Members of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), the global non-profit professional association that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst study and examination program worldwide, have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that changes the organization’s name to CFA Institute.

The final vote was taken and announced last night in Denver, Colo., at the annual membership meeting of the 70,000-member organization. The resolution was approved by more than 86% of members who voted in person or by proxy. The change takes effect immediately.

The board of governors also announced at the meeting that it had unanimously selected Jeffrey Diermeier to become president and CEO of CFA Institute upon the retirement of current president and CEO Thomas Bowman at the end of the year.

Last December, Bowman announced his plans to retire Dec. 31, 2004. Diermeier, 51, most recently was global chief investment officer at UBS Global Asset Management.

Commenting on the name change, Bowman said, “The CFA name commands great respect in the investment world, even among people who have never heard of AIMR. Everything we do — our standard-setting initiatives, our advocacy work, our investment-performance standards, conferences and publications – all are built on the foundation of the knowledge, ethics and standards embodied in the CFA Program.”

In Canada, CFA Institute has 9,200 individual members, including 8,150 who hold the CFA charter. In addition, 12 local professional societies across Canada are members of CFA Institute.

The name change does not immediately affect the AIMR-Performance Presentation Standards, or AIMR-PPS(R), which are a set of standardized industry guidelines used throughout the U.S. and Canada outlining how investment firms should calculate and report their investment results. The AIMR-PPS name may change in the next two years for different reasons, as the North American standards converge to a newer, global standard, called Global Investment Performance Standards, or GIPS, which also were established under AIMR’s leadership.

Members of the CFA Institute also elected Monique Gravel, first vice president and branch manager at CIBC Wood Gundy in Montreal, as chairwoman of the board of governors

John Stannard, the London-based managing director of the Russell Investment Group, was elected vice chairman. Both Gravel and Stannard will serve one-year volunteer terms beginning September 1, while maintaining their professional responsibilities.

In the interim, Theodore Aronson, of Aronson + Johnson + Ortiz, LP, in Philadelphia, will continue as chairman of CFA Institute until his term expires on August 31.