Is passing the final CFA exam now ridiculously hard?
Over 50% of those taking the Chartered Financial Analyst level III exam this year fell at the final hurdle - just 46% passed, which historically is the lowest success rate.
There's no doubting that the gruelling 300 hours of study required for each level and three six-hour exams is something of a stern test. But the final exam, which features a series of essay questions rather than multiple choice, usually has the highest pass rate.
In recent times, the most successful year was 2006 when 76% of the 16,283 candidates passed, but since then it's hovered around the 50% mark.
"While pass rates in the last decade are lower than in the early decades of the program, there is a much larger pool of candidates pursuing the designation and today's capital markets are more complex," said John Rogers, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute.
Over 21,000 people took the level III exam, which is nearly double the number ten years ago. Despite the relatively low percentage pass rate, 9,880 people made it through, which is second only to 2006 when 12,314 were successful.
This year, the global pass rate for level I was 42%, while 39% achieved level II.
Here's the breakdown of pass rates across all three levels by region:
-The Americas: 43% of the 40,830 total exam candidates
-Europe, Middle East, and Africa: 42% of the 25,311 total exam candidates
-Asia and Pacific Asia: 40% of the 45,590 total exam candidates
The UK had the fifth largest number of candidates taking the CFA exam, behind the US, China, India and Canada.
