Equities in the 2027 CFA Level I curriculum: 12 modules, what left and what arrived
Equities (Equity Investments in 2026) keeps its 11–14% weight in 2027, but the topic is rewritten around forecasting-based valuation: 12 modules instead of 8. Market Organization and Structure, Market Efficiency and Security Market Indexes leave the topic (index construction moves to Quantitative Methods), and new modules cover analyst research reports and the CAPM and multi-factor models for the cost of equity.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against CFA Institute's 2027 Level I topic outlines, the 2027 Equities curriculum text (all 12 modules), the Level I exam page, the curriculum changes for the 2027 CFA® Program (PDF) and the May 2026 press release. Analyst Dojo is independent and not affiliated with CFA Institute.
Did the Equities weight change in 2027?
No. Equities stays at 11–14% of the Level I exam, in the second session. What changed is the inside of the topic: more modules, fewer learning outcomes, and valuation built from forecasts.
| Measure | 2026 (Equity Investments) | 2027 (Equities) |
|---|---|---|
| Exam weight | 11–14% | 11–14% |
| Questions out of 180 | about 20 to 25 | about 20 to 25 |
| Learning modules | 8 | 12 |
| Learning outcomes in the outline | 66 | 37 |
Equities and Quantitative Methods are the two topics CFA Institute says the update focuses on. Together they now carry 22–28% of the exam, against 17–23% in 2026 (our addition of the two ranges). See all ten topics on the 2027 topic weights page.
What are the 12 Equities modules, next to the 8 from 2026?
The outline lists the 12 modules in this order. We are rebuilding the module pages; until a module's lessons are rewritten, its page shows the learning outcomes and lesson plan. The last column is our comparison of the two texts, not CFA Institute's mapping.
| # | 2027 module | Outcomes | 2026 material it draws on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Equity Instrument Features | 2 | Overview of Equity Securities (share types, private equity) |
| 2 | Equity Jurisdictions, Classes, and the Voting Process | 2 | Overview of Equity Securities (voting, share classes, depositary receipts); the voting process is new |
| 3 | Equity Issuance and Trading | 4 | Market Organization and Structure (primary and secondary markets); types of equity indexes; trading venues and liquidity measures are new |
| 4 | Sources of Equity Returns | 3 | Equity Valuation (dividends, splits, repurchases, payment chronology); Overview of Equity Securities (total return) |
| 5 | Introduction to Equity Valuation | 3 | Equity Valuation (value versus price, model categories, enterprise value); book value from Overview of Equity Securities |
| 6 | Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Growth Models | 4 | Equity Valuation (dividend discount, free cash flow to equity, growth models, preferred stock); residual income is new |
| 7 | Relative Value Equity Valuation Approaches | 4 | Equity Valuation (price and enterprise value multiples, comparables, justified P/E); forecasted fundamentals and peer groups are new |
| 8 | Financial Statement Forecasting in Equity Valuation | 3 | Company Analysis: Forecasting; largely new |
| 9 | Industry and Competitive Analysis | 4 | Industry and Competitive Analysis (same title) |
| 10 | Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future | 3 | Company Analysis: Past and Present; competitive positioning from Industry and Competitive Analysis |
| 11 | Equity Analyst Research Reports | 3 | Company Analysis: Past and Present (research report elements); mostly new |
| 12 | The Capital Asset Pricing Model, Market Model, and Other Factor-Based Equity Models | 2 | Portfolio Management (CAPM, market model, beta, APT, factor models) |
Of the eight 2026 modules, only Industry and Competitive Analysis keeps its title. Much of the subject matter continues, but the 2027 modules are newly written, with new notation and new company cases.
What left Level I Equities?
Three 2026 modules have no home in the 2027 Equities outline: Market Organization and Structure, Market Efficiency and Security Market Indexes, whose index math moved to Quantitative Methods.
| 2026 module | What the 2027 outline shows |
|---|---|
| Market Organization and Structure | No learning outcome on the financial system, intermediaries, margin, order types or regulation. Primary and secondary markets and trading venues survive in Equity Issuance and Trading, where market and limit orders appear only as definitions. |
| Market Efficiency | No learning outcome on market efficiency, its forms or anomalies. The behavioral biases outcomes remain in Portfolio Construction, with the same wording as 2026. |
| Security Market Indexes | Index weighting and index returns now sit in Quantitative Methods, in Benchmarking Returns. Types of equity indexes stay in Equity Issuance and Trading; fixed-income indexes move to Fixed Income. |
See the Quantitative Methods changes for what that topic gains.
What is new in Equities for 2027?
