CFA Designation

A globally recognized designation of professional excellence.

The Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation is one of the fastest growing professional credentials in the world and is a globally recognized standard for measuring the competence and integrity of investment professionals.

The internationally recognized CFA designation demonstrates a balanced approach to investments, academic discipline, and practical experience that is unique in the investment industry. Employers know that individuals who have earned a CFA charter have attained a superior level of professional excellence in the investment profession. Investors know that CFA charterholders are uniquely qualified to assist them in making informed investment decisions.

First awarded in 1963, the CFA charter has become known as the designation of professional excellence within the global investment community. Around the world, employers and investors recognize the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.

Virtually no other designation within the profession of investment management carries as much prestige as the CFA charter. That prestige is accompanied by the responsibility to uphold ethical standards that are as much a part of holding the CFA designation as passing the examinations. The program’s professional conduct requirements demand that both charterholders and CFA candidates adhere to the highest standards of ethical responsibility. Adherence to these standards distinguishes the CFA charter among professional credentials.


Why Select a CFA Charterholder?

Successful investors recognize the importance of education and knowledge when it comes to managing financial assets. But while they may spend countless hours learning about markets, securities, and associated risks, investors often overlook the qualifications of the professionals whom they hire to manage their money. If you work with investment advisors, they will have access to the most personal details of your finances, so their credentials should matter to you.

There are a number of reputable and helpful credentials that financial professionals in different disciplines may hold, but none is as rigorously focused on investment knowledge as the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

In the late 1940s, Benjamin Graham, often called the “dean of investment analysis,” first proposed a “Qualified Securities Analyst” designation for members of the growing investment profession. After much work from Graham and other dedicated professionals, the first CFA exam was administered in 1963 to 284 candidates, most of them senior-level practitioners.

The backbone of the CFA Program is a three-level examination that measures not only a candidate’s understanding of a multi-disciplinary, globally relevant Body of Knowledge, but also his or her ability to apply this knowledge to the investment decision-making process. A distinguishing
characteristic of the program is its uncompromising emphasis on analysis and the application of financial knowledge across core areas of the investment process, particularly in securities valuation and portfolio management.

A relevant and evolving curriculum, rigorous examinations, and a stringent Code of Ethics have been hallmarks of the CFA Program throughout its history. To become a CFA charterholder, a candidate must pass a series of three practice-oriented, six-hour examinations, taken in sequential levels. Average completion time is four years.

Core elements of the CFA curriculum include investment tools (economics, financial statement analysis, quantitative analysis), asset valuation (analysis of debt investments, equity investments, derivatives, and alternative investments), and portfolio management (both institutional and individual, including performance measurement). Importantly, each examination includes a thorough section testing knowledge and application of ethical and professional standards.

Each of the six-hour examinations takes, on average, approximately 250 hours of intensive study and preparation. The combined pass rate (aggregated over all three exam levels) has dropped from over 90 percent in the 1960s to the 60 to 70 percent range in the 1970s and 1980s to under 50 percent in 2003.

To ensure that the CFA Program stays current with the ever-changing dynamics of professional investment practice throughout the world, a team of CFA Institute member volunteers and professional staff annually develops and updates the curriculum and produces the examinations. Achieving passing scores on all three exams is no small feat.

As rigorous as the curriculum and examinations are, the CFA Program requires more than academic preparation. Before they earn the right to use the CFA designation, candidates must have three to four years of acceptable professional experience in the investment decision-making process. Additionally, they must fulfill the CFA Institute membership requirements and commit to uphold the CFA Institute stringent Code and Standards.

The integrity of investment advisors is of the utmost importance. Their skills and advice directly impact the financial well-being of their clients. That is why every CFA charterholder, CFA Institute member, and CFA candidate is required to sign an annual statement declaring their adherence to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

Teiton Capital Management has adopted the CFA Institute's Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, which you can find under the "About Us" tab.

The CFA charter is often referred to as a professional “passport,” providing the background that allows CFA charterholders to practice across international boundaries. Others have called it a “union card,” a necessary credential to enter or advance within the profession.

Recognition of the CFA Program’s globally relevant Body of Knowledge and the professional standards embodied in the program makes the CFA designation the mark of distinction for investment professionals worldwide. It is a distinction recognized and rewarded by employers, respected by regulators and investment institutions, and, increasingly, demanded by private investors.


The CFA Program

Drawing on a broad-based Body of Knowledge™, the CFA Program is intended to supplement the education and work experience of investment professionals. Although the program is open to a wide range of investment specialists, the curriculum emphasizes the knowledge and skills needed to be involved in asset valuation or portfolio management.

To earn the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, individuals must (a) pass three sequential examinations over a minimum of three years, (b) work in the investment profession analyzing or managing investments for at least three years, and (c) agree to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, and reaffirm that commitment each year. In general, each level of the program requires 250 hours of preparation, although time will vary from candidate to candidate based on familiarity with the material.

The CFA Program’s curriculum is designed to reflect a Body of Knowledge that keeps pace with the ever-changing dynamics of the global investment community. This Body of Knowledge, developed through an extensive survey of practicing CFA charterholders, consists of 10 general topic areas, which provide a framework for making investment decisions.

Successful completion of the CFA Program is an accomplishment that justifiably carries great respect among employers, investors, colleagues, and the investment community.

The CFA Program is administered by CFA Institute, which maintains the rigorous CFA standards that have existed since the Program’s inception in 1959.

Earning the right to use the CFA designation puts an investment professional in select company.




The information you have read here was adapted from the CFA Institute website. To learn more about the CFA Institute or the CFA designtion please go to www.cfainstitute.org.