriculum changes guide.
Hi everyone,
I am an engineer.
Over time I developed interest in the financial world and thus thinking to pursue CFA. How tough it is for someone with 0 commerce/finance background to crack CFA? And how can I start the prep? I searched and found Kalpan notes to be the best but I also saw that there has been a change in syllabus and pattern.
When are the new books (hardcopy version) expected to hit the market? And can anyone please share the soft copies if they are available.
Thanks
Hi Zee,
Thank you for the amazing content and articles!
I would like your advice: my exam for Level 1 is in February ’22, and I have already SchweserNotes Level 1 2020, and the free level1 75hrs of video study note from IFT.
I was planning to use these two to study.
But after reading this article and see the changes for 2022, Do you think I should have the material for 2022 to make sure to pass the exam or I can do it with my material for 2020?
It really is a personal choice. It is not impossible to pass with outdated material, but I personally think it’s not worth the cost-savings.
My opinion on this, I suspect, is also heavily influenced by the fact that I tried in my CFA Level 2 to pass with outdated material, but failed… 😁
I see, I have actually looked up for a Few providers, now i’m thinking Between these two:
1- IFT premium package 2022
https://ift.world/product/premium-package-2022/
Vs
2- Kaplan Schweser Essential Package 2022
https://www.schweser.com/cfa/level-1/study-packages?10178-1-1_active=2&1-select=1
This is my first time study for CFA, with consider English is not my first language,
So please what are you recommend for me Between these two ?
I saw you mentioned schweser as one of best Study materials, but what about the IFT?
Please let me know what you think And if you know anyone had experience with them
Thank you so much!
I have not personally used IFT for my CFA exams, and we don’t currently work with them so I don’t have enough experience with them to confidently recommend them. I can however recommend Kaplan Schweser – I used them for my CFA exams and their self-study options really fit my studying style.
Hope that helps!
I cannot seem to successfully download the CFA Level 2 curriculum changes in PDF.
Sorry about that – it should all be working now!
I am taking L3 in November. havent started revising yet.
I like to revise with the books rather than online pdf’s. I also like to have the latest material.
Would you recommend buying the CFAis 2022 paper books for L3 and managing the curriculum difference with the online pdf or simply just buying the 2020 L3 CFAs books.
I want to avoid re-buying the books if I don’t pass the November session.
Any input is welcome.
Are you referring to third-party materials?
If you’re taking L3 in November, you should prepare with 2020 L3 materials – they’re the same as the 2021 exam material.
Having a strategy assuming you’ve already failed Nov 2021 seems… self-defeating.
Many thanks for your answer.
I was referring to the CFA L3 material which I haven’t bought yet in paper format.
Do you think I can do without reading the full CFA books and only focus on shorter third party material?
I am not so keen on reading 6 books of 300-500 pages each. Not sure am able to do that within the next 6 months.
Yes you should be fine with third party materials. I didn’t use CFA Institute materials for my L3 either 🤫
I was going to take the November L1 exam but will now be sitting in February.
If the wording of a given LOS did not change in 2022, does that mean that the content covered in that LOS also stayed the same?
Or what is a quick way to identify the content that changed from 2021 to 2022 without having to review the entire content?
Our summary of changes to L1 can be found in the article above – use that as a guide to see what’s changed.
Hi, just to clarify, CFAI has posted on their website that :
Application of the Code and Standards: Level II (L2V6R47) is one of the Level II readings where there were either LOS changes or significant content changes.
Please clarify as your summary does not mention this in the Ethics portion
Thanks!
Here’s the summary of changes for Ethics:
So fundamentally Ethics has not changed. Hope that helps!
Hi
My L2 exam got postponed from May’21 to Nov’21.
Will the 2022 curriculum changes be applicable for my attempt as well? I guess not but just wanted to confirm.
Thanks
Aakash
No – May’21 and Nov’21 will both use the 2021 curriculum (which is the same as the 2020 curriculum).
Will these changes apply to feb22 exams?
Yes, they will.
A well-organized piece on the content of exam. Good for practice!
Bashar H. Malkawi
Thanks, Bashar!
Same situation, does it mean I need to buy a new set?
Assuming you mean that you bought 2021 materials but planning to take the 2022 exam. I would say it’s always better to use the latest materials that reflect the exam you’re going to take.
Any particular reason you got 2021 materials to begin with?
I just bought Level 1 Kaplan Shweser books last month, do I need to get the new books or can I get by with the 2021 level 1 books?
I would say it’s always better to use the latest materials that reflect the exam you’re going to take. Why did you get 2021 Schweser books if you’re taking the 2022 exam?
Hi Zee, thanks for the summary.
How would you suggest I start preparing for the Feb 2022 L2 exam since my prep provider (Bberg) hasn’t updated the changes on its platform yet ?
Thanks again
Have you written to Bloomberg to ask when their 2022 changes will be made to the platform? Are you registered with Bloomberg as a 2022 candidate?
I purchased an all level access package in 2020, passed and completed the L1 using this Feb. Ive written to them but they’re not providing a clear timeline for when the L2 2022 Curriculum prep will be updated for use on their platform. Hence I’m trying to figure out how to start in the meantime.
Thanks
I was under the impression that the materials would stay the same.
So, for 2022 L2, from what I understand, there have been absolutely no changes to the Ethics, FRA and Economics sections?
Thanks
Hi Anshsrg, yes, from a Learning Objective Statements (LOS) perspective.
There may be some actual wording changes in the curriculum text itself but the LOS for those 3 topics are the same as 2020-2021’s.
Hi Sophie,
Ok, makes sense.
P.S. Big thanks to you and the team for this summary/update, will be super helpful!
Cheers
Anshuman