CFA Institute
CFA Institute is a global, not-for-profit professional organization that provides investment professionals with finance education. It aims to promote the standards in ethics, education, and professional excellence in the global investment industry. The organization offers the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM), the Certificate in ESG Investing, and the Investment Foundations Certificate. It provides continuing education conferences, seminars, webcasts, and publications to allow members and other participants to stay current on developments in the investment industry. CFA Institute also oversees the CFA Institute Research Challenge for university students and the  Research Foundation of CFA Institute. CFA Institute is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, with additional offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. The current President and CEO is Margaret Franklin. History. In 1947, four financial analyst societies—Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia — cooperated for the purpose of promoting the exchange of ideas and supporting the welfare of their profession. In 1962, some of these financial analysts created the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and established a code of conduct. In 1963, the profession was formalized when 284 candidates sat  for the first CFA exam and 268 CFA charters were awarded. In 2004, the Association for Investment Management and Research voted to change its name to the CFA Institute. In February 2019, The United States Department of Justice announced it will fine CFA Institute more than $320,000 for discriminating against qualified American workers by hiring temporary foreign workers through the H-1B visa program. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, CFA Institute has cancelled the majority of the examinations around the world due to the lack of examination facilities in 2020. From 2021 onwards, all examinations were shifted to computer-based testing  for the three levels of the CFA program. In March 2021, CFA Institute launched the Certificate in ESG Investing due to the increasing importance of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in socially responsible investing.