What the 2022 CFA Curriculum Updates Mean for You
The new 2022 CFA curriculum has been released for all 3 levels. This article will summarize all of the important changes to the curriculum and how it affects your preparation.
On the whole, this was a relatively small update. There are a couple of things that apply across all 3 levels:
There are no changes to the Topic Area Weights.
The “Ethics” Topic Area has been moved to be the final readings in each level.
Updates to the Level I Curriculum
New Readings:
The following 8 new readings were added for 2022:
Reading 2, “Organizing, Visualizing, and Describing Data” has several new sections on various ways of displaying data across 1 or 2 dimensions.
Reading 7, “Introduction to Linear Regression,” has the same learning outcome statements as the same reading in Level II (which has also been overhauled).
In the “Corporate Issuers” (formerly called “Corporate Finance”) Topic Area, Readings 28, 29, 30, and 31 have been introduced, restructuring 3 readings that were deleted while incorporating some new concepts.
Reading 52, “The Behavioral Biases of Individuals,” was added for 2022.
Updates to Existing Readings
There were updates to 15 readings for the 2022 curriculum. Major changes were made in the following:
Reading 11, “Understanding Business Cycles,” was subject to a significant rewriting. It was previously Reading 15.
Reading number 47, “Alternative Investments,” was subject to a significant update.
There were minor updates for Reading 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 19, 21, 37, 42, 43, 44, 54, and 59 of the 2022 curriculum.
Deleted Readings
5 readings from the previous curriculum were removed:
Reading 5, “Global Investment Performance Standards”.
Reading 7, “Statistical Concepts & Market Returns”.
Reading 32, “Capital Budgeting”.
Reading 33, “Cost of Capital”.
Reading 35, “Working Capital Management”.
Updates to the Level II Curriculum
New Readings:
There were only 2 new readings added:
Reading 17, “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Considerations in Investment Analysis”.
Reading 41, “Backtesting and Simulation”.
Updates to Existing Readings:
While 13 readings were updated for the 2022 curriculum, major changes were made only for the following:
Reading 33, “Pricing and Valuation of Forward Commitments”.
Reading 35, “Real Estate and Investment” was updated by merging 2 readings (Reading 39 and Reading 40) from the 2020/21 curriculum.
There were minor updates to Reading 1, 2, 15, 16, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 36, and 42.
Deleted Readings:
3 readings from the previous curriculum were removed:
Reading 9, “Excerpt from Probabilistic Approaches”.
Reading 22, “Corporate Governance & Other ESG Considerations in Investment Analysis”.
Reading 40, “Publicly Traded Real Estate Securities”.
CFA Level III Updates
New Readings:
There were only 2 new readings added:
Reading 22, “Topics in Private Wealth Management”.
Reading 30, “Case Study in Risk Management: Institutional”.
Updates to Existing Readings:
7 readings were updated for the 2022 curriculum, with major changes for the following:
Reading 13, “Yield Curve Strategies,” and Reading 14, “Fixed Income Active Management: Credit Strategies” in the Fixed Income section.
Reading 35, “Overview of the Global Investment Performance Standards”.
There were minor updates to Reading 1, 5, 7, and 11.
Deleted Readings:
5 readings from the previous curriculum were removed:
Reading 4, “Professionalism in Investment Management”.
Reading 7, “The Behavioral Finance Perspective”.
Reading 29, “Taxes and Private Wealth Management in a Global Context”.
Reading 30, “Estate Planning in a Global Context”.
Reading 31, “Concentrated Single-Asset Positions”.
Overall, candidates that have prepared using the 2021 curriculum are well-placed for the 2022 exam as well. As always, feel free to reach out to the Bloomberg Exam Prep team for any questions and help.
Happy studying!
About the Author
Dr. Aaron Johnson is the Academic Director of CFA Programs at Bloomberg Exam Prep. He teaches courses in economics, finance, and mathematics at universities in the U.S. and Europe, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Aaron earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics at the Walton College of Business, served as an MBA program director, and as a non-profit finance director. His research interests are focused in development economics, specifically micro-lending and poverty alleviation efforts, with working papers also in ODA and family economics.