These CFA® Level I Portfolio Management Notes for the 2025 exam edition are a 155-page comprehensive study guide designed for clarity, speed, and effectiveness. Authored by a passed CFA candidate, the notes provide highly focused content tailored for success in one of the most weighted sections of the exam curriculum.
This material covers six essential topics, mapped to the official CFA Institute Learning Outcome Statements (LOS):
1. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I
This section introduces foundational concepts including expected return, variance, standard deviation, covariance, and correlation. It also explains how diversification reduces risk and lays the groundwork for understanding portfolio performance metrics.
2. Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II
Building on Part I, this section dives into the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), security market line (SML), and risk-adjusted performance measures such as Sharpe, Treynor, and Jensen’s Alpha. Concepts like the efficient frontier, systematic vs. unsystematic risk, and beta are explained with real-world financial applications.
3. Portfolio Management: An Overview
This chapter explains the investment policy statement (IPS), setting client objectives, return requirements, risk tolerance, constraints, and regulatory considerations. It emphasizes how portfolio managers assess client goals and translate them into a formal investment strategy.
4. Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction
An in-depth look at the practical steps of constructing an investment portfolio, including asset class selection, strategic vs. tactical asset allocation, and rebalancing techniques. This section also introduces the core-satellite and liability-relative portfolio strategies used by institutional investors.
5. The Behavioral Biases of Individuals
An insightful overview of behavioral finance, focusing on emotional and cognitive biases like overconfidence, loss aversion, mental accounting, hindsight bias, and anchoring. The guide explains how these biases affect investment decisions and outlines methods to mitigate their effects in portfolio construction.
6. Introduction to Risk Management
The final section discusses the importance of risk identification, measurement, and mitigation. It includes operational, market, credit, and liquidity risks. Techniques like value-at-risk (VaR), scenario analysis, and stress testing are introduced, along with concepts of risk governance and appetite.
Key Features:
- Prepared by a CFA Level I pass candidate with firsthand insight into exam expectations
- Concise summaries and formula sheets for quick revision
- Graphical aids and diagrams for visual learners
- Direct mapping to CFA curriculum topics
- Ideal for candidates balancing full-time work and study
Whether you’re beginning your CFA journey or reinforcing your grasp on core portfolio management concepts, this guide streamlines your preparation and helps you focus on high-yield exam content.
Perfect for:
- CFA® Level I 2025 candidates
- Investment and finance students
- Professionals preparing for a refresh on portfolio theory
- Academic instructors and trainers in financial certification programs
Equip yourself with exam-focused notes trusted by candidates who’ve already succeeded. This Portfolio Management set is your go-to tool for mastering one of the most critical domains of the CFA exam.
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