CFA class of 2002 includes strong contingent of Canadians

(December 16, 2002) More than 500 Canadians are in the class of 2002 for the international Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

A total of 527 Canadians passed the third and final level of examination and satisfied all other requirements to be awarded the CFA. The U.S.-based Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) today announced the results of this year’s third and final exam.

In total, 4,477 investment professionals from 78 countries are the newest CFA charterholders. Roughly half of them are American. This year’s exam was held in 79 countries or territories on June 1-2.

The self-study CFA curriculum program includes three exams, and touches on topics such as professional standards, financial statement analysis and valuation of investments. Candidates must also work at least three years in the investment industry. AIMR recommends that candidates spend 750 hours studying for the designation. The process takes, on average, four years to complete.

There are now 49,000 CFAs in 110 countries. Canada has the second largest number of CFA charterholders after the United States.

Filed by Jim MacDonald, Advisor.ca, jmacdonald@advisor.ca.

(12/16/02)