Practice Exam for FINANCIAL ANALYST Level I 2026

About this course

NEW 2026 - CERTIFIED FINANCIAL ANALYST Level IThe CERTIFIED FINANCIAL ANALYST exam as a whole is difficult by design. It’s an exclusive designation that truly demonstrates mastery. According to The Institute, Level I has the lowest pass rate of all the exams, at just 41%, and the average candidate spends 303 hours preparing.Level I curriculum topics and weightsThe curriculum is organized into topics, and each topic contains learning modules. There are learning outcome statements at the beginning of each learning module.Session 1: Topic Exam weight 1 Ethical and Professional Standards 15-20% 1 Quantitative Methods 6-9% 1 Economics 6-9% 1 Financial Statement Analysis 11-14% 1 Corporate Issuers 6-9% Session 2: Topic Exam weight2 Equity Investments 11-14% 2 Fixed Income 11-14% 2 Derivatives 5–8% 2 Alternative Investments 7-10% 2 Portfolio Management 8-12%Level I exam format, structure, and durationThe Level I exam consists of multiple-choice questions. Familiarizing yourself with the format will help you approach the exam efficiently, manage your time effectively, and avoid common pitfalls to maximize your performance.The Level I exam consists of 180 multiple choice questions, split between two 135-minute sessions (session times are approximate).The are two 135-minute sessions (session times are approximate), with an optional break between sessions.Each multiple-choice item on the Level I exam consists of a stem (a question, a statement, and/or table) as well as three answer choices (A, B, or C).Two basic formats are used:Sentence completion with three unique choicesQuestions with three unique choices.The Level I exam does not use ‘except’, ‘true’, or ‘false’ in items and avoids the use of ‘