Deep Dive: CFA® Level I Prep 2026

Deep Dive Prep

Master the complete CFA® Level I curriculum—one learning module at a time. Each episode is a concise, high‑impact dialogue that explains core concepts in plain English, with zero fluff and no long intro/outro. Perfect for commuters, last‑minute crammers, and anyone who learns best by listening. Independently produced; not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CFA Institute.

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105 episodes
Updated January 26

Episodes105

Newest first

Jun 19, 2025 · 28 min
FIXED - MBS Instrument & Market Features
From pass-throughs to CMOs we unpack prepayment mechanics, tranche types and commercial vs. residential differences. Understand PSA curves, extension risk and how agencies wrap credit.
Jun 19, 2025 · 15 min
FIXED - ABS Instrument & Market Features
Explore structural credit enhancement, tranche waterfalls and trigger tests. Compare classic asset classes—autos, cards—and newer niches like solar leases and whole-business deals.
Jun 18, 2025 · 16 min
FIXED - Fixed-Income Securitization
Follow the pipeline from loan pool to special-purpose entity to tranche. See how credit- and time-tranching reshape risk for issuers and investors, plus the economic case for securitization.
Jun 18, 2025 · 19 min
FIXED - Credit Analysis – Corporate
Dive into business risk, moats, management and detailed financial ratios. Finish with recovery analysis across the capital stack and why ratings can lag the market.
Jun 17, 2025 · 18 min
FIXED - Credit Analysis – Government
Blend qualitative governance checks with quantitative debt, growth and external-balance ratios to rank sovereign default risk. Contrast with sub-sovereign and supranational analysis.
Jun 17, 2025 · 13 min
FIXED - Credit Risk
Define default, recovery and credit migration. Walk through structural vs. reduced-form models and see how ratings, leverage and cyclical forces feed into spread moves.
Jun 16, 2025 · 15 min
FIXED - Curve-Based & Empirical Risk Measures
Swap from yield-shift to curve-shift analytics: key-rate durations, twist & butterfly exposures, plus empirical (regression) duration when cash-flow data are messy.
Jun 16, 2025 · 8 min
FIXED - Yield-Based Convexity & Portfolios
Add curvature to your risk toolkit. Topics: standalone bond convexity, duration-plus-convexity price estimates and building target-duration/convexity portfolios.
Jun 15, 2025 · 11 min
FIXED - Yield-Based Duration Measures
Compute modified, money duration and price-value-of-a-basis-point for bullets, zeros, floaters and perps. See how convexity tweaks the linear estimate.
Jun 15, 2025 · 14 min
FIXED - Interest-Rate Risk & Return
Break total return into income, reinvestment and price change. Link Macaulay duration, investment horizon and curve shifts to work out when rising rates can still boost realised return.
Jun 14, 2025 · 14 min
FIXED - Term Structure: Spot, Par & Forward Curves
Boot-strap spot curves, derive par & forward rates, and flip between them to price bonds or swaps. Finish with curve shapes and what they signal about growth, inflation and policy.
Jun 14, 2025 · 12 min
FIXED - Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments
Floating notes aren’t risk-free. We calculate money-market yields, discount margins and quoted margins, then see how caps, floors and reference-rate changes alter valuation.
Jun 14, 2025 · 12 min
FIXED - Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds
Deconstruct quoted yields: street-convention, bond-equivalent, periodicity tweaks and callable-bond option-adjusted spreads. Learn when each metric best explains risk-adjusted return.
Jun 13, 2025 · 15 min
FIXED - Bond Valuation: Prices & Yields
Discount every coupon like a pro. Topics include PV with spot curves, YTM conventions, full vs. flat price, constant-yield price paths and matrix pricing when comparable issues are thinly traded.
Jun 13, 2025 · 20 min
FIXED - Markets for Government Issuers
Survey sovereign T-bills, notes & bonds, plus quasi-govt, municipal and supranational paper. We show auction formats, benchmark curves and the unique tax, liquidity and policy roles these securities play worldwide.
Jun 12, 2025 · 21 min
FIXED - Markets for Corporate Issuers
Short-term working-capital lines, ABCP, bank revolvers and repos vs. long-term IG or HY bonds—this module links funding choices to credit strength. Walk through loan covenants, backup liquidity lines and why HY issuers rely on collateral and call protection.
Jun 11, 2025 · 14 min
FIXED - Issuance & Trading
From roadshow to re-offer we track a new issue’s life, then dive into secondary-market micro-structure. Understand broad vs. sector indexes, turnover math and why liquidity clusters in the newest (“on-the-run”) paper. We also compare primary auctions, syndications and private placements.
Jun 10, 2025 · 29 min
FIXED - Cash Flows & Types
Go beyond plain-vanilla coupons. We map amortizing schedules, sinking-funds, FRNs, zeros, linkers and deferred-coupon bonds. Compare issuer pros & investor cons, then learn how contingency features—calls, puts, converts—reshape risk/return for both sides of the deal.
Jun 10, 2025 · 15 min
FIXED - Fixed-Income Instrument Features
First stop on the bond tour: what exactly are you buying? We break down issuer types, par value, coupons (fixed vs. floating), seniority in liquidation and the covenants that legally bind the borrower. See how each feature shapes cash-flow timing and default risk, and why investors demand different yields for different structures.
Jun 9, 2025 · 23 min
EQUITY - Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools
The capstone module—linking cash flows to price. Inside you will: Contrast dividend discount, FCFE and Gordon growth models. Build multi-stage models and reconcile to market multiples. Use asset-based and enterprise-value approaches. You’ll graduate able to triangulate value from first principles and market sentiment.

Deep Dive: CFA® Level I Prep 2026

FIXED - MBS Instrument & Market Features

FIXED - ABS Instrument & Market Features

FIXED - Fixed-Income Securitization

FIXED - Credit Analysis – Corporate

FIXED - Credit Analysis – Government

FIXED - Credit Risk

FIXED - Curve-Based & Empirical Risk Measures

FIXED - Yield-Based Convexity & Portfolios

FIXED - Yield-Based Duration Measures

FIXED - Interest-Rate Risk & Return

FIXED - Term Structure: Spot, Par & Forward Curves

FIXED - Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments

FIXED - Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds

FIXED - Bond Valuation: Prices & Yields

FIXED - Markets for Government Issuers

FIXED - Markets for Corporate Issuers

FIXED - Issuance & Trading

FIXED - Cash Flows & Types

FIXED - Fixed-Income Instrument Features

EQUITY - Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools

Deep Dive: CFA® Level I Prep 2026