Despite overwhelming odds, UNB Student Investment Fund (SIF) Students outperform CFA Level 1 industry standard pass rates.
The CFA Level 1 exam results were out last week and seven out of nine of the students from UNB’s award winning Student Investment Fund (SIF) Program in the Faculty of Business Administration passed. This 78% pass rate far exceeded the industry average of 40%.
The six-hour Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam is held every year the first week of June. According to the August Canadian Business Magazine, more than one hundred thousand people around the world are enrolled in one of the three levels of the CFA program this year, a graduate-level, self-study course on investing. There are roughly 69,000 CFA charter holders, in 120 nations and territories. About half of the world’s CFAs hold positions at institutional investment firms, mutual fund firms, banks, insurance companies, pension fund companies, and investment houses or foundations. It’s a difficult exam and usually only a third of candidates pass the first of the three levels that must be completed to attain the CFA charter.
Nine students from the SIF program sat for the six hour exam. Only fourth year BBA or second year MBA students with specific pre-requisites are admitted into the SIF program. Not only do students get to invest close to $2 million dollars of real money in the capital markets, but they also prepare for the CFA level 1 exam. “The attitude is that if the students pass the Level 1 of the CFA, this will separate them from other graduates when they apply for jobs in the investment industry” according to Glenn Cleland, CFA and Director of the Centre for Financial Studies and advisor to the SIF students.
“Ultimately, for every five people who start the process, only one makes it through to receive the designation”, says Jeff Diermeier, CFA, and president of the CFA Institute. Candidates must not only successfully complete the three levels of the exam but have four years of industry experience with more than 50% of their time spent in investment decision-making. With the globalization of the markets, the CFA is becoming the global passport to an investments career.
The seven SIF students who passed the level one exam this year are: Michael Chang Kit,
Carlos Jabbour, Gibran Hameed, Jason Hoyt, Dan Picard, Xiaochun Gu , and Fei Liu
Since the inception of the SIF program, 57% of the students who have written the CFA level 1 exam have passed, versus 45% for the industry average.
