USC Marshall School of Business Recognized as CFA Program Partner Institution
Los Angeles — The USC Marshall School of Business, the global CFA Institute, and the CFA Society of Los Angeles (CFALA) today announced that the Marshall School has become a CFA Program Partner, a unique collaboration that will enable students at Marshall to acquire most of the knowledge required to successfully complete the rigorous Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) program.
“USC is proud to join a select group of universities around the world to be recognized by CFA Institute as providing students with a solid grounding in the concepts and principles, including strong ethical and professional standards, required to become CFA charterholders,” said Dr. Larry Harris, Director of the Center for Investment Studies at Marshall.
CFA Program Partners offer degree programs that cover at least 70 percent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge, the CFA Institute ethical and professional standards, and other requirements. Recognition as a CFA Program Partner signals to potential students, employers, and the marketplace that the university curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well suited to preparing students to sit for the three levels of CFA examinations.
In addition to being a CFA Program Partner, USC also jointly sponsors the USC/CFALA CFA Review Program. “We have worked closely with USC since 1984 in helping hundreds of candidates to master the CFA Program curriculum and embrace the CFA Institute Code of Ethics,” said CFALA President Asha Joshi, CFA. “This new partnership represents a logical extension of that effort as it will benefit M.B.A. students who wish to obtain the CFA designation, which is regarded as the gold standard of competence and professionalism in the investment community.”
Many of the CFALA Review Program courses offered at Marshall have been taught by CFALA members who often act as candidates’ mentors. CFALA and Marshall also provide Web-based courses and recently began offering portions of the review program free to U.S. military personnel on active duty deployed around the world.
To become a CFA charterholder, candidates must complete a rigorous course of study and pass three sequential examinations that test not only their understanding of the curriculum but also their ability to synthesize complex investment principles and apply financial instruments in a professional manner. The program is extremely demanding — on a global basis, fewer than 20 percent of those who enroll in the CFA Program are ultimately successful in earning the CFA charter.
“CFALA and USC have a longstanding commitment to the Global Body of Investment Knowledge and high ethical principles espoused by CFA Institute,” said Bob Johnson, CFA, Deputy CEO of CFA Institute. “We are pleased to welcome USC’s Marshall School of Business to a select group of CFA Institute Program Partner universities, and we look forward to continuing to work with both organizations.”
About the USC Marshall School of Business
Based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, at the crossroads of the Pacific Rim, the USC Marshall School is the best place to learn the art and science of business. The school’s programs serve nearly 5,000 undergraduate, graduate, professional and executive-education students, who attend classes in facilities at the main Los Angeles campus, as well as satellite facilities in Irvine and San Diego. USC Marshall also operates a Global M.B.A. program in conjunction with Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China.
About the CFA Society of Los Angeles
Established in 1931, the CFA Society of Los Angeles (CFALA) is a network of more than 1,900 investment management professionals in the greater Los Angeles area. CFALA’s mission is to provide access to information, expertise and personal interaction to further members’ professional development and to promote the value of the profession and the CFA designation. CFALA is one of 136 societies of the global CFA Institute, which has members in 134 countries and local affiliated societies in 57 countries.
About the CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 100,000 members, who include the world’s 86,500 CFA charterholders, in 133 countries and territories, as well as 136 affiliated professional societies in 57 countries and territories. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org.
Media Contacts:
Larry Harris, USC Marshall School of Business, at (213) 740-6496 or LHarris@marshall.usc.edu
Asha Joshi, President, CFA Society of Los Angeles, at (213) 830-4247 or ajoshi@Payden-Rygel.com
Evy Jacobson, USC Marshall Media Relations, at (213) 740-5552 or evy.jacobson@marshall.usc.edu
