CFA® Level I formula sheet

Sixty formulas for the 2027 Level I curriculum, in our own words, grouped by topic with the heaviest topics first. Print it or save it as a PDF, then test your recall with 20 questions.

Level I formulas, 2027 curriculum

Ethical and Professional Standards (10 to 15%) has no formulas.

Quantitative Methods11 to 14% of the exam

Holding period return: $\displaystyle R = \frac{P_1 - P_0 + D_1}{P_0}$ $D_1$ is income received in the period.
Geometric mean return: $\displaystyle R_G = \left[(1+R_1)(1+R_2)\cdots(1+R_n)\right]^{1/n} - 1$
Future value of one amount: $\displaystyle FV_N = PV\,(1+r)^N$
Present value of a perpetuity: $\displaystyle PV = \frac{A}{r}$ A level payment $A$ that starts one period from now.
Effective annual rate: $\displaystyle EAR = \left(1 + \frac{r_s}{m}\right)^{m} - 1$ $r_s$ is the stated annual rate, $m$ the compounding periods a year.
Continuous compounding: $\displaystyle FV_N = PV\,e^{r_s N}$
Sample variance: $\displaystyle s^2 = \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{n}(X_i - \bar X)^2}{n-1}$
Coefficient of variation: $\displaystyle CV = \frac{s}{\bar X}$
Correlation: $\displaystyle \rho_{XY} = \frac{\operatorname{Cov}(X,Y)}{\sigma_X\,\sigma_Y}$
Bayes' formula: $\displaystyle P(A \mid B) = \frac{P(B \mid A)\,P(A)}{P(B)}$
Standard error of the sample mean: $\displaystyle \sigma_{\bar X} = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}$
Confidence interval for a mean: $\displaystyle \bar X \pm (\text{reliability factor}) \times \frac{s}{\sqrt{n}}$
Simple regression slope and intercept: $\displaystyle \hat b_1 = \frac{\operatorname{Cov}(X,Y)}{\operatorname{Var}(X)}, \qquad \hat b_0 = \bar Y - \hat b_1 \bar X$
Safety-first ratio: $\displaystyle SFRatio = \frac{E(R_P) - R_L}{\sigma_P}$ $R_L$ is the minimum acceptable return.

Financial Statement Analysis11 to 14% of the exam

Basic earnings per share: $\displaystyle \text{EPS} = \frac{\text{Net income} - \text{Preferred dividends}}{\text{Weighted average common shares}}$
Current ratio: $\displaystyle \frac{\text{Current assets}}{\text{Current liabilities}}$
Quick ratio: $\displaystyle \frac{\text{Cash} + \text{Short-term marketable investments} + \text{Receivables}}{\text{Current liabilities}}$
ROE in three parts: $\displaystyle \text{ROE} = \frac{\text{Net income}}{\text{Revenue}} \times \frac{\text{Revenue}}{\text{Average assets}} \times \frac{\text{Average assets}}{\text{Average equity}}$
Days of inventory on hand: $\displaystyle \text{DOH} = \frac{365}{\text{Inventory turnover}}, \qquad \text{Inventory turnover} = \frac{\text{Cost of sales}}{\text{Average inventory}}$
Cash conversion cycle: $\displaystyle \text{DOH} + \text{DSO} - \text{DPO}$
Straight-line depreciation: $\displaystyle \frac{\text{Cost} - \text{Residual value}}{\text{Useful life}}$
Free cash flow to the firm: $\displaystyle \text{FCFF} = \text{CFO} + \text{Int}\,(1 - t) - \text{FCInv}$ Add back interest only when it was deducted in CFO; under IFRS it may sit in financing instead.
Interest coverage: $\displaystyle \frac{\text{EBIT}}{\text{Interest payments}}$

Equities11 to 14% of the exam

Gordon growth model: $\displaystyle V_0 = \frac{D_1}{r - g}$ Needs $r > g$ .
Perpetual preferred share: $\displaystyle V_0 = \frac{D_p}{r_p}$
Justified forward P/E: $\displaystyle \frac{P_0}{E_1} = \frac{D_1 / E_1}{r - g}$
Sustainable growth rate: $\displaystyle g = b \times \text{ROE}$ $b$ is the share of earnings retained.
Margin call price, long position: $\displaystyle P_0 \times \frac{1 - \text{Initial margin}}{1 - \text{Maintenance margin}}$
Leverage ratio: $\displaystyle \frac{1}{\text{Initial margin}}$

Fixed Income11 to 14% of the exam

Bond price: $\displaystyle PV = \sum_{t=1}^{N} \frac{PMT}{(1+r)^t} + \frac{FV}{(1+r)^N}$ $r$ is the yield per period.
Current yield: $\displaystyle \frac{\text{Annual coupon}}{\text{Flat price}}$
Modified duration: $\displaystyle \text{ModDur} = \frac{\text{MacDur}}{1 + r}$ $r$ is the yield per period.
Approximate modified duration: $\displaystyle \text{ApproxModDur} = \frac{PV_{-} - PV_{+}}{2 \times \Delta \text{Yield} \times PV_0}$
Price change from duration and convexity: $\displaystyle \%\Delta PV \approx -\text{AnnModDur} \times \Delta \text{Yield} + \tfrac{1}{2} \times \text{AnnConvexity} \times (\Delta \text{Yield})^2$
Money duration: $\displaystyle \text{MoneyDur} = \text{AnnModDur} \times PV^{\text{Full}}$
Implied one-year rate in one year: $\displaystyle (1 + S_2)^2 = (1 + S_1)(1 + F_{1,1})$ $S_1$ and $S_2$ are spot rates; $F_{1,1}$ starts in one year and lasts one year.
Expected loss: $\displaystyle \text{Expected loss} = \text{POD} \times \text{LGD}$ Probability of default times loss given default.

