CFA Level I Exam Prep

About this course

What you'll learn

• Returns, time value of money, return statistics and distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing, portfolio risk, simulation, simple linear regression and an introduction to financial data science.
• Market structures, business cycles, fiscal and monetary policy, geopolitics, international trade, capital flows and exchange-rate calculations.
• Organizational forms, stakeholders and governance, working capital and liquidity, capital investment decisions, capital structure and business models.
• The analysis framework, income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, inventories, long-term assets, liabilities and equity, income taxes, reporting quality, ratio analysis and introductory modeling.
• Equity instrument features, classes and voting, issuance and trading, sources of return, valuation models, forecasting, industry and company analysis, research reports and factor models.
• Bond features, cash flow structures, issuance and markets, valuation and yield measures, the term structure, interest rate risk, credit analysis and securitization.
• Derivative markets and instruments, uses and risks, arbitrage and cost of carry, pricing and valuing forwards, futures, swaps and options, put–call parity and the one-period binomial model.
• Features, structures and fees of alternatives, performance measurement, private equity and private debt, real estate and infrastructure, natural resources, hedge funds and digital assets.
• Portfolio risk and return, the efficient frontier, CAPM and the security market line, the portfolio management process, investment policy statements, behavioral biases and risk management.
• Ethics and trust in the investment profession, the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, guidance for Standards I through VII, and applying the Code and Standards to cases.

Course details

Level

intermediate

What's included

• 30 lessons
• Progress tracking
• Certificate of completion

Curriculum

1. 01

   Lesson 1: Returns, Benchmarking and the Time Value of Money

   How returns are defined, compounded, annualized and benchmarked, and how cash flows are moved through time.

   80m
2. 02

   Lesson 2: Return Statistics, Distributions, Hypothesis Testing and Portfolio Risk

   Describing return data, the distributions used for prices and returns, sampling and hypothesis tests, and the mathematics of portfolio risk.

   90m
3. 03

   Lesson 3: Simulation, Simple Linear Regression and Financial Data Science

   Monte Carlo and historical simulation, the simple linear regression model and its inference, and the basics of big data and machine learning in finance.

   75m
4. 04

   Lesson 4: Market Structures, Business Cycles and Fiscal Policy

   How firm behavior differs across market structures, how economies move through cycles, and how governments use taxes and spending.

   80m
5. 05

   Lesson 5: Monetary Policy, Geopolitics and International Trade

   How central banks set policy and transmit it, how geopolitical forces affect markets, and why countries trade and restrict trade.

   80m
6. 06

   Lesson 6: Capital Flows, the FX Market and Exchange Rate Calculations

   The balance of payments, capital flows, foreign exchange market structure, and cross rates and forward rates.

   75m
7. 07

   Lesson 7: Organizational Forms, Stakeholders and Corporate Governance

   How businesses are organized and owned, whose interests they serve, and how governance mechanisms manage conflicts among stakeholders.

   75m
8. 08

   Lesson 8: Working Capital, Liquidity and Capital Investments

   Managing short-term liquidity and the cash conversion cycle, and evaluating long-term investments with NPV and IRR.

   85m
9. 09

   Lesson 9: Capital Structure and Business Models

   How financing mix affects firm value and the cost of capital, and how to describe and evaluate a company's business model.

   80m
10. 10

    Lesson 10: The Analysis Framework, Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

    Sources of financial information, revenue and expense recognition, balance sheet classification and the structure of the cash flow statement.

    90m
11. 11

    Lesson 11: Cash Flow Analysis, Inventories, Long-Term Assets, Liabilities and Equity

    Free cash flow and cash flow ratios, inventory methods, capitalization and depreciation, leases, pensions and share-based compensation.

    90m
12. 12

    Lesson 12: Income Taxes, Reporting Quality, Ratio Analysis and Modeling

    Deferred taxes, the spectrum of financial reporting quality, ratio and DuPont analysis, and building forecasts of financial statements.

