Standard III(E) requires client information to be kept confidential unless one of three conditions holds. Which of these is one of them?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Standard VI(B), Priority of Transactions, gives investment transactions for clients and employers priority over which transactions?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Under Standard II(A), a member who possesses material nonpublic information that could affect an investment's value must not do what?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Under Standard III(A), Loyalty, Prudence, and Care, whose interests does a member place first?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Show all 50 questions (46 more)
Ethical and Professional Standards, continued
Under Standard IV(B), what must a member obtain before accepting compensation that might create a conflict with the employer's interest?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Under Standard V(B), what must members distinguish between when they present investment analysis and recommendations?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
When applicable law and the Code and Standards conflict, Standard I(A) requires members and candidates to comply with which?CFA Institute, Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (2024), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Ethical and Professional Standards: Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Quantitative Methods 6
A return distribution with positive excess kurtosis is described as what?Wikipedia, "Kurtosis", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns.
At a discount rate of 5 percent a year, what is the present value of 1,000 to be received in three years?Wikipedia, "Present value", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: The Time Value of Money in Finance.
The coefficient of variation is the ratio of which two statistics?Wikipedia, "Coefficient of variation", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: Statistical Characteristics of Asset Returns.
Rejecting a null hypothesis that is in fact true is which kind of error?Wikipedia, "Type I and type II errors", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: Estimation and Hypothesis Testing.
Under the central limit theorem, the distribution of the normalized sample mean converges to what?Wikipedia, "Central limit theorem", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: Estimation and Hypothesis Testing.
Which return measure compensates for external flows of cash into and out of a portfolio?Wikipedia, "Time-weighted return", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Quantitative Methods: Benchmarking Returns.
Economics 4
Features of government budgets, particularly income taxes and welfare spending, that act to reduce fluctuations in real GDP are called what?Wikipedia, "Automatic stabilizer", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Economics: Fiscal Policy.
Many producers selling differentiated products that are not perfect substitutes describes which market structure?Wikipedia, "Monopolistic competition", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Economics: The Firm and Market Structures.
Under comparative advantage, each participant devotes a larger share of its resources to the activities with what?Wikipedia, "Comparative advantage", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Economics: International Trade.
What are open market operations?Federal Reserve Board, Open Market Operations, read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Economics: Monetary Policy.
Financial Statement Analysis 6
A company has a net profit margin of 10 percent, asset turnover of 1.5 and an equity multiplier of 2.0. What is its return on equity by DuPont analysis?Wikipedia, "DuPont analysis", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Financial Analysis Techniques.
A company has current assets of 240 and current liabilities of 160. What is its current ratio?Wikipedia, "Current ratio", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Financial Analysis Techniques.
A machine costs 50,000, has an expected salvage value of 5,000 and a useful life of 9 years. What is annual straight-line depreciation?Wikipedia, "Depreciation", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Analysis of Long-Term Assets.
Under IAS 2, at what amount are inventories measured?IFRS Foundation, IAS 2 Inventories, read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Analysis of Inventories.
Under IAS 7, a statement of cash flows classifies cash flows during a period into which three kinds of activity?IFRS Foundation, IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I.
Which inventory cost formula is banned under International Financial Reporting Standards?Wikipedia, "FIFO and LIFO accounting", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Financial Statement Analysis: Analysis of Inventories.
Corporate Finance 4
An investment typically has a positive net present value when which of these is true?Wikipedia, "Net present value", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Corporate Finance: Capital Investments and Capital Allocation.
What does the cash conversion cycle count?Wikipedia, "Cash conversion cycle", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Corporate Finance: Working Capital and Liquidity.
What does the weighted average cost of capital represent?Wikipedia, "Weighted average cost of capital", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Corporate Finance: Capital Structure.
With no taxes, bankruptcy costs, agency costs or asymmetric information, and in an efficient market, what does the Modigliani-Miller theorem say about the enterprise value of a firm?Wikipedia, "Modigliani–Miller theorem", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Corporate Finance: Capital Structure.
Equities 6
A price-weighted index can be thought of as a portfolio that holds what?Wikipedia, "Stock market index", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Sources of Equity Returns.
A share is expected to pay a dividend of 2.00 at the end of the first period. The cost of equity is 10 percent and dividends grow at a constant 5 percent. What is its value under the Gordon growth model?Wikipedia, "Dividend discount model", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models.
A share trades at 45 and the company earns 3 per share. What is its price-earnings ratio?Wikipedia, "Price–earnings ratio", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches.
Compared with common stockholders, what do preferred stockholders usually have?SEC, Stocks (Investor.gov), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Equity Instrument Features.
Weak-form tests of market efficiency study the information contained in what?Wikipedia, "Efficient-market hypothesis", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Equity Issuance and Trading.
What does a market order guarantee?SEC, Types of Orders (Investor.gov), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Equities: Equity Issuance and Trading.
Fixed Income 6
A bond has a modified duration of 6. If its yield rises by 0.50 percentage points, what is the approximate change in its price?Wikipedia, "Bond duration", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties.
A bond with a face value of 1,000 pays an annual coupon of 50 and trades at 950. What is its current yield?Wikipedia, "Current yield", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds.
