CFA Institute Announces June 2010 Worldwide CFA Exam Results  Forty-two percent of 111,731 CFA candidates from 160 countries pass

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Charlottesville , Virginia, , 16 August 2010
CFA Institute announced today that 42 percent of 111,731 current and aspiring investment professionals worldwide passed the June 2010 CFA exams, bringing them one step closer to earning the distinguished CFA charter.

To earn the CFA charter, candidates must sequentially pass three six-hour exams that are widely considered to be among the most rigorous in the investment profession. The 2010 exams were given at 255 test centers in 185 cities worldwide.

The Level I global pass rate was 42 percent (46,863 took the exam, up from 45,682 in 2009) and the Level II global pass rate was 39 percent (43,406 took the exam, up from 38,993 in 2009). Of the 21,462 (up from 19,436 in 2009) individuals who in June 2010 took the third and final exam that leads to the prestigious CFA designation, 46 percent passed. CFA Institute expects that the majority of candidates who passed the Level III exam will become CFA charterholders later this year, bringing the number of charterholders worldwide to more than 90,000.

“The CFA designation continues to attract individuals globally who want to enhance their knowledge and skills to succeed in today’s competitive world of investing and finance,” said John Rogers, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute. “Employers, institutional and individual investors, and regulators alike see great value in the heart of the CFA Program – financial education and professional ethics training. Investors know that when working with a CFA charterholder, they are working with a serious investment professional who is also a trusted adviser.” CFA Institute has administered more than one million exams since the inauguration of the CFA Program in 1963.
 
“Candidates’ participation in the CFA Program continues to be largely driven by word-of-mouth, which is a great testament to the value the investment industry places in the CFA credential,” said Tom Robinson, CFA, managing director of education for CFA Institute. “This year’s exam results are similar in the aggregate to the recent 10-year average. It is important to keep in mind that exam pass rates are based on a standard-setting process that considers what a qualified candidate needs to know to practice in the current environment, rather than a set passing score or rate. While pass rates in the last decade are lower than in the early decades of the program, there is a much larger pool of candidates pursuing the designation and today’s capital markets are more complex. Investment professionals need a high level of proficiency to practice in today’s environment, and this is reflected in the rigorous standard-setting process.”

The CFA curriculum includes ethical and professional standards; financial reporting and analysis; corporate finance; economics; quantitative methods; equity, fixed income, and alternative investments; derivatives; portfolio management; and wealth planning. In a post-exam survey, CFA candidates replied that financial statement reporting and analysis, derivatives, and fixed income were the most difficult topic areas for the 2010 exam. A strong majority (73 percent) of candidates who responded to the survey said they would re-take the CFA exam the next time it is offered if they do not pass.

In the above-mentioned post-exam survey, candidates reported that they spent nearly 300 hours of study to prepare. CFA candidates typically take four years to pass the three required exams. The Level I exam is offered twice per year, while the Level II and Level III exams are offered once each year. The Level I exam consists of multiple-choice questions. Level II is composed of item sets (i.e., mini cases with detailed vignettes), and the questions at Level III are 50 percent item set and 50 percent short answer and essay.

Those who passed the Level III exam – 9,880 candidates − will begin receiving their CFA charters in early October 2010, provided that they also have completed the minimum work experience requirement of four years in the investment industry, signed a commitment to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, applied to a CFA Institute society, and become a member of CFA Institute. (View an interactive website that recognizes the 5,742 charterholders who earned their charter in 2009.)

Just as earning the CFA charter shows that an investment professional is committed to a higher standard, hiring a CFA charterholder signifies that a firm is, too. Employers and media around the world recognize the CFA charter as the standard of professional excellence, and, with such widespread recognition, CFA charterholders earn a significant competitive advantage for international employment. CFA charterholders are typically employed by investment companies, mutual funds, broker-dealers, investment banks, and as private wealth managers.
 
Regulators around the world also recognize the value of the CFA charter (read more). Nearly all U.S. state securities commissions grant CFA charterholders an exemption from their licensing exams for investment advisers and investment adviser representatives. The NYSE and FINRA provide an exemption from the analysis portion (Series 86) of the Research Analyst Qualification Exam for certain applicants who have passed Level II of the CFA exam. Additionally, regulators in 15 other countries and territories such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom accept the CFA designation as meeting licensing or qualification requirements. In Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, passing a certain level of the CFA exam is required to practice in the jurisdiction.

Select colleges and universities have an appreciation for the global relevance of the CFA charter and the advantages it provides for their graduates. These institutions have been identified by CFA Institute as CFA Program Partners and they embed a significant percentage of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge into their degree programs, as well as commit to cover the CFA Institute ethical and professional standards in the curriculum. This recognition tells students and employers that the university curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well suited to preparing students to sit for the CFA exams. Currently, there are more than 120 CFA Program Partners on six continents, including Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and The Johnson School at Cornell University.

June 2010 Exam Results by Region
By region, the pass rates for the Level I, Level II, and Level III exams combined are:  

  • The Americas: 43 percent of the 40,830 total exam candidates
  • Europe, Middle East, and Africa: 42 percent of the 25,311 total exam candidates
  • Asia and Pacific Asia: 40 percent of the 45,590 total exam candidates

(View historical pass rates.) (PDF)

Examples of countries and territories with the largest number of candidates that took a CFA exam are the United States (29,873), Mainland China (12,674), India (9,871), Canada (8,991), the United Kingdom (7,373), Hong Kong (6,190), Singapore (3,598), Germany (1,771), Switzerland (1,570), and South Africa (1,533).

CFA Institute

CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 100,000 members, who include the world’s 90,000 CFA charterholders, in 135 countries and territories, as well as 135 affiliated professional societies in 58 countries and territories. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org.