Make an impact in private markets
Earn a foundational certificate in private markets and alternatives, and build practical skills that support career growth with CFA Institute.
Explore our programs
CFA Institute offers programs for every finance career stage and specialty.
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Enhanced educational experience
Global recognition
Leverage the international reputation of CFA Institute to unlock career opportunities around the world.
Enhanced professional profile
Earn an easily shareable digital badge to display your achievement in your online networks.
Expert insight
Learn from established practitioners to build the practical skills required for investment decision-making.
Professional networking
Connect with a global community of finance professionals and uncover new opportunities.
Personalized learning
Study using our digital tool, designed to adapt to your learning style and help you prepare for exams more effectively.
Career advancement
Stand out by developing expertise in sought-after skills in the global financial industry.
CFA® Program
Achieve the highest distinction in investment management
The CFA Program is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete and excel in today’s complex and evolving investment industry.
190k+ Charterholders - the biggest network of investment professionals in the world
$267k Average total compensation across all job functions
90% Of hiring managers prefer CFA® Charterholders for executive positions
Success story from our global community
Career Conversations: Taking a Different Approach to Problem Solving
As an Associate at McKinsey & Company, Stephanie Graskoski, CFA needs the financial acumen and agility to solve problems across different industries. Watch Stephanie’s career story.
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The CFA Program really goes in deep about a lot of different topics in finance. I think it provides people with a really good grounding across a lot of different topics. The biggest piece of advice I would give to people who want to try the program or who are worried because they don't have a background in finance is just give it a go. I found the program really great, I enjoyed the content, I enjoyed the process, and I also enjoyed meeting other people who have done the program.
Empowering the investment industry to realize the world’s greatest possibilities
CFA Institute is a global not-for-profit organization that provides finance education for investment professionals. By promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and excellence, we help shape the future of the industry for the ultimate benefit of society.
190k+ Active CFA Charterholders
155+ Worldwide CFA Societies
1.7k Organizations claim compliance with the GIPS® standards
830 Affiliated Universities
Advanced Private Wealth Management learning program
Gain practical skills to advise high-net-worth clients on investment, estate planning, and wealth transfer.
In-depth insight from Research and Policy Center
Research reports
Explainable AI in Finance: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Stakeholders
The report underscores that transparent, explainable AI is vital in finance — not only for regulatory compliance but also for institutional trust, ethical standards, and risk governance. Although automated tools help, human oversight and organizational alignment are indispensable.
Research
RAG for Finance: Automating Document Analysis with LLMs
This article explores how retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) enhances investment research by enabling LLMs to analyze unstructured documents like proxy statements, and offers practical guidance on working with RAG.
Research reports
Synthetic Data in Investment Management
Generative AI can create synthetic datasets to augment workflows such as scenario stress-testing and portfolio optimization. This report explains how, with guidance on assessing data quality and a case study fine-tuning an LLM for sentiment analysis.