Market interest rates rise after a fixed-rate bond is issued. If the holder sells the older bond before maturity, what is most likely?SEC, Bonds (Investor.gov), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: Interest Rate Risk and Return.
The one-year spot rate is 3 percent and the two-year spot rate is 4 percent, compounded annually. What is the implied one-year forward rate one year from now?Wikipedia, "Forward rate", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves.
What is the lowest credit rating from S&P or Fitch at which a bond is considered investment grade?Wikipedia, "Bond credit rating", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: Credit Risk.
Why do callable bonds often have a higher annual return than non-callable bonds?SEC, Callable or Redeemable Bonds (Investor.gov), read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Fixed Income: Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types.
Derivatives and Risk Management 3
A call option has a strike price of 50 and the underlying trades at 56. What is its intrinsic value, and how is the option described?Wikipedia, "Moneyness", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Derivatives and Risk Management: Pricing and Valuation of Options.
How is the risk of default reduced in an exchange-traded futures contract?Wikipedia, "Futures contract", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Derivatives and Risk Management: Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts.
In the CFTC glossary, what makes a financial instrument a derivative?CFTC Glossary, read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Derivatives and Risk Management: Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features.
Alternative Investments 3
How do hedge funds usually differ from private equity funds in what they let investors do with their capital?Wikipedia, "Hedge fund", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Alternative Investments: Hedge Funds.
In a private equity fund, what is a capital commitment?Wikipedia, "Capital commitment", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Alternative Investments: Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures.
In a private equity fund, what role do the institutional investors who supply the money play?Wikipedia, "Private equity", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Alternative Investments: Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt.
Portfolio Construction 5
The risk-free rate is 3 percent, the expected market return is 8 percent and a stock has a beta of 1.2. What expected return does the capital asset pricing model give?Wikipedia, "Capital asset pricing model", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Portfolio Construction: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II.
What does a portfolio lying on the efficient frontier offer?Wikipedia, "Modern portfolio theory", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Portfolio Construction: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I.
What does beta measure?Wikipedia, "Beta (finance)", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Portfolio Construction: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II.
Which behavioral bias leads people to treat a loss as if it were about twice as large as an equivalent gain?Wikipedia, "Loss aversion", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Portfolio Construction: The Behavioral Biases of Individuals.
Which kind of risk can be reduced or eliminated through diversification?Wikipedia, "Systematic risk", read 2026-10-14. Outline: 2027 Level I topic outline, Portfolio Construction: Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I.
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the topics and learning modules of the 2027 Level I Topic Outlines and to the 2027 topic weights that CFA Institute posts at https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa-program/candidate-resources/level-i-exam (read 2026-10-14): Ethical and Professional Standards 10 to 15 percent, Quantitative Methods 11 to 14, Economics 6 to 9, Financial Statement Analysis 11 to 14, Corporate Finance 6 to 9, Equities 11 to 14, Fixed Income 11 to 14, Derivatives and Risk Management 6 to 9, Alternative Investments 6 to 9, Portfolio Construction 8 to 12. This bank of 50 holds 7, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 3, 3 and 5. The CFA Program curriculum is not public, so every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the public text its question names: the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, the IFRS Foundation, SEC pages on Investor.gov, the Federal Reserve Board, the CFTC Glossary and Wikipedia. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
These CFA practice questions are 50 CFA Level 1 practice questions of our own, three choices each as on the real exam, across the ten topics of the Level I outline. Unofficial: not affiliated with or endorsed by CFA Institute.
Read the full guide
Ten topics and the 2027 weights
CFA Institute's 2027 weights are Ethical and Professional Standards 10 to 15 percent, Quantitative Methods 11 to 14, Economics 6 to 9, Financial Statement Analysis 11 to 14, Corporate Finance 6 to 9, Equities 11 to 14, Fixed Income 11 to 14, Derivatives and Risk Management 6 to 9, Alternative Investments 6 to 9 and Portfolio Construction 8 to 12. This bank holds 7, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 3, 3 and 5.
Exams in 2026
For 2026 exams the posted weights put Ethical and Professional Standards at 15 to 20 percent, Quantitative Methods at 6 to 9.
A timed run
As a practice exam for CFA Level 1, the timed test asks all 50 in 75 minutes: about 90 seconds each, the real pace.
Financial statement questions on the real exam are based on IFRS unless a question states US GAAP.
There is no penalty for an incorrect answer and all questions are equally weighted, so answer every one.
The real exam does not use 'except', 'true' or 'false' in its questions and never offers 'all of the above'.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the CFA Level I exam?
180 multiple-choice questions in two sessions of 135 minutes, 90 questions each, at about 90 seconds a question. Each question has three answer choices: A, B and C.
What is the passing score for CFA Level I?
CFA Institute sets a minimum passing score for each level and reports pass or fail, with a scale score to compare against it, five to nine weeks after the exam window closes. A CFA practice test for Level 1 is not on that scale.
Is there a free CFA Level 1 study guide?
CFA Institute posts the Level I topic outlines, the most condensed guide, with every learning outcome, and its Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. The curriculum, practice questions and mock exams are the CFA study guide material that comes with registration.
Where are the official CFA sample questions?
The Level I exam page links CFA Institute's own Level I sample questions and prints two examples of the question format. The questions on this page are ours, and none is taken from them.