CFA Institute Welcomes New CIPM Certificants

CFA Institute, the global association of investment management professionals, announces that 54 percent of candidates who sat for the final Expert level exam in the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM®) program passed the April 2016 exam. Pending experience and membership requirements, these successful candidates will be able to use the CIPM designation for appraisal and selection of investment managers, while promoting professionalism and developing strong investment analysis skills demanded by clients and employers within the industry. 

The CIPM Program offers practice-based training, promoting professional and ethical excellence in portfolio evaluation and risk management, enabling certificants to evaluate and communicate investment performance for asset management firms and investors.  Successful CIPM candidates include portfolio managers, investment consultants active in manager selection, financial advisors, and performance evaluation analysts, among others. There are a total of 1,515 investment professionals who hold the CIPM designation and have demonstrated their commitment to serving society and their clients’ interests first through professionalism and integrity. 

“Portfolio evaluation is a critical element to building a true investment management profession that places clients’ interest above all others,” said Stephen M. Horan, CFA, CIPM, managing director, Credentialing. “Portfolio managers rely on it to assure the quality of the service they deliver to investors, and investors rely on it to select and monitor investment managers. CIPM certificants have the judgment and technical expertise needed by investment managers dedicated to the highest ethical standards. The CIPM Program provides certificants with the ability to analyze portfolio performance and evaluate risk accurately, working with their firms to meet client expectations with effective communication."

In addition to the new certificants, 55 percent of candidates who took the Principles level of the CIPM exam have passed. The Principles level exam emphasizes investment tools, inputs and standards necessary for performance evaluation. Candidates who passed the Principles level exam are eligible to enroll in the Expert level of the program. 

To earn the designation a candidate must enroll and pass two exams, become a regular member of the CIPM Association, and meet professional experience requirements. The CIPM Program applies best practices in investment analysis techniques through a self-directed curriculum and tests proficiency in professional ethics, performance evaluation, performance attribution, and investment reporting. Approximately 70 percent of the CIPM curriculum and readings cover advanced performance evaluation (measurement, attribution, appraisal, and manager selection). The remaining 30 percent covers ethical and professional standards, including how to use the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). The CIPM Program provides investors with rigorous performance evaluation skills in order to ethically evaluate investment decision making and communicate performance results.

Registration for both levels in the September 2016 examination window remains open through July 31, 2016. The CIPM curriculum is offered online and examinations areadministered during two periods each year at test centers worldwide.