The CFA Institute says that more than 83,000 current and aspiring investment professionals from 141 nations and territories were enrolled to sit for one of three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) examinations over the June 5 weekend.

In Canada, 8,450 CFA candidates from all provinces and territories were enrolled to sit for the exam, representing 10% of world enrollment.

Currently, 57,512 investment professionals in 117 nations and territories hold the CFA charter, a globally recognized standard for measuring the competence and integrity of financial analysts, portfolio managers and investment advisers.

CFA Institute (formerly known as the Association for Investment Management and Research) administered the three six-hour examinations over the weekend at 274 test centers in 89 nations and territories.

The CFA curriculum and examinations are identical worldwide. The exams cover ethical and professional standards, securities analysis and valuation, financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management and performance measurement.

In Canada, the largest number of candidates hailed from Ontario (5,042), Quebec (1,455), British Columbia (822), Alberta (742) and Northwest Territories (625). The exam was offered at one of 15 test centers in nine provinces and one territory. The Toronto enrollment is the third largest in the world, following New York and Hong Kong.