Discover your dream Career
For Recruiters

"The CFA exam pass rate should be 25% from now on"

I am a CFA® Charterholder, and I am in approval of the recent 25% pass rate for the CFA Level I exam. I would like to urge CFA Institute to keep pass rates close to 25% going forwards to ensure the prestige of the certification.

I appreciate that it's difficult when students who invest considerable time and money fail the exams simply to maintain a low passing percentage. However, there's little doubt that the CFA exams have been becoming easier and that more students have been enrolling every year. While this has generated high revenues for CFA Institute, it has been at the cost of the decreasing prestige of the CFA Charter. 

Personally, I achieved the CFA Charter around a decade ago. At the time, it was a gold standard qualification. Today it has become anything but. At my own company, we hire recent graduates who have already cleared Level two and who will be Level 3 cleared within a year. Two years later, they're full Charterholders. 

I accept that the recent 25% pass rate is low, but given the exams are held multiple times a year, and you can enroll again six months later, it's not the end of the world. When you finally achieve the CFA Charter, it will be worth it. 

Frank Preissner is a pseudonym

CFA Institute does not endorse, promote or warrant the accuracy or quality of eFinancialCareers. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com  in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available. Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

Photo by Pau Casals on Unsplash

author-card-avatar
AUTHORFrank Preissner Insider Comment
  • so
    someone speci
    10 November 2021

    This exam is overrated. DONT TAKE IT!

  • Ja
    James McMahon
    30 October 2021

    Agree fully. Too many people sitting the CFA thinking it's a walk in the park. If you're not good enough stay away from the CFA, go do accounting or something.

  • ab
    abche
    15 September 2021

    Yeah ofc. Said by someone who enjoyed the high passing rates in previous years. And also, please take a look at the actual # of exam takers before writing... Not much growth since 10 years ago, and even a decline since COVID, so idk where your conclusion came from.

  • Sh
    Shivek Maroli
    9 September 2021

    Passed all three exams within the top 20% so this doesn't affect me either way, but while I agree the exam pass rates are too high, it's because people are just blindly studying and memorizing the exam. The test structure should be revamped somehow such that more critical thinking is involved. That will naturally lower the pass rate. That said, you're not supposed to throw a random curve ball one year and halve the passing rate all at once. If indeed that's what happened, it's very unfair.

  • Ah
    Ahmed Alhumiqani
    4 August 2021

    Easy to say since you passed on the previous rate! It’s pathetic!
    I would agree to enhance the level of “Prestige” by re-examining the old geezers too .. :)

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.

Boost your career

Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today.
Recommended Articles
Latest Jobs

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.