A record 12,314 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidates worldwide passed the final level of the CFA Program exam and are now completing requirements to receive their CFA charters, CFA Institute today announced.

“CFA charterholders have demonstrated commitment to their profession through completion of a rigorous curriculum and their embarking on a lifelong commitment to learning,” said Jeff Diermeier, Institute president and CEO. “Employers and clients look to charterholders for leadership given their knowledge and their passion about investing.”

Global recognition of the charter’s value to employers and investors, coupled with the growth in the financial services industry, is driving the increase in CFA Program enrollments, Diermeier said. “CFA Institute expects the number of charterholders, now above 74,000, to near 80,000 by early 2007.”

To earn the CFA charter, candidates must sequentially pass three, graduate-level, six-hour exams that are widely considered to be among the most challenging in the investment profession. The exams cover ethical and professional standards, equity, debt, and derivatives analysis, alternative investments, financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management, risk management, asset allocation, and performance measurement.

In addition, individuals who passed the third and final exam this year must also complete the minimum work-experience requirement of three years in the investment industry (four years after July 1, 2007), sign a commitment to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, apply for membership with a CFA Institute society, and become a member of CFA Institute. Only one in five who begin the CFA Program succeed in earning a charter. CFA Institute expects the majority of the candidates who passed the June 2006 Level III exam to meet these requirements by December 2006.

Interest in the CFA designation has been particularly strong since 1990, with the number of candidates increasing at a compound annual rate of 15.6 percent. Much of the growth can be attributed to demand outside of North America. In 2006, more than 50% of CFA candidates were from outside North America.

Among those CFA candidates who passed the Level III exam this year and expect to be awarded the CFA charter, 4,881 are from the United States (40%), 3,299 from Asia / Mainland China / Pacific Asia (26%), 2,287 from Europe (19%), 1,287 from Canada (10%), 386 from Africa / Middle East (3%), and 174 from Latin America (2%).