CFA® Level 1 Curriculum · 9 sections · 95 readings · ~350 hrs
What you'll actually study.
CFA® Institute publishes the curriculum. We don't change it — we make it studyable. Each bar below is a real exam-weighted section; pick one to see what's inside and how Blue Nelumbo™ teaches it.
Section weights, in order of exam emphasis.
Ethical and Professional Standards
17.5%
5
30+
The highest-weighted section and the one most candidates underestimate. Ethics questions don't test rule memorisation — they test judgment across ambiguous scenarios. The exam presents situations where multiple Standards apply and expects you to identify the primary violation and the correct response.
Readings in this section
01Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
02Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
03Guidance for Standards I–VII
04Introduction to the GIPS Standards
05Ethics Application
Ethical and Professional Standards
17.5%
5
30+
The highest-weighted section and the one most candidates underestimate. Ethics questions don't test rule memorisation — they test judgment across ambiguous scenarios. The exam presents situations where multiple Standards apply and expects you to identify the primary violation and the correct response.
Readings in this section
01Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession
02Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
03Guidance for Standards I–VII
04Introduction to the GIPS Standards
05Ethics Application
How Blue Nelumbo™ teaches this curriculum.
CFA® Institute decides what's on the exam. We decide how the studying actually works — and these three practices are why our learners report different outcomes from the same source material.
01
Verbatim sourcing, structured visually.
We don't paraphrase. Every note in Blue Nelumbo™ is extracted directly from the official curriculum, structured into readable typography, and traceable back to its source. No 'our take' — just the real material, made studyable.
02
Decay-adjusted scoring across attempts.
Every quiz, every flag, every read feeds an engine that watches your knowledge decay over time. The dashboard rebuilds 30+ insights after each session — telling you exactly which reading to revisit, when, and why.
03
Mock UI tuned to the real Prometric exam.
The mock attempt screens deliberately mimic Prometric's CBT software — sterile, sober, exam-room realistic. When you sit the actual exam, the interface should be muscle memory, not the third surprise of the morning.
See a real subtopic.
A peek at one subtopic exactly as it appears inside the product — cream surface, editorial typography, traceable to the curriculum, flag-as-you-go.
This is what every subtopic looks like.
Same surface. Same typography. Same length expectations. No surprise formats per topic.
- Cream surface (#FBF7EE) — easier on the eyes over hours
- 720px max line length — reading-optimal
- Curriculum-verbatim text with inline source traces
- Flag-as-you-go (red / yellow / green) for revision
- Exam-tip callouts surfaced where examiners commonly probe