19 Facts You Need to Know About the CFA

by Job Coach · June 27, 2022

So you’re thinking about getting the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a qualification that is sometimes viewed as one of the world’s toughest tests.

Before you dive in, here are some interesting facts to know about the CFA:

Covid-19 was bad for the CFA. The pandemic caused havoc on the exams. The pass rate for the Level I exam over the past decade has averaged around 41%. But the February 2022 Level I exam saw just 36% of test-takers pass. That was a step up, however, from the May 2021 figure of 25%, which was the lowest since testing began in 1963 and down from 44% for the February 2021 exam.
The pass mark isn’t public. The Institute doesn’t give details of the pass mark for its exams, so it’s hard to work out just how bad the performance was. Still, many suggest that the pass mark for Level I is around 70%.
Level II results haven’t been great either of late. The pass rate for CFA Level II has averaged around 45% over the last 10 years. In August 2021, only 29% of Level II candidates passed.
Level III numbers look better but have still been challenged. Once you get to Level III, the pass rate is traditionally even higher. The 10-year weighted average is at 52%. But in August 2021, Level III passes dropped to their lowest level in the exam’s history, down at 42%. It crept up to 43% in February 2022. But this compares with as recently as 2019 a pass rate of 56%.
Realize that the majority of candidates that sign up for Level I don’t follow through all the way to charterholder status. Generally fewer than one in five original candidates make it all the way to becoming a CFA charterholder.
It requires a high degree of commitment. According to the Institute, it takes an average of 1,000+ hours of rigorous study, along with four years of professional experience and successful completion of the CFA Program exam, to earn the distinction of being called a CFA charterholder.
The commitment can be worthwhile financially. Based on research by test prep provider 300 Hours, a CFA charterholder earns 53% more than a Level I candidate on average when controlling for years of work experience.
The CFA has pedigree. The Institute is celebrating its 75th anniversary, getting its origins in 1947. Back then, four financial analyst societies (in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia) cooperated for the purpose of promoting the exchange of ideas and supporting the welfare of their profession. They called the new group the National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS). The CFA designation and code of conduct were eventually established in 1963.
Employers are still keen to attract CFA charterholders. If you look on the CFA Institute website there are 6681 jobs advertised (as of end-June 2022) targeting charterholders across a range of job functions from Corporate Finance and ESG/Socially Responsible Research to Operations and Wealth Management.
The qualification has clearly come a long way. In1963 284 candidates sat for the first CFA exam and 268 CFA charters were awarded. The following year, all three levels of the exam were administered to more than 1,700 candidates. As of March 2022, at least 175,000 people are charterholders globally in 164 countries and regions.
The CFA Institute has nine offices worldwide. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, the Institute also has offices in New York, Washington, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi. There are also 160 local societies, with 92 in the Americas, 47 in EMEA and 21 in APAC.
Membership is still going. Member numbers have been growing 3.5% annually since 2012 on a global basis.
However, Asia is the biggest growth market. The number of charterholders in India and China increased by 25% and 53%, respectively, from 2005-06. Despite the impact of the pandemic, as of end-2021, APAC accounted for 130,000 of the 214,900 CFA exam candidates. That compares with the 132,400 from the region out of 270,100 in 2017.
The top market for CFA exams is China. In 2021, around 90,000 candidates took one of the three exams. Second to China was the US with approximately 35,000.
The Institute does, though, need to adapt to change. Historically, the CFA program accounted for 85% of the Institute’s revenue. But the pandemic massively impacted candidate enrolment, which in turn hurt FY2020 and FY2021 revenue.
This could explain the sharp decline in employee numbers. As of year-end 2021, the CFA Institute had 571 full-time staff, down significantly from the 672 employees a year earlier.

And away from the numbers, here are three more facts/factors to consider:

The exam clearly appeals to many…but not everyone. The Huffington Post produced a scathing piece back in 2015 entitled The CFA is a Scam.

And don’t even think about cheating. They’ve seen it all before. As this article indicates: There is Cheating in the CFA Exams

Don’t assume the CFA is the be-all and end-all. There are plenty of other options. Maybe you should be considering an MBA, CPA, CAIA, FRM etc etc? Check out: CFA vs MBA.

Is it worth taking the CFA exam? Find out more with: Should I take the CFA Exam