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CAIA Level I

A dated route through CAIA Level I: your window and plan, every topic from professional standards to hedge funds, private equity, real assets and structured products, timed practice, mocks and exam day.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for CAIA Level I, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

200

Starter tasks

🎓 Finance & Business Certifications

CAIA Level I

Studying for CAIA Level I: hedge funds, private equity, real assets, structured products and the professional standards section, with a plan built around the exam window.

  1. CAIA Level I exam window and registration
  2. Eligibility, ID and name match check
  3. This window's curriculum and learning objectives
  4. Level I topic diagnostic baseline
  5. Study plan counted back from exam day
  6. Choosing official materials or a prep provider
  7. Quantitative foundations refresher for Level I
  8. Formula sheet and error log
  9. Approved calculator choice and fluency
  10. Protected weekly study blocks
  11. Saturday timed question set
  12. Daily flashcards for terms and formulas
  13. Monthly progress and coverage review
  14. Study partner check-in call
  15. Industry reading queue for alternatives
  16. CAIA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
  17. Alternative investment structures, investors and markets
  18. Return measurement, IRR and distribution shape
  19. Benchmarking, alpha, beta and factor models
  20. Smoothed returns and unsmoothing illiquid assets
  21. Fees, hurdles, catch-up and distribution waterfalls
  22. Real estate equity, debt and valuation
  23. Commodity futures, term structure and roll return
  24. Farmland, timberland, infrastructure and natural resources
  25. Hedge fund structures and the strategy map
  26. Macro and managed futures strategies
  27. Event-driven strategies, merger arbitrage and distressed
  28. Relative value, equity hedge and funds of hedge funds
  29. Venture capital stages, terms and valuation
  30. Leveraged buyout mechanics and value creation
  31. Private credit, mezzanine and distressed debt
  32. Private equity performance, J-curve and PME
  33. Securitisation, tranching and CLOs
  34. Credit derivatives and credit risk models
  35. New or revised topics in this year's curriculum
  36. Weak topic remediation sprint
  37. Pacing and answer technique from mock data
  38. Deciding whether to sit or move your window
  39. First full timed mock exam
  40. Final four weeks revision plan
  41. Final mock under exam conditions
  42. Exam day logistics and test centre
  43. Results day and what comes after Level I
  44. Studying Level I alongside a full-time investment role
  45. Sitting Level I as a student or recent graduate
  46. Adding CAIA alongside CFA study or the charter
  47. Sitting Level I far from a test centre
  48. Retake plan after a Level I fail
  49. Level I lunch and learn for colleagues
  50. Case study of a public alternatives index

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

CAIA Level I exam window and registration

CAIA Association runs Level I in set testing windows, and registration closes some weeks before each window opens, usually with a lower fee for registering early. Picking your window now and registering inside the early period turns a vague intention to sit the exam into a fixed date that every other project in this area counts back from.

First tasks

  • Check the current Level I windows and fees on the CAIA Association website
  • Choose the window that leaves enough study weeks before it
  • Register for Level I before the early fee period closes
  • Put the test appointment booking deadline in your calendar

Eligibility, ID and name match check

Before paying anything, confirm that you meet CAIA's current eligibility rules, which look at your degree or professional experience, and that the name on your CAIA account matches your passport or national ID letter for letter. A mismatch discovered at the test centre desk can cost both the sitting and the fee, and it takes five minutes to rule out now.

First tasks

  • Read CAIA's current eligibility requirements for Level I
  • Check the expiry date on the ID you will take to the test
  • Compare your CAIA account name with your ID letter for letter
  • Email CAIA to correct any name difference and save the reply

This window's curriculum and learning objectives

CAIA revises the Level I curriculum and its learning objectives from time to time, so a borrowed book or a colleague's old notes can leave you revising a reading that has gone while missing one that is new. Working from the version tied to your window, with the learning objectives saved and the exam format noted from CAIA's own guidance, fixes the exact scope before you study a page.

First tasks

  • Find the curriculum and learning objectives for your window on the CAIA site
  • Save the learning objectives for each topic in your study folder
  • Note the topic weights and exam format from CAIA's own guidance
  • Check the curriculum errata page for new corrections @recurring(monthly:5)

Make it yours.

Install CAIA Level I, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.