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CFA Level I Crash Notes — the final-week review

The whole of Level I, condensed: the formulas you must have cold, the decision rules behind them, and the traps that cost first-time candidates marks. One document, sized for the last mile — with a companion Formula Sheet.

  • One Crash Note per level
  • Formula Sheet included
  • Free preview

580+

Learning outcome statements

~300 hrs

Recommended study time

4×/year

Sittings · Feb · May · Aug · Nov

Crash cardQuantitative Methods · Time Value & Rates

High-yield · appears on essentially every sitting

Must know

  • EAR = (1 + periodic rate)^m − 1
  • FV = PV(1 + r)^n · PV = FV ÷ (1 + r)^n
  • Required return = real risk-free + inflation + risk premia

Decision rule

Match the compounding frequency of the rate to the cash flows before you discount anything.

Trap — Quoting the stated annual rate where the exam wants the effective annual rate (EAR).

A review you can finish in the final week

  1. 01

    The last mile, not a second textbook

    A condensed pass over the whole level — the formulas, the decision rules, and the traps — sized to revise in the final week, not to relearn the curriculum from scratch.

  2. 02

    Built from where candidates actually slip

    Every entry earns its place by exam frequency and by the mistakes that cost marks, so your final review concentrates on what moves your score instead of what you already know.

  3. 03

    Formulas rendered, not screenshotted

    Each formula is real, readable math on any device, paired with the one-line “when to use it” the exam is actually testing — plus a companion Formula Sheet for the whole level.

See a real crash card

This is how a high-yield topic appears in the Crash Note — the formulas you must have cold, the one decision rule behind them, and the trap that costs marks. A companion Formula Sheet covers the whole level.

Prefer the full notes? See the study notes
Crash cardQuantitative Methods · Time Value & Rates

High-yield · appears on essentially every sitting

Must know

  • EAR = (1 + periodic rate)^m − 1
  • FV = PV(1 + r)^n · PV = FV ÷ (1 + r)^n
  • Required return = real risk-free + inflation + risk premia

Decision rule

Match the compounding frequency of the rate to the cash flows before you discount anything.

Trap — Quoting the stated annual rate where the exam wants the effective annual rate (EAR).

The Crash Note ships with your study package

It unlocks with any paid plan for this level — the same access as your notes and question bank. Pick how far you want the rest of the toolkit to take you.

About the Crash Notes

No. It is the final-week review layer that sits on top of the full curriculum — a condensed pass to consolidate what you have already studied, not the place to learn a topic for the first time.

Walk into CFA Level I with the last mile covered

Preview the Crash Note free, then study the level that builds straight into it.