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42 Percent of 92,081 Candidates Worldwide Go for the Gold and Pass June 2008 CFA Exams
Record-breaking number of candidates sat for the June 2008 examinations
Into Our Fifth
Decade (PDF)
CFA Program Sample
Questions
CFA
Institute Fact Sheet (PDF)
Charlottesville, Va., August 19, 2008 − More than 92,000 candidates worldwide in the CFA Program were going for the gold standard of the investment profession when they sat for the June 2008 exams. Today it was announced that 42 percent of those candidates passed, 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 arduous in the investment profession.
The Level I global pass rate was 35 percent (44,063 took the exam) and the Level II global pass rate was 46 percent (33,449 took the exam). Of the 14,569 individuals who in June 2008 took the third and final exam that leads to the prestigious CFA designation, 53 percent passed. CFA Institute expects the majority of those candidates who passed the Level III exam will become CFA charterholders later this year, bringing the number of charterholders worldwide to more than 89,000.
More than one million exams have been administered since the inauguration of the CFA Program in 1963. The average historical global pass rates are 45 percent for Level I, 50 percent for Level II, and 65 percent for Level III. Descriptions of the grading and pass-rate setting processes are available here (PDF).
“Successful candidates in the CFA Program demonstrate a mastery of essential investment and finance concepts, as well as a profound understanding of the global marketplace” said Robert Johnson, CFA, deputy CEO of CFA Institute. “The content of the program evolves annually to reflect changing industry developments and new challenges, and is determined through a regular, extensive survey of practicing CFA charterholders. For example, equity security analysis and ethical standards have remained important since the program’s inception 45 years ago, but over the years, topics such as wealth planning, International Financial Reporting Standards, and alternative and derivative investments have been incorporated to keep pace with the evolution and globalization of the profession.”
The CFA curriculum also includes debt analysis, fixed income analysis, financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management, risk management, asset allocation, and performance measurement.
CFA Institute recommends candidates spend a minimum of 250 hours preparing for each of the three exams. 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. (Access registration information.) 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 − 7,720 candidates − will begin receiving their CFA charters in early October, 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, apply to a CFA Institute society, and become a member of CFA Institute.
“CFA charterholders maintain high ethical standards and objectivity, and are dedicated to staying current on industry developments through lifelong learning,” said Jeff Diermeier, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute. “These qualities foster confidence and inspire trust in charterholders’ expertise among clients and employers alike.”
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 with the largest number of CFA charterholders include Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and RBC.
Regulators around the world also recognize the value of the CFA charter. Nearly all U.S. state securities commissions grant CFA charterholders an exemption to their licensing exams for investment advisers. The NYSE and FINRA provide an exemption from the analytical portion (Series 86) of the Research Analyst Qualification Exam (Series 86/87) for certain applicants who have passed Level II of the CFA exam. Additionally, regulators in Australia, Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, and Vietnam accept the CFA designation as meeting their licensing or qualification requirements. In Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand, passing a certain level of the CFA exam is required in order to practice in the jurisdiction.
“At this point we have not witnessed a fall off in enrollments for the CFA Program despite the current financial market contagion. Serious investment professionals recognize that earning the CFA charter is a valuable asset to one’s professional portfolio,” Diermeier said. “As a global symbol of industry expertise, the CFA designation is transportable across geographic borders and highly regarded in all financial sectors. More and more, we are seeing ‘CFA required’ in job postings worldwide, a sign that qualified professionals with the charter are in high demand.”
Select colleges and universities around the world 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 embedded at least 70 percent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge into their degree programs, as well as committed to cover the CFA Institute ethical and professional standards in the curriculum. This recognition signals students and the marketplace 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 63 CFA Program Partners on six continents, including Said Business School at the University of Oxford and The Johnson School at Cornell University.
June 2008 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: 43 percent of the 28,306 total exam candidates
- Canada: 41 percent of the 7,768 total exam candidates
- Europe: 46 percent of the 15,656 total exam candidates
- Asia and Pacific Asia: 40 percent of the 33,936 total exam candidates
- Central and South America: 37 percent of the 1,543 total exam candidates
- Africa/Middle East: 28 percent of the 4,872 total exam candidates
Non-North American countries and territories with the largest number of candidates that took a CFA exam were Mainland China (8,510), Hong Kong (6,194), United Kingdom (6,169), India (4,103), Singapore (3,838), South Korea (3,357), Australia (1,864), Taiwan (1,555), Germany (1,429), and Switzerland (1,264).
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 96,000 members, who include the world’s 82,800
CFA charterholders, in 133 countries and territories, as well as 136
affiliated professional societies in 57 countries and territories. More
information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org.