CFA Changes Effective 2023

Just like every other year, CFA has once again made significant changes to its curriculum. Therefore, candidates anticipating sitting their exams in the coming year should keep in mind the CFA changes effective 2023, to prepare adequately. While the changes don’t cut across all three levels, anyone planning to take any CFA exams should approach it differently. The majority of changes revolve around the level I curriculum, though it doesn’t mean candidates are going to meet a whole new curriculum.

That said, let’s take a look at what you should expect in the coming CFA exams from 2023.

CFA changes effective 2023 – Level I

Aspiring CFA candidates should expect a few structural changes as well as major content revisions that might affect how they’re going to prepare for the coming exam. With regard to the structure, the CFA institute faced out study sessions from the curriculum, and Learning Modules put in place of readings.

Structural Changes for CFA Level I

The new CFA level I curriculum structure will be as follows:

Topic —> Learning Module(s) —> LOS (Learning Outcome Statements) —> Lesson(s)

As you can see, Learning Modules are now the equivalent of the old Readings you’d find in the previous CFA level I modules. It’s also important to note that there’s no more numbering for LOS. For this reason, to help you understand the breakdown above, here are examples of items in each category:

Topic – Portfolio Management

Learning Module – Introduction to risk management

LOS – Define risk management

Content Revisions

With regard to content changes, there are a few more additional learning modules, and the existing ones revised accordingly. About 5% of the learning modules have undergone some minor changes, and less than 5% added to the existing modules. While in 2022, candidates had 60 modules to go through before sitting their exams, now they have 73 learning modules for the 2023 CFA level I exam. 

Therefore, here are some changes worth highlighting in the new CFA level I curriculum:

• There are major structures for Derivatives and Alternative Investment topics. The CFA exam institute divided the derivatives into 10 learning modules and split the Alternative Investment topic into 3 learning modules.

Derivatives

The CFA institutes revised the old readings into learning modules on the following topics:

• Derivative instruments and derivative market features
• Forward commitment and contingent claim features and instruments
• Derivative benefits, risks, and issuer and investor uses
• Arbitrage, replication, and the cost of carrying in pricing derivatives
• Pricing and Valuation of forwarding contracts and for underlying with varying maturities
• Pricing and valuation of futures contracts
• Pricing and valuation of interest rate and other swaps
• Pricing and Valuation of options
• Option replication using put-call parity
• Valuing a derivative using a one-period binomial model

Alternative Investments

Just like Derivatives, the CFA institute revised the old readings on this topic into learning modules with no alteration to the content coverage. The topics covered are as follows:

• Categories, Characteristics, and Compensation Structures of Alternative Investments
• Performance Calculation and Appraisal of Alternative Investments
• Private Capital, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Hedge Funds

The Corporate Issuer topic has seen major revisions and expansion to cover more areas of contemporary business practices. Four modules have been revised in this area, and they are as follows:

• Capital Investments 
• Capital structure
• Working Capital
• Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations

It’s worth noting that out of the modules highlighted in this section, Capital Structure has seen major revisions. The CFA institute revised the content to reduce theoretical content and develop a more practical approach intended to support evaluation exercises. 

In addition to the changes highlighted above, there’s an addition of three new learning modules to the CFA level I curriculum. They include:

• Introduction to Geopolitics – The CFA institute added this to Economics. Consequently, the new learning module introduces geopolitics and offers an in-depth explanation of how it impacts investment management.
• Corporate Structures and Ownership – This is a new addition to the Corporate Issuers topic. As a result, the new learning module highlights important business structures for investment management. 
• Business Models – This module has been added to the Corporate Issuers topic. It examines key business aspects and how analysts can evaluate business models to support financial modeling. 

Approaching the CFA Level I in 2023

Are there any changes to levels II and III?

So far, the CFA Institute has not announced any changes for the 2023 level II and III exams. The Level II curriculum is set to be released on August 9, 2022, when registration opens for May 2023 level II exams. On the other hand, there will be no changes for CFA level III from the 2022 curriculum to accommodate the major shifts in the exam window beginning in 2022 and in future years. 

Now you know the CFA changes effective 2023, and therefore, what to expect. You can prepare to register for your exams as soon as the registration opens. However, that doesn’t mean you wait until then to start studying. There are lots of CFA study resources on our website which can help you prepare adequately. Get the notes and practice questions in preparation for your exams.