Wealth Solutions & Wealth Planning

CFA reveals that Asia Pacific continues to lead with the highest number of candidates

CFA Institute, the global association of investment management professionals, has reported that 42 percent of the 73,688 candidates who took the December 2019 Level I Chartered Financial Analyst exam have passed, with 59% (43,659) of candidates coming from the Asia Pacific region.

Nick Pollard, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, CFA Institute said “Congratulations to all of the successful candidates. They are well on their way to achieving an incredibly valuable credential that will attest to their commitment to professional excellence and upholding the highest standards of ethics in investment management. We are thrilled to see the continued momentum in the Asia Pacific region, in particular in the mainland China, India and Australia.  With the strong demand for investment professionals in this region, these candidates are poised to be a positive influence on the industry as they progress to the next level.”

To earn the CFA charter, candidates must pass all three levels of the exam, which is considered to be one of the most rigorous in the investment profession; meet the work experience requirements of four years in the investment industry; sign a commitment to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct; and become a member of CFA Institute. Fewer than one in five candidates who begin the program end up successfully earning the CFA charter. Successful candidates take an average of four years to complete the CFA Program, according to a CFA Institute press release.

The December 2019 Level I CFA exam was administered in 134 test centers in 87 cities across 46 markets worldwide. The exam was offered for the first time in two new cities in Asia – Chongqing, China and Jaipur in India, attracting over 739 candidates between them.

The remainder of the candidate representation for the Level I CFA exam was divided between the Americas region (23%, 16,969), and from the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (18%, 13,060).

The CFA Program is tailored to professionals across the industry, and annual updates to the curriculum ensure that the CFA charter remains the global industry standard. The curriculum covers ethical and professional standards, securities analysis and valuation, international financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management, wealth management and portfolio analysis.