CFA Institute Releases 2023 CFA® Program Curriculum

CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, has released the new curriculum for the organization’s CFA® Program, the leading credential for investment professionals worldwide. The newly released curriculum applies to candidates sitting CFA Program exams in 2023.

CFA Institute undertakes annual Practice Analysis surveys of investment practitioners to help inform CFA Program curriculum updates through first-hand evidence of how skills and competencies in the investment industry are evolving. This process ensures CFA Program candidates are tested on the most up-to-date concepts and practices applicable to a range of roles in the investment profession.

Chris Wiese, CFA, Managing Director for Credentialing at CFA Institute comments:

“Graduates and early careers professionals pursuing the CFA qualification are building a firm foundation of investment knowledge that will support them as they begin their professional lives. Among this year’s key updates to the curriculum are an extensively remodeled Derivatives reading at Level I, often a particularly tough section for candidates, as well as a brand-new reading on geopolitics and updates reflecting the recent evolution in decentralized finance and blockchain. Candidates will also benefit from new bite-sized modules that can be completed in one sitting, together with more visuals, spreadsheets and opportunities throughout the learning materials to practice their skills.”

CFA Program candidates can access extensive curriculum materials through the Learning Ecosystem (LES), an adaptive online learning tool that provides all necessary readings, study planning tools, flash cards, practice questions, and mock examinations designed to focus candidates on their needs, strengths, and weaknesses in preparation for exams. The LES also offers candidates ways to consolidate learning through a variety of interactive formats in a digital Games Center.

In more detail, new or refreshed curriculum learnings for 2023 include:

CFA Program Level I:

• An Introduction to Geopolitics (new)
• Corporate Structures and Ownership (new)
• Business Models & Risks and drivers in financial modeling (new)
• Capital Structure
• Introduction to Corporate Governance and other ESG Considerations
• Derivative Markets and Instruments, Pricing and Valuation
• Fintech in Investment Management, decentralized finance and blockchain

CFA Program Level II:

• Cost of Capital: Advanced Topics (new)
• Multiple Regression
• Economic Growth
• Financial Statement Modeling

• Corporate Restructuring
• Alternative Investments and Real Estate
• Application of the Code and Standards

For the 2023 exam cycle, content at CFA Level III remains frozen from the 2022 curriculum.