    90m
13. 13

    Lesson 13: Equity Instruments, Voting, Issuance, Trading and Sources of Return

    What shareholders own, how share classes and votes work, how equity is issued and traded, and where equity returns come from.

    80m
14. 14

    Lesson 14: Equity Valuation: DCF, Growth Models, Multiples and Forecasting

    Intrinsic value versus price, dividend and free cash flow discount models, relative valuation and forecasting inputs.

    90m
15. 15

    Lesson 15: Industry and Company Analysis, Research Reports and Factor Models

    Industry structure and competitive forces, company analysis over time, writing research reports and factor-based models of equity returns.

    80m
16. 16

    Lesson 16: Fixed-Income Features, Cash Flows, Issuance and Markets

    Bond indentures and covenants, coupon and principal structures, embedded options, primary and secondary markets, and corporate and government funding.

    80m
17. 17

    Lesson 17: Bond Valuation, Yields, the Term Structure and Interest Rate Risk

    Pricing bonds, yield and spread measures for fixed and floating instruments, spot, par and forward curves, duration, convexity and curve-based risk measures.

    90m
18. 18

    Lesson 18: Credit Risk, Credit Analysis and Securitization

    Default probability and loss severity, ratings and spreads, sovereign and corporate credit analysis, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities.

    85m
19. 19

    Lesson 19: Derivative Instruments, Markets, Benefits and Risks

    What derivatives are, how exchange-traded and over-the-counter markets differ, forward commitments versus contingent claims, and how issuers and investors use them.

    70m
20. 20

    Lesson 20: Arbitrage, Cost of Carry, Forwards, Futures and Swaps

    No-arbitrage pricing and replication, the cost-of-carry model, the price versus value of forward commitments, and pricing and valuing futures and swaps.

    85m
21. 21

    Lesson 21: Option Pricing, Put–Call Parity and the Binomial Model

    Option value components and bounds, factors affecting option prices, put–call parity and put–call–forward parity, and one-period binomial valuation.

    80m
22. 22

    Lesson 22: Alternative Investment Structures, Performance and Private Capital

    How alternatives differ from traditional assets, investment methods and fund structures, fee and return calculations, and private equity and private debt.

    85m
23. 23

    Lesson 23: Real Estate, Infrastructure and Natural Resources

    Real estate investment forms and valuation, infrastructure categories, and investments in commodities, farmland and timberland.

    75m
24. 24

    Lesson 24: Hedge Funds and Digital Assets

    Hedge fund strategies, structures, liquidity terms and due diligence, and the features, uses and risks of digital assets.

    70m
25. 25

    Lesson 25: Portfolio Risk and Return: Utility, Efficient Frontier, CAPM and the SML

    Risk aversion and utility, diversification and the efficient frontier, the capital market line, systematic risk, CAPM and performance measures.

    90m
26. 26

    Lesson 26: The Portfolio Management Process and Portfolio Planning

    The portfolio approach, investor types, the asset management industry, the planning–execution–feedback process, investment policy statements and portfolio construction principles.

    80m
27. 27

    Lesson 27: Behavioral Biases and Introduction to Risk Management

    Cognitive errors and emotional biases and their market effects, and the risk management framework, risk governance, risk tolerance and methods of measuring and modifying risk.

    75m
28. 28

    Lesson 28: Ethics, Trust, the Code and Standards, and Standard I: Professionalism

    Why ethics matters in investment management, the structure of the Code and Standards, and Standard I(A)–(D).

    80m
29. 29

    Lesson 29: Standards II–IV: Capital Markets, Clients and Employers

    Material nonpublic information and market manipulation, duties to clients, and duties to employers.

    85m
30. 30

    Lesson 30: Standards V–VII and Applying the Code and Standards

    Diligence, communication and record retention; disclosure of conflicts, priority of transactions and referral fees; responsibilities as a member or candidate; and applying the Standards to cases.

    80m