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June 22, 2026
Earning the CFA® designation is a great way to advance your career as a finance professional, particularly in the wealth management sector. Some CFA’s work as financial analysts in a consulting firm and others work as an equity research analyst in an investment management firm. What your role is, where you work, and how many years of experience you have played a major role in how much you earn as a CFA Charterholder. According to CFA Institute, the average salary for a CFA Charterholder is $180,000.
Factors like your location, your employer and how many years of relevant experience you have will determine how much money you can make as a CFA Charterholder.
According to CFA Institute, the average salary for a CFA Charterholder is $180,000.
CFA salary amounts may not include cash bonuses, profit sharing benefits or other types of compensation.
Since there are so many different types of jobs CFA Charterholders can have, and the amount of experience each CFA has after earning the designation varies greatly,the salary range for CFA Charterholders is very large. According to a recent Pittsburgh CFA Society Compensation Study, the base salary range for a CFA is $128,000 to $196,000. But that doesn’t account for cash bonuses, incentives, or profit sharing benefits.
When factoring in all of the other streams of pay CFA Charterholders can receive, their salary range increased to $151,000 to $304,000. This salary range is large and demonstrates just how different one CFA’s salary can vary from another based on their position, years of experience, and more.
In a recent Kaplan Schweser CFA Survey, one-third of our respondents claimed to have received a salary increase after passing their latest CFA exam or becoming a charterholder.
On average, our respondents who were working in a financial professional role both the year before and year after passing their most recent CFA exam or becoming a charterholder stated they experienced an increase in their earnings of 15%.* Earnings increase varied somewhat by the most recent exam passed or becoming a charterholder.
As mentioned above there are various types of ways CFA Charterholders can earn additional money than their base salary. It’s common for a CFA to earn a cash bonus based on performance but there are also these other types of earnings including:
Employer 401(k) contributions
Profit sharing
Restricted stock awards/phantom shares
Deferred/multi-year earnings
Commission/a sales bonus
Stock options
According to a recent CFA Institute compensation report, the top three most common types of compensation a CFA earned in addition to their base salary were:
Cash bonuses
Long term incentives
Profit sharing or investment partnership
How many years of experience and your education can affect your salary as a CFA Charterholder. According to a recent CFA Institute compensation report, the reported median total compensation for a Portfolio Manager with less than 5 years of experience, classified as an "Intermediate Professional” which is defined as an “Individual Contributor” was $96,400. Compare that to $153,00 for Portfolio Manager with more than 10 years of experience in this same classification but less than 20 years of experience.
Also interestingly, respondents from this CFA Institute compensation report with a JD had the highest median total compensation among education levels ($317,000), followed by those with an MBA ($257,000) and those with a PhD ($195,000).
Almost half of portfolio managers in the world are CFA Charterholders according to CFA Institute, making portfolio manager the most common job title for a CFA. But there are many other job titles that a CFA can hold.
According to a recent CFA Institute compensation report, there were over 15 different roles represented by their survey respondents that earned the CFA designation. That’s a lot of different roles and includes job titles like Portfolio Manager, Consultant, Chief Financial Officer, Accountant/Auditor, and many more.
So let’s look at what the average salary is for some of the most common job titles for CFA charterholders.
According to CFA Institute, there are 33,000 CFA charterholders who are employed as portfolio managers. A recent CFA Institute Compensation Study reports that the median base annual salary for a portfolio manager is right around $160,000.
According to CFA Institute, there are 18,000 CFA charterholders who work as sell-side equity research analysts, responsible for analyzing mathematical processes and qualitative data to make future predictions. A recent CFA Institute Compensation Study reports that the median base annual salary for a research/investment/quantitative analyst is right around $140,000.
According to CFA Institute, there are 12,400 CFA charterholders who work as C-suite executives. The most common titles for CFA Charterholder executives are chief executive officer (CEO), chief investment officer (CIO), and chief financial officer (CFO). A recent CFA Institute Compensation Study says chief investment officers with CFA charters have a median annual base salary of about $250,000.
Companies hire consultants to bring an independent expert perspective to business valuation, provide economic forecasts and analysis, and identify opportunities to grow shareholder value. The median base annual salary of CFA charterholders who work as consultants is close to $150,000, according to a recent CFA Institute Compensation Study.
Financial risk managers help identify and assess potential risks that a company faces or could face in the future. A recent CFA Institute Compensation Study reports that CFA charterholders who work as risk managers have a median yearly base salary around $150,000.
Some CFA charterholders work to help their company maintain business relationships with partners and clients to prevent churn. These relationship managers earn a median annual salary of around $150,000, and they make up about 5% of all CFA charterholders according to a recent CFA Institute Compensation Study.
A small percentage of CFA charterholders are financial advisors, helping clients make long-term financial plans. On average, they earn a median base salary of around $140,000 according to a recent CFA Institute Compensation Study.
Salaries can vary widely for both CFAs and CPAs based on location, experience level, and company size. That being said, according to CFA Institute, the average salary for a CFA is $180,000 and the average salary for a CPA is $70,000.
CFA Charterholders and CPAs both work with financial records, consult with clients, and assess the viability of different businesses and organizations. However, the outcome of these tasks is different depending on which credential you hold. CFA Charterholders focus on understanding market conditions, assessing businesses, and determining the best way for businesses or individual clients to invest their money.
CFA Charterholders use investments to generate income for clients. Some charterholders buy or sell securities, funds, and more on behalf of their clients. CFA charterholders are likely to be investment analysts, financial advisors, and portfolio managers. Some even go on to become chief financial officers.
By contrast, CPAs produce financial records. They may calculate taxes owed or assess business practices to identify ways to save money. They must also ensure that applicable financial regulations are followed. Some CPAs use their accounting skills to identify evidence of fraud or other crimes.
MBAs are in a much broader field of careers than CFA Charterholders but where they do overlap can be in the fields of finance and management. Regardless, according CFA Institute, the average salary for a CFA is $180,000 and the average salary for an MBA is $107,000.
Although earning the CFA designation does not guarantee you a job or a top position at a firm, it can make a difference when an employer is deciding between two otherwise equally qualified candidates. In that situation, the CFA charter could be your competitive advantage. Passing the CFA exam is your first step in earning the charter, and our CFA exam study materials can help.
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*Earnings increases are dependent on numerous factors other than, or in addition to, passing a CFA® exam or becoming a CFA® charterholder, including specific employment conditions and individual experience. Kaplan Schweser does not guarantee any earnings increase resulting directly from such designation.
These are the findings of a quantitative survey conducted by Kaplan between May 2 and May 27, 2024. For this survey, a sample of 728 CFA® Level I, II, and IIII candidates and charterholders was interviewed online. The earnings increase was based on 353 CFA Candidates who most recently passed the CFA Level I, II, or III exam and were employed in a financial professional role both the year before and the year after passing the exam.
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Our products and services substantially cover the relevant curriculum and exam and this is validated by CFA Institute. In our advertising, any statement about the numbers of questions in our products and services relates to unique, original, proprietary questions. CFA Institute Prep Providers are forbidden from including CFA Institute official mock exam questions or any questions other than the end of reading questions within their products and services.
CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, review, or warrant the accuracy or quality of the product and services offered by Kaplan Schweser. CFA Institute®, CFA® and “Chartered Financial Analyst®” are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
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