CAIA® Level I is 200 multiple-choice questions on alternative investments, in two sections of 100 with 130 minutes each and an optional 30-minute break in between (CAIA Association®). Per-attempt pass rates have averaged about 51% (CAIA Association).
What the exam covers
The 2027 Level I curriculum, which the March and September 2027 exams test, has 7 topic areas (2027 CAIA Exam Handbook).
Level I went from eight topics to seven for 2027. Funds of Funds is no longer a topic, and most of the other ranges moved by a point or two. The 2027 weight changes post puts the 2026 and 2027 Level I weights side by side and covers Level II.
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| Topic area | 2027 weight |
|---|---|
| CAIA Ethical Principles | 7 to 13% |
| Introduction to Alternative Investments | 21 to 27% |
| Real Assets | 16 to 22% |
| Private Equity | 8 to 14% |
| Private Debt | 10 to 16% |
| Hedge Funds | 15 to 21% |
| Digital Assets | 3 to 9% |
The introduction is the biggest topic, and it carries a lot of the exam's math: return and performance measurement, return statistics, factor models, derivatives and risk measures. Ethics covers fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest in fund management, fee disclosure and allocation practices, all framed around alternatives.
Questions on real assets often compare public and private exposure to the same asset. A public REIT and a private real estate fund can hold the same kind of property and still have very different liquidity, correlation and return profiles. For private equity, know the LP and GP structure, the 2 and 20 fee arrangement, the J-curve and IRR versus TVPI.
Private debt is where structured products come in, so expect tranches, credit enhancement and the risk at each level of seniority. Hedge fund questions test what a strategy is doing (long, short or hedged) and what risks it carries more than whether you know its name. Digital assets is the smallest topic and is tested at a foundational level.
A 12-week plan
If you're planning on about 200 hours, fitting them into 12 weeks takes roughly 17 hours a week. At 10 hours a week the same plan runs about 20 weeks, so stretch each phase rather than dropping topics. For each topic, read it first, then work practice questions on it, then go back over what you missed.
- Weeks 1 to 3: ethics, the introduction and real assets. The introduction is the biggest topic, so give it most of this block.
- Weeks 4 to 6: private equity and hedge funds. Learn fund structures, fee calculations and performance metrics cold.
- Weeks 7 to 9: private debt and digital assets. Take the tranche mechanics in structured products slowly, and start mixing topics in your practice sets.
- Weeks 10 to 12: two full-length rehearsals, timed like the real exam (two sections of 100 questions, 130 minutes each, with the optional 30-minute break in between). Spend the days after each one going through every miss and rereading the weak topics it turned up.
Fellow has two full mock forms, one for each rehearsal. You can bring a BA II Plus or an HP 12C, so practice IRR approximations, fee calculations and return computations on the calculator you'll use.
How to practice
After each practice set, work out why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong, including on questions you guessed correctly. Keep track of the topics you miss most and reread the lesson before doing more questions there. Do some sets on the real clock, which is 130 minutes for 100 questions (about 78 seconds each).
Your exam registration includes the digital curriculum, and the CAIA Association's curriculum and study tools page links the current exam handbook. FreeFellow has 2,062 CAIA Level I practice questions with step-by-step solutions, plus 26 written lessons, all free with an account. Fellow adds timed mock exams and analytics by topic. If you're weighing a paid CAIA course, the FreeFellow vs UpperMark comparison covers what each one includes.