Kathy Valentine
CFA Institute – North America
+1 (434) 951-5348
kathy.valentine@cfainstitute.org
Jessica Galehouse
CFA Institute – North America
+1 (434) 951-5376
jessica.galehouse@cfainstitute.org
Henry Chua
CFA Institute – Asia Pacific
+852 3103 9363
henry.chua@cfainstitute.org
52 Percent of 63,249 Candidates Worldwide Passed June 2006 Exams for Investment Industry's Highly Regarded CFA Program
A Record 12,314 Who Passed Third and Final Exam Will Soon Join More Than 69,600 Charterholders
(CFA Exam B-roll: Windows Media or Real Player)
(1963-2006 Candidate Examination Results) (PDF)
Charlottesville, Va., August 16, 2006 – CFA Institute today announced that 52 percent of the 63,249 candidates worldwide in the rigorous Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) program passed the exams they took in June.
To earn the CFA charter, described by many to be the “gold standard” for investment professionals, candidates must sequentially pass three six-hour exams that are widely considered to be among the most challenging in the investment profession. Of the 16,283 individuals who in June 2006 took the third and final exam that leads to the prestigious CFA designation, 12,314 (76 percent) passed.
For the other June 2006 exams, the Level I global pass rate was 40 percent (26,467 took the exam) and the Level II global pass rate was 48 percent (20,499 took the exam). Since the first exam was given in 1963, the average global pass rates are 47 percent for Level I, 52 percent for Level II, and 68 percent for Level III.
“The overall weighted pass rate has moved from 48 percent last year to 52 percent this year,” said Robert Johnson, CFA, Ph.D., managing director of the CFA and CGIPS Programs Division. “We believe this reflects several factors, the most important of which involves better preparation by candidates. Our research suggests that candidates spent more time in preparation for this exam cycle and were more focused on the Body of Knowledge™ from which the examinations are directly derived.
“Candidate success was also aided by the proliferation and variety of available learning materials,” Johnson said. “When I was a CFA candidate in 1990, I was simply given a list of reading materials and had to rely on a large stack of books to study from. Candidates today have access to many more learning tools from CFA Institute, such as Learning Outcome Statements, online sample exams, and the new custom curriculum. The exam has also evolved to reflect the changing nature of the investment industry, which is more complex and global. The CFA examinations reflect this shift because the content is practice-oriented.”
Those who passed the Level III exam – a record 12,314 candidates, which surpasses the last record of 9,410 Level III candidates in 2001 – will begin receiving their CFA charters in early October, provided that they also have completed the minimum work-experience requirement of three years in the investment industry (four years after July 1, 2007), signed a commitment to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, and become a member of CFA Institute.
“The market recognizes the value of our Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct and the fiduciary responsibility – putting clients’ interests first – that our members have,” said Jeff Diermeier, CFA, CFA Institute president and CEO. “Employers of investment professionals believe strongly in the value of the CFA program and many require their professional staff to earn the CFA charter. They tell us that they appreciate the depth and breadth of charterholders’ knowledge about investing and financial analysis.”
"The CFA program is increasingly becoming an integral part of our employees' overall investment experience and we continuously promote the CFA program to our employees globally,” said Matthew Scanlan, CFA, head of Americas Institutional Business at Barclays Global Investors. “BGI has always embraced the mission of CFA Institute and is a strong advocate and supporter of the organization’s goals. At BGI, we constantly strive to deliver superior investment performance and we are committed to helping advance the investment industry’s body of knowledge, so CFA Institute is a natural partner for us.”
Employers with the largest number of CFA charterholders, Diermeier noted, include ABN AMRO; Barclays Group; CIBC; Deutsche Bank; Fidelity Investments; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; HSBC; Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.; Royal Bank of Canada; and UBS.
Exam Results by Country/Region
By country/region, the pass rates for the Level I, Level II, and Level III exams combined are:
- United States: 54 percent of the 22,173 total exam candidates
- Canada: 53 percent of the 5,914 total exam candidates
- Europe: 57 percent of the 10,287 total exam candidates
- Asia and Pacific Asia: 49 percent of the 21,109 total exam candidates
- Central and South America: 46 percent of the 1,091 total exam candidates
- Africa/Middle East: 39 percent of the 2,675 total exam candidates
Thirty-six percent of all CFA candidates for the June exam were from the United States, 21 percent from Pacific Asia, 15 percent from Europe, and 9 percent from Canada. Countries and territories with the largest number of candidates outside North America were Mainland China (5,840), Hong Kong (5,201), United Kingdom (4,807), India (3,178), South Korea (2,919), Singapore (2,726), Taiwan (2,135), Switzerland (1,289), South Africa (1,239), Germany (1,219), and Japan (1,171).
Candidate Enrollment Forecasts
“We estimate there to be 200,000 serious investment professionals in the United States who might qualify for the CFA designation, as well as 90,000 in the United Kingdom and 80,000 in Japan for example, with thousands elsewhere across the globe,” said Timothy G. McLaughlin, CFA, chief financial officer of CFA Institute.
CFA Institute expects more than 121,000 candidate enrollments for the December 2006 and June 2007 CFA exams:
- United States: More than 42,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
- Canada: More than 10,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
- Europe: More than 18,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
- Asia and Pacific Asia: More than 42,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
- Central and South America: More than 2,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
- Africa/Middle East: More than 6,000 estimated total candidate enrollments
“Employer demand for employees with the CFA credential is driving the growth we are seeing in the number of candidates,” Diermeier added.
CFA Program
On average, CFA candidates 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 exams cover ethical and professional standards, equity analysis, debt analysis, derivatives analysis, alternative investments, financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management, risk management, asset allocation, and performance measurement. CFA Institute recommends at least 250 hours of study per exam. Enrollment information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/register/index.html.
“The CFA designation is a passport to practice anywhere in the world. The curriculum and examinations are grounded in practice and are regularly reviewed to ensure global relevance,” Johnson said.
There are more than 69,600 CFA charterholders in 120 countries and territories (not counting candidates from the June exams). CFA Institute expects the majority of the 12,314 candidates who passed this year’s Level III exam will become CFA charterholders later this year, bringing the number of charterholders worldwide to more than 79,000.
CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global, non-profit professional association that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst® curriculum and examination program 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 84,000 members in 128 countries and territories, including the world’s 69,600 CFA charterholders, as well as 134 affiliated professional societies in 55 countries and territories. CFA Institute has offices in Charlottesville, Va., New York, London, and Hong Kong. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org.