6-Month CFA Level 1 Study Plan

CFA Institute recommends 300+ hours of study. A 6-month plan gives you approximately 50 hours per month — manageable for a working professional studying 2–3 hours per day on weekdays and 4–5 hours on weekends.

The Schedule

Months 1–2: Foundation Topics (100 hours)

Month 1 (50 hours):

• Ethics and Professional Standards (25 hours) — always start here; revisit at the end
• Quantitative Methods (25 hours)

Month 2 (50 hours):

• Economics (25 hours)
• Financial Statement Analysis — Part 1 (25 hours)

Months 3–4: Core Topics (100 hours)

Month 3 (50 hours):

• Financial Statement Analysis — Part 2 (25 hours)
• Corporate Issuers (25 hours)

Month 4 (50 hours):

• Equity Investments (25 hours)
• Fixed Income (25 hours)

Months 5–6: Completion and Review (100 hours)

Month 5 (50 hours):

• Derivatives (15 hours)
• Alternative Investments (15 hours)
• Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning (20 hours)

Month 6 (50 hours):

• Full review pass across all 10 topics (20 hours)
• 3 full mock exams under timed conditions (15 hours)
• Final Ethics review (10 hours)
• Weak topic targeting based on mock scores (5 hours)

Practice Question Strategy

Use our free diagnostic practice to identify your weak topics early. After each study unit, complete 20–30 topic-specific practice questions before moving on.

Which Prep Course to Use

See our Best CFA Prep Courses comparison for a ranked guide. For most candidates following this plan, AnalystPrep provides the best combination of curriculum coverage and Q-bank depth.

Not affiliated with CFA Institute.