New CFA partnership benefits applied finance students
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Professor Phil Dolan |
Thanks to a new international partnership, students at Macquarie University's Applied Finance centre have the opportunity to combine their studies with preparation for the industry's most coveted professional credential.
The Applied Finance Centre was recently announced as the Australian partner of the CFA Institute, a global association that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst curriculum and examination program worldwide. Macquarie University is one of only 10 universities across the world that has been named a CFA Program Partner.
CFA Program
The Applied Finance Centre will include more than 70 per cent of the study required for all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program in its Masters of Applied Finance curriculum.
The CFA Program is widely considered the investment profession's most rigorous credentialing program. It sets a globally recognised standard for developing the skills and standards, competence and integrity of financial analysts, portfolio managers, investment advisers and other investment professionals worldwide.
The CFA curriculum and examinations are identical worldwide. Fewer than one in five candidates who begin the rigorous program successfully complete it and go on to earn the sought-after CFA charter.
Benefits for Macquarie students
The partnership means that Macquarie University's Master of Applied Finance students will in effect be studying for their academic qualification and their professional designation at the same time.
"This appointment recognises both the depth and the breadth of the curriculum offered by the Applied Finance Centre, and also the strongly applied emphasis and 'real world' focus of its teaching," said University Chancellor and Chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange, Maurice Newman. "It is further evidence of the way the Centre prepares its graduates for rewarding careers in the world of finance".
According to Managing Director of the CFA Program Bob Johnson, increasing numbers of recruiters are looking for candidates who have the CFA letters after their name and more than 100,000 candidates worldwide are currently studying for their CFA examinations.
"Graduates of Macquarie University's applied finance program already enjoy a high status in the job market. This agreement sets them well on the way to earning a globally-recognised professional designation," he said.
As well as providing training for the CFA Program, the partnership offers Macquarie University students access to CFA Institute textbooks, journals, webcasts and other educational resources. Students will also benefit from professional development events held in conjunction with the Sydney Society of Financial Analysts, the Sydney membership body for CFA Institute candidates and charter holders.
For further information visit: www.cfainstitute.org and www.mafc.mq.edu.au/