Statistically, CFAs are more likely to work as portfolio managers in the Middle East, but there are other, more surprising career paths

Now that the latest crop of CFA charterholders in the Middle East have graduated from the gruelling exam process, it’s worth questioning what job opportunities are available to them.

In June, 2,722 candidates sat the CFA exam in the Middle East, which is slightly (0.4%) down on the number last year, but up from the 2,641 in 2010. It doesn’t break out pass rates by region, but it’s unlikely that Middle Eastern students outstripped those elsewhere in the world where the pass rates were 38% for level one, 42% for level II and 53% for level III.

Does the qualification increase your employability? Financial services recruiters we spoke to said that it’s now increasingly a prerequisite for buy-side roles and that a number of large regional institutions – notably the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority – require their investment staff to undertake the CFA.

Where will you end up? Perhaps not surprisingly, the figures the CFA Institute provided us with suggest that the largest proportion of charterholders (16%) work as portfolio managers.

More interestingly, considering the ongoing debate about the CFA’s value on the sell-side, 13% work as investment banking analysts. Then 12% work as chief executives and 9% as research analysts. Just 3% are unemployed.

Here’s the breakdown below: