How Quantitative Is the CFA Level 1 Exam in 2025?

Dimitri Dangeros, CFA, CAIA
Aug 14
5 min read

Updated: Aug 15

How Quantitative Is the CFA Level I Exam in 2025?

The CFA Level I exam has a reputation for breadth and rigor, spanning ethics, economics, financial reporting, portfolio management, and more. But for many candidates, one of the biggest concerns is the math. How much of the exam is truly quantitative? Is it a handful of number-crunching problems, or a constant stream of calculations?

Using the latest 2025 CFA curriculum and weightings, this article provides a precise breakdown of the math content, the number of quantitative questions you can expect, and how these skills integrate with the rest of the exam.

1. The Direct Math Portion: Quantitative Methods Weighting

In the official CFA Institute curriculum for 2025, Quantitative Methods is weighted at 6%–9% of the Level I exam.

Since the exam contains 180 multiple-choice questions (split evenly into two 2-hour and 15-minute sessions of 90 questions each), that percentage translates to:

Low end (6%) → about 11 questions
High end (9%) → about 16 questions

These figures remain consistent with the 2024 weighting and confirm that roughly a dozen to a maximum of sixteen questions will directly test Quantitative Methods.

2. Why That’s Not the Full Math Story

While the 11–16 Quantitative Methods questions are the explicit math section, mathematical reasoning appears in multiple other topics:

Financial Statement Analysis (11%–14%) – ratio analysis, growth rates, and time value of money applications.
Fixed Income (11%–14%) – yield calculations, bond pricing, and duration/convexity measures.
Equity (8%–12%) – dividend discount models, price multiples, and valuation formulas.
Derivatives (5%–8%) – option payoff diagrams, futures pricing, and hedging ratios.
Portfolio Management (5%–8%) – risk and return measures, beta calculations, and performance metrics.

This means that even though only about 7% of the exam is formally labeled “Quantitative Methods,” the functional share of math-based questions is much higher—often exceeding 40% of the paper when you account for calculations across sections.

3. What the Quantitative Methods Section Covers

The 2025 Quantitative Methods curriculum includes 11 modules:

Rates and Returns
Time Value of Money
Statistical Measures of Asset Return
Probability Trees & Conditional Expectation
Portfolio Mathematics
Simulation Methods
Estimation & Inference
Hypothesis Testing
Parametric & Non-Parametric Tests
Simple Linear Regression
Introduction to Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning

While the majority of questions test applied calculations—like compounding, regression interpretation, and probability—there is also conceptual theory, especially around statistical inference and interpreting model results.

4. Typical Question Difficulty How Quantitative Is the CFA Level 1 Exam in 2025

Mathematical questions in Level I vary in complexity: How Quantitative Is the CFA Level 1 Exam in 2025

Straightforward: Solve for FV in a time-value-of-money problem.
Moderate: Apply standard deviation formulas to a portfolio of two assets.
Challenging: Interpret the statistical significance of a regression output in context.

Time pressure is a major factor—while each question is worth the same point, computation-heavy items can eat up more time if you haven’t automated your process through practice.

5. Study Strategy for the Math Component

Even if you’re comfortable with numbers, CFA math has a unique blend of finance-specific formulas and conceptual nuance. Here’s how to prepare effectively:

A. Master Core Formulas Early

Lock in time value of money, probability rules, and return/risk metrics at the start of your study plan. These recur across topics.

B. Use Your Calculator Like a Pro

Become fluent with the BA II Plus or HP 12C functions—especially for cash-flow analysis, bond pricing, and statistical calculations.

C. Integrate Math into Other Topics

When studying Fixed Income or Derivatives, actively connect the math back to Quantitative Methods. This makes retention stronger.

D. Practice Under Exam Conditions

Simulate the CFA environment: no formula sheet, 90 questions in 2 hours 15 minutes, and no external references.

E. Don’t Neglect Conceptual Understanding

Some math questions test interpretation rather than computation—e.g., what a high R² implies or the limitations of using historical volatility.

6. How Math Affects Pass Rates

The CFA Institute does not release section-by-section pass rates, but survey data and candidate feedback consistently show that:

Candidates who struggle with basic statistics and finance math tend to underperform in multiple areas, not just Quantitative Methods.
High proficiency in calculations can improve speed and confidence in valuation, portfolio management, and fixed income—boosting total scores.

With the 2024 Level I pass rate hovering around 40%–44%, a solid math performance can be the edge needed to clear the Minimum Passing Score.

7. Modern Additions: AI and Big Data

The inclusion of Big Data and AI basics in the Quantitative Methods curriculum is a notable 2025 change. While not calculation-heavy, these topics require understanding:

How machine learning models differ from traditional regression.
How large data sets affect investment decision-making.
Potential ethical and operational implications.

They represent the CFA Institute’s effort to keep the program relevant to modern finance analytics.

8. The Bottom Line: How Quantitative Is It, Really?

If we define quantitative narrowly as the formal Quantitative Methods section, expect 11–16 questions out of 180—around one in every 11 to 16 questions.

If we take a broader view that includes all calculation-driven content, math-based reasoning likely appears in over 70 questions, or more than 40% of the exam.

The CFA Level I exam in 2025 is moderately quantitative in formal structure but heavily quantitative in practice. The explicit Quantitative Methods section makes up about 6%–9% of the exam, or 11–16 questions, but math skills permeate every major topic area.

To excel, candidates should:

Treat Quantitative Methods as a foundation, not an isolated topic.
Build speed and accuracy in finance-specific calculations.
Integrate math practice into all sections of the curriculum.
Be ready to interpret results, not just compute them.

By blending computational skill with conceptual understanding, you’ll not only handle the math questions with confidence—you’ll also unlock a strategic advantage across the entire exam.

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