Of the 118,142 candidates from 91 countries who sat the exams in June, 42% came from the Asia Pacific region, the organisation reported, while the Americas accounted for the second-largest share, or 35%.
Candidates from Europe, the Middle East and Africa represented 22% of the total.
In the Middle East, the largest number of exam candidates – 1,175 – came from the United Arab Emirates, 3% more than in 2012, the CFA Institute said.
The greatest increase in Gulf exam-takers was observed in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, however, where the number jumped by 10% over the previous year’s total, followed by Qatar, where 8% more sat the June 2013 exams than the previous year’s.
In total, slightly fewer people sat the exams this year than last, due to "a slowdown in developed markets", a spokesperson for the CFA Institute said.
"Although we expect this challenging candidate environment to continue in the near term, due to what we believe is a lag effect from an unprecedented market downturn and industry labour contraction, we anticipate the programme will continue growing in the long term."
‘Gold standard’ exam
Globally, more than 12,000 candidates – or around 49% of those who took it – passed the CFA Institute’s most difficult exam, Level 3, which earns the successful candidate CFA Charter status. In total there are now some 110,000 people worldwide who possess what the CFA Institute calls its "gold standard in professional excellence".
Just under 45,000 candidates took the Level 2 exam, where the pass rate was 43%; of the 47,500-plus who took the Level 1 exam, 38% passed.
According to the CFA Institute, candidates have reported spending around 300 study hours preparing for each of its three exams, and it typically takes around four years to pass all three.
‘Surge’ seen
Nitin Mehta, the CFA’s managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, noted that the region was continuing to see a surge in participants, which he said reflected a drive to achieve best practice as markets rebound following the global financial crisis.
While a number of markets have been affected by the Arab Spring uprising, which began in December 2010 and has presented many candidates with challenges that they would not have faced previously, Mehta added, the CFA institute has been encouraged to see that a “significant number of candidates” have persevered in getting their qualifications.
John Rogers, CFA president and chief executive of the CFA institute, said the increasing number of candidates with their commitment to ethics and integrity embodied a “cultural shift”.
He added: “It is the people working within the investment profession who have the ability to shape a more trustworthy financial industry that better serves society.
“I welcome each of them to lead by example."
As reported here in May, The CFA Institute has launched a new self-study training programme aimed at those who already work in the financial services sector, but who are interested in raising their skill level and qualifications. Those who complete the programme successfully are awarded what is being called the Claritas Investment Certificate.
Other points contained in the CFA Institute’s report on its most recent exams:
- In the past five fiscal years, there have been more than 200,000 exam registrations globally, with the Asia Pacific region (including Australia and New Zealand) accounting for more than 40% of the total
- More candidates took the CFA Institute exams in the US than in any other country (29,000); the number in China was 17,927, while in India it was10,801. Canada was in fourth place with 10,025 exam-sitters, followed by the UK (8,139), Hong Kong (5,778), Korea (3,255) and Singapore (3,149)
The CFA Institute is the body behind such global industry accreditations as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM).
