The final CFA exam posted a 47% pass rate in August, slipping from 50% in both February and August of the prior year and staying under the 10-year average of 50%, a mark not topped since 2020.
The exam cadence has changed in recent years. The Level III exam ran in December in 2020, was offered three times in 2021, and before Covid-19 it was a June-only sitting.
Test history mattered. According to the institute, pass rates diverged sharply by deferral status: first-timers were at 56%, whereas candidates who had deferred at least once came in at 31%.
Nearly 14,000 candidates sat in August across 482 proctored, computer-based locations worldwide. For the capstone sitting, candidates chose among three paths: private wealth, private markets, and portfolio management.
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Chris Wiese, the institute's managing director for education, said, "Our profession is changing rapidly, but the qualities that underpin long-term success remain remarkably consistent."
In recent years, the institute adjusted Level III to emphasize practical skills and job readiness. In addition, those sitting the final exam selected one of three focused tracks - the private wealth route, the private markets route, and the portfolio management route.
The gap between first-time takers and deferrers is wide, and overall results remain close to recent norms. Upstream, August pass rates were 43% for Level I and 45% for Level II, with results that met or exceeded their decade averages.
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