CFA Institute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The CFA Institute is headquartered in the United States Of America at Charlottesville, Virginia with offices in Hong Kong and London. Formerly known as the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), the Institute awards the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
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[edit] History
In 1925, an organization of investment analysts founded the Investment Analyst Society of Chicago. Similar organizations were formed elsewhere starting with the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) in 1937. In 1947, the organizations merged to create an umbrella organization, the National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS). As societies were formed, they too joined the national organization.
In 1959, the member societies voted to form the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA) for the purpose of provide the CFA certification. ICFA would offered the first CFA Exam in 1963 and adopted a three-exam format in 1964. The NFFAS, now the Financial Analyst Federation (FAF), remained as an umbrella organization for the member societies.
After many years of operating separately, the two organizations voted in 1990 to move towards a merger as the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR). The organizations merged in 1999. In 2004, AIMR voted to change its name to the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute in order to reinforce its association with the CFA Charter that it issues. 112 member societies have also changed their names to reflect the global society's name change.
Today, the CFA Institute claims more than 83,000 members in 129 countries. There are 134 societies in 55 countries. More than half of the membership (48,934) is in the United States. Canada also has a significant presence with 10,642 members. Approximately 83% of total membership holds the CFA designation.
In addition to administering the CFA Exam, the Institute publishes the Financial Analysts Journal (founded 1945). The Institute also operates the CFA Center for Financial Market Integrity and the CFA Research Foundation.
[edit] Trivia
The largest societies are:
- New York Society of Security Analysts - 10,553 members
- Toronto CFA Society - 6,004 members
- United Kingdom Society of Investment Professionals - 4,996 members
- The Boston Security Analysts Society - 4,489 members
- CFA Society of Chicago - 3,210 members
- Stamford CFA Society - 485 members but growing 3x faster than average US Society because of hedge funds
- Florida has the largest number of societies (six) followed by California and Ohio (five).
The oldest society is in Chicago - founded 1925.
The youngest societies are in Egypt and Bahrain - both admitted in May 2006.
