What Is a CFA Society?

Did you know that there are more than 155,000 members of CFA® Institute in 150 countries and territories worldwide? Think of how much support they can give each other. And, of course, the networking opportunities are tremendous. But with so many members, how can you find other members and CFA charterholders in your area? That’s where CFA societies come in. Let’s take a closer look.

Introducing CFA

As a single organization, CFA Institute offers its members a number of perks. With offices in New York, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong SAR, Brussels, and Beijing, and headquarters in Charlottesville, VA, CFA Institute has established a global presence. However, the sheer number of its members precludes any specific local branding, activities, local education opportunities, and meetups. CFA societies are the logical answer to this problem of globalization, offering CFA charterholders a chance to make contact with others in their area.

In fact, CFA Institute itself is the result of the merger of four finance societies. These societies held a founding meeting in the 20th century to develop a certification process for the investment analysis profession. (If you’re interested in the full history, the CFA Society in Spain has all the details.)

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What Does a CFA Society Do?

The number one priority of a CFA Society is to promote the charter, most often through events and campaigns, and frequently in concert with CFA Institute. Here’s a great example. CFA Institute has a Let’s Measure Up campaign to broaden awareness of the charter and the value of charterholders. So, CFA Society Boston, working with CFA Institute, ran a mix of local radio, digital, social, and elevator advertising media in the Boston market and partnered with LinkedIn to incorporate a new “Search for a CFA charterholder” function.

A CFA Society also offers locally-led brand building, professional development, and advocacy to promote, facilitate, and enhance professional standards and effect change in markets and regulations. Each society helps CFA Institute as a whole raise professional standards in over 150 global financial markets.

More specifically, they offer current CFA Institute members, CFA Program candidates, partnering institutions, and anyone seeking additional information on the charter the opportunity to learn more, attend special events, and expand professional networks. Some of the activities they promote are volunteerism, continuing education seminars, and networking events. The goal is the open exchange of information and opinions.

For students who are thinking about investment management as a career, or are considering earning the charter, CFA societies offer the opportunity to speak one-on-one with charterholders. CFA societies also offer charterholders and candidates the opportunity to volunteer in community and local activities to help other charterholders, candidates, and students advance their careers.

How Do I Learn More?

You can learn more by locating the CFA Society in your area. CFA Institute Find a Society web page lists all 152 CFA societies. You can go down the list to see all of them, or you can search by country. If there isn’t a CFA society near you, the web page has information about how to start your own.

Also, did you know Kaplan Schweser partners with CFA societies around the world to offer world-class instruction, innovative study materials, and excellent service to CFA charter candidates?