CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, announces today that 2,408 participants have successfully completed and passed the Claritas Investment Certificate. The Claritas certificate provides a thorough understanding of how the investment industry works, and the knowledge that candidates have acquired will help to shape a more trustworthy financial industry by setting a new international education and ethics standard.
Participants from 70 companies in 50 countries took part in the Claritas pilot program, with candidates sitting the examination in March and April 2013. Since then a full review and standard setting process has been undertaken to evaluate the results and set the passing score for the pilot and future sittings of the examination. From July onwards, candidates who sit the examination will now be able to leave the test center with a preliminary result and receive their official result within a few days after the examination.
The profile of candidates who took part in the pilot ranged across operations, administration, IT, HR, marketing, sales, compliance and customer service. Candidates worked within asset management firms, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, data and media businesses and professional services organizations. (A list of some of the companies that participated in the pilot can be seen here.)
- 85% reported they would recommend the program to others
- 76% said they had benefitted by increasing their industry knowledge
- 64% said that the program helped them to better understand their ethical obligations within the financial services industry
John Rogers, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute, commented: “The industry’s enthusiastic response to the Claritas program is a true indicator of the need to provide accessible education for those experts who surround investment decision makers every day. The commitment and accomplishment of these 2,408 individuals confirms that raising educational excellence is essential in shaping the future of finance.”
John Bowman, managing director and co-lead of Education at CFA Institute, echoed Rogers’ congratulations: “CFA Institute developed the Claritas certificate in response to the financial crisis, and as part of a global call to action for industry participants to play their part in addressing the overall lack of trust in financial services. With the large majority of our pilot partners recommending deeper implementation of Claritas in their firms across a diversity of roles, businesses and geographical and cultural backgrounds, we are confident we’ve met that challenge. These candidates and their supporting pilot partner firms should be proud to stand as pioneers in their sector.”
Global registrations for the Claritas Investment Certificate launched on May 20, 2013.