Portfolio Construction8 to 12% of the exam

Portfolio expected return: $\displaystyle E(R_P) = \sum_{i} w_i\,E(R_i)$
Two-asset portfolio variance: $\displaystyle \sigma_P^2 = w_1^2\sigma_1^2 + w_2^2\sigma_2^2 + 2\,w_1 w_2\,\rho_{12}\,\sigma_1\sigma_2$
Beta: $\displaystyle \beta_i = \frac{\operatorname{Cov}(R_i, R_m)}{\sigma_m^2} = \rho_{i,m}\,\frac{\sigma_i}{\sigma_m}$
Capital asset pricing model: $\displaystyle E(R_i) = R_f + \beta_i\left[E(R_m) - R_f\right]$
Sharpe ratio: $\displaystyle \frac{R_P - R_f}{\sigma_P}$
Treynor ratio: $\displaystyle \frac{R_P - R_f}{\beta_P}$
M-squared: $\displaystyle M^2 = (R_P - R_f)\,\frac{\sigma_m}{\sigma_P} - (R_m - R_f)$
Jensen's alpha: $\displaystyle \alpha_P = R_P - \left[R_f + \beta_P\,(R_m - R_f)\right]$

Economics6 to 9% of the exam

Price elasticity of demand: $\displaystyle \frac{\%\Delta Q_d}{\%\Delta P}$
Fiscal multiplier: $\displaystyle \frac{1}{1 - c\,(1 - t)}$ $c$ is the marginal propensity to consume, $t$ the tax rate.
Money multiplier: $\displaystyle \frac{1}{\text{Reserve requirement}}$
Forward exchange rate: $\displaystyle F_{f/d} = S_{f/d} \times \frac{1 + i_f}{1 + i_d}$ $f/d$ is the price of one unit of currency $d$ in currency $f$ .
Cross rate: $\displaystyle \frac{A}{C} = \frac{A}{B} \times \frac{B}{C}$

Corporate Finance6 to 9% of the exam

Weighted average cost of capital: $\displaystyle \text{WACC} = w_d\,r_d\,(1 - t) + w_p\,r_p + w_e\,r_e$
Net present value: $\displaystyle \text{NPV} = \sum_{t=0}^{N} \frac{CF_t}{(1+r)^t}$ $CF_0$ is the outlay, a negative number.
Cost of preferred stock: $\displaystyle r_p = \frac{D_p}{P_p}$
Profitability index: $\displaystyle \text{PI} = \frac{\text{PV of future cash flows}}{\text{Initial investment}} = 1 + \frac{\text{NPV}}{\text{Initial investment}}$

Derivatives and Risk Management6 to 9% of the exam

Forward price, no costs or benefits: $\displaystyle F_0(T) = S_0\,(1 + r)^T$
Put-call parity: $\displaystyle S_0 + p_0 = c_0 + \frac{X}{(1+r)^T}$
Option payoffs at expiry: $\displaystyle c_T = \max(0,\ S_T - X), \qquad p_T = \max(0,\ X - S_T)$
Risk-neutral probability of an up move: $\displaystyle \pi = \frac{1 + r - d}{u - d}$

Alternative Investments6 to 9% of the exam

Direct capitalization: $\displaystyle V_0 = \frac{\text{NOI}_1}{\text{Cap rate}}$
Commodity futures return: $\displaystyle \text{Total return} = \text{Price return} + \text{Roll return} + \text{Collateral return}$

unigenius.co.uk/investment-analyst-exam-prep · our own wording, checked October 2026

Level I formula recall

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Questions people ask

Which Level I topics need the most formulas?

Quantitative Methods, Financial Statement Analysis, Equities and Fixed Income each carry 11 to 14% of the 2027 exam and use the most formulas. Ethics, 10 to 15%, has none.

Which calculators can I use in the exam?

The Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including the Professional) or the HP 12C (including the Platinum and anniversary editions and the Prestige).

Can I print this formula sheet?

Yes. Use Print or save as PDF: the sheet prints on its own, without the quiz or the page around it.

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How we work this out

What it does

The formulas Level I uses most, by topic weight, to print and to test yourself on.

Formulas from the 2027 Level I topics, chosen and written by us. Ethics has no formulas.

Method

Topics run in order of their 2027 exam weight from CFA Institute's Level I page.
Every formula and quiz answer was checked by us and again by a separate solver before publishing.
The quiz marks each pick in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Sources

Checked October 12, 2026.

CFA Institute: 2027 Level I topic outline, Learning modules by topic; the formulas are our own selection and wording
CFA Institute: Level I exam: topic weights, 2027 topic weights, which set the order of the sheet
CFA Institute: 2026 Level I topic outline, 2026 topic outline