Each row is a learning outcome in the 2027 outline or something CFA Institute names in its change note, checked against the 2027 text.
| New or changed | Module |
|---|---|
| The voting process, with the roles of the issuer's management, board, proxy advisors, asset managers and asset owners | Classes and Voting |
| Economic and voting rights across equity classes, and how investors reach shares in other jurisdictions (depositary receipts, foreign listings) | Classes and Voting |
| Exchange, off-exchange and over-the-counter trading compared; liquidity measures, including calculating float and average daily volume | Issuance and Trading |
| Price and value contrasted; book value of equity, market capitalization and enterprise value as indicators of intrinsic value | Introduction to Equity Valuation |
| The inputs of dividend discount, free cash flow to equity (FCFE), free cash flow to the firm (FCFF) and residual income models contrasted | DCF and Growth Models |
| The method of comparables and the method of forecasted fundamentals; choosing a peer group; multiples on past, current and projected values | Relative Value Approaches |
| Forecast models that project revenue, margins, investment and financing separately; value estimated from their outputs; scenario analysis with probability weighting | Financial Statement Forecasting |
| Porter's Five Forces and PESTLE linked to profitability, growth and scenarios | Industry Analysis |
| A detailed company research report; sell-side and buy-side reports compared; initiating coverage; activist short sellers; why value estimates differ with analyst assumptions | Research Reports |
| The CAPM and the market model for the cost of equity, with adjusted and industry betas, the market risk premium and a country risk premium; arbitrage pricing theory and a four-factor model | CAPM and Factor Models |
How far each item goes: residual income is calculated per share, but no module values a company with it over several periods. FCFF valuation is worked in full (value the firm, then subtract debt). Float and average daily volume each have a formula. Scenario analysis puts probability weights on equity values. For the cost of equity, the text uses a market risk premium built from long-term government bond returns.
What carries over from 2026?
Most of the subject matter, but not the text: none of our 41 Equity lessons carries over unchanged, and 11 have no 2027 home.
- Valuation models. Constant and multistage growth models and the value of non-callable, non-convertible preferred stock continue in DCF and Growth Models.
- Multiples. Price and enterprise value multiples continue in Relative Value Approaches.
- Dividends and buybacks. Dividends, repurchases, splits and the payment chronology continue in Sources of Equity Returns.
- Industry and company analysis. Industry classification, size and growth, the Five Forces and PESTLE, competitive strategy, revenue drivers, pricing power and capital structure all have outcomes in Industry and Competitive Analysis and Company Analysis.
- Share types and private equity. Features of equity instruments and the contrast between publicly listed and private equity continue in Equity Instrument Features.
- Depositary receipts. They remain, now under jurisdictions in Classes and Voting. ADR levels, Rule 144A, global registered shares and baskets of listed depositary receipts are gone.
How does CFA Institute describe the Equities update?
As practical. Its 2027 change note says "The Equities topic has been substantially updated to emphasize practical applications and career-readiness."
- The curriculum "now grounds equity valuation in financial statement forecasting," with candidates learning to build "disaggregated models that separately project revenue, margins, investment, and financing."
- "Scenario analysis with probability weighting is introduced as standard valuation practice."
- Industry and company analysis get "expanded treatment," with Porter's Five Forces and PESTLE "explicitly connected to valuation narratives."
- New modules cover "initiating coverage, sell-side versus buy-side research, and activist short sellers," and "the practical application of CAPM and multi-factor models for estimating cost of equity using real market data."
Its May 2026 press release adds that the Quantitative Methods and Equity Investments updates "represent about 25 percent of the CFA Level I exam."
What should you do about it?
- Sitting 11 to 17 November 2026: you are on the 2026 curriculum. Keep studying the 2026 Equity Investments lessons. Nothing on this page changes your exam.
- Sitting 22 to 28 February 2027 or later: study the 2027 Equities modules. Put the most time into financial statement forecasting, research reports, CAPM and factor models and the voting process. We last checked the window dates on 18 October 2026; confirm them on CFA Institute's dates and fees page.
- Studied for 2026 and now sitting in 2027: drop order types, margin, market efficiency and the financial system overview. Re-learn index construction in Benchmarking Returns. The guide for deferred candidates covers all ten topics.
- Dividend dates: the 2027 text still puts the record date one or two business days after the ex-dividend date. US markets have settled on the next business day (T+1) since 28 May 2024, so there the two dates now coincide. Learn the curriculum's wording.
- Practice: work the Equity practice questions and keep the Equity formula sheet open.
Analyst Dojo teaches the 2027 curriculum on the 2027 study map and keeps the 2026 lessons on the 2026 study map. Every lesson is free, and your progress carries over automatically. See also the Level I exam guide, the study plan, the overview of the 2027 changes, and the Quantitative Methods and Ethics pages.
Questions
Is Market Efficiency still tested in Level I Equities?
No. The 2027 topic outline lists no learning outcome on market efficiency, its forms or anomalies. The behavioral biases outcomes stay in Portfolio Construction with the same wording as 2026. If you sit in November 2026, you are on the 2026 curriculum, so study it.
Where did index construction go?
The outcome on index weighting methods and index returns is now in Quantitative Methods, in the module Benchmarking Returns. Equities keeps only the types of equity indexes, inside Equity Issuance and Trading.
Is the Equities weight different in 2027?
No. Equities stays at 11–14% of the exam, about 20 to 25 of the 180 questions, as in 2026. What changed is the content: 12 modules and 37 learning outcomes, against 8 modules and 66 outcomes in 2026.
What is residual income?
The 2027 text calls it the profit a company earns in excess of the opportunity cost of its equity capital, also called economic profit: net income minus a charge for the cost of equity on beginning book value. Level I calculates it per share and contrasts its inputs with dividend, FCFE and FCFF models.