What order should I study CFA Level 1 topics in?

Save Ethics for the last two to three weeks. The Standards wording rewards recency, not duration of study.

Recommended order for most candidates:

1. Quantitative Methods (3 weeks). Foundational for everything else.
2. Economics (2 weeks). Sets up Equity and Fixed Income reasoning.
3. Financial Reporting and Analysis (5 weeks). The longest section by far; do not rush.
4. Equity Investments (2 weeks). Builds on FRA.
5. Fixed Income (3 weeks). Math-heavy; needs practice.
6. Corporate Issuers (1.5 weeks).
7. Derivatives (1.5 weeks).
8. Alternative Investments (1 week).
9. Portfolio Management (1.5 weeks). Mostly conceptual at Level 1.
10. Ethics (2 weeks of intensive review).
11. Mock exams and final review (2 weeks).

This puts the heaviest mental work in months 2 and 3, the lighter topics in month 4, and Ethics plus mocks in months 5 and 6. The order also follows topic prerequisites: Quant before FRA, FRA before Equity, Quant before Fixed Income.

Exception: if you have a strong accounting background, you can compress FRA to three weeks and reinvest the time in mocks. If you have no accounting background, do not compress FRA. It is the most common topic to underestimate.