Fifty-three per cent of the 27,468 candidates worldwide who sat for the Level III CFA exam in June 2015, passed the third and final exam, the New York-based CFA Institute announced on Tuesday.

These 14,664 successful candidates will become CFA charterholders in early October pending experience and membership requirements, the global association of investment professionals says.

In Canada, a total of 10,651 candidates sat for the CFA exam this year, an increase of 5% on last year, with 5,608 taking the test in Toronto and 1,455 in Montreal.

Globally, of 46,841 candidates who took the Level II exam, 46% were successful and of 51,134 candidates who took the Level I exam, the pass rate was 42%.

In total, 57,476 candidates passed Levels I, II, and III, with the overall pass rate for all three levels at 46%.

Less than one in five candidates who begin the program end up finishing, the CFA Institute says.

To earn the CFA charter, candidates must sequentially pass three six-hour exams that are widely considered to be the most rigorous in the investment profession and accrue four years of relevant work experience. The CFA curriculum includes ethical and professional standards; financial reporting and analysis; corporate finance; economics; quantitative methods; equity, fixed income, alternative investments; derivatives; portfolio management; and wealth planning. CFA Institute has administered well over a million exams since the inauguration of the CFA program in 1963, the association says.

The Level I exam is offered twice per year, and the Level II and Level III exams are offered once each year. The Level I exam consists of multiple-choice questions. Level II is composed of item sets (i.e., mini cases with detailed vignettes), and the Level III questions are 50% item set and 50% short answer and essay.

On average, candidates report spending in excess of 300 hours of study to prepare for each level, the CFA Institute says. CFA candidates typically take four years to pass the three required exams, it adds.

Candidates cite career advancement, a higher level of knowledge and improved chances of obtaining a job as the top three reasons for registering for the CFA exam, according to the association.

The 2015 exams were given at 263 test centers in 196 cities, across 90 countries worldwide. Markets with the largest number of candidates that took the CFA exam are the United States (30,715), China (21,057), Canada (10,651), India (10,651), the United Kingdom (8,746), Hong Kong (5,189), and Singapore (3,193).