CFA Society Slovakia is fueled by a leadership team of 26 dedicated volunteers advancing key initiatives. 

Last year, the society expanded their university outreach efforts, with four teams from three Slovak universities participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.

They published the CFA Society Slovakia Index of Economic Sentiment that boasted 102 contributors across 50 companies and garnered media attention. And by publishing monthly articles from their members in local journals, CFA Society Slovakia amplified their members’ voices while increasing the financial literacy of the Slovak population. 

CFA Society Slovakia celebrates their Oustanding Society award

CFA Society Portugal launched a Finance Professions webinar series to help students better understand industry career opportunities. They’ve grown their Research Challenge participation to include 7 universities and offered workshops to support participants. Partnerships with a local market regulator resulted in cohosting a financial literacy workshop and appearing at World Investor Week events.  

To support standards throughout the country, CFA Society Portugal awarded their second Ethics and ESG Award, with participation from local universities and subject matter experts.

Through a newly-developed sponsorship strategy, the society recruited 11 sponsors from global financial institutions, a step that enabled the hiring of their first full-time employee. 

CFA Society Portugal is recognized with an Outstanding Society award

CFA Society Poland delivered member value through nearly 20 events, including a 2-day annual conference paid almost entirely through sponsorships with institutional partners. They hosted more than 1,000 students at presentations across 5 universities and held 2 ethics challenge competitions.

Their research on Goldplating in Polish Capital Market Law was presented at the European Commission, and their efforts to advance financial literacy reached more than 10,000 students. 

CFA Society Poland receives their Outstanding Society award

In 2022, CFA Montreal completed a major organizational transition, shifting from an outsourced model to a team of four full-time employees, and reoriented their board from an operational to a strategic stance. This was done all while advancing key initiatives.  

CFA Montreal increased the number of universities in their network by 50% and offered more than $13,000 in CFA Program scholarships through private partnerships. By investing in a multi-channel promotional campaign, the society drove 104 registrations to the Certificate in ESG investing.  

They hosted three sold-out events with more than 1,500 participants and developed timely and relevant professional learning programming, contributing to an impressive 95.3% retention rate. 

CFA Montreal accepts their Most Oustanding Society award

CFA Societies Canada developed an innovative 5-stage process to support firms’ journeys from awareness, to consideration, to adoption and compliance of key standards.  

Among the results were Canada’s largest and most influential bank-owned asset manager, RBC Global Asset Management, signing on to the Asset Manager Code, and additional influential asset managers claiming compliance with the GIPS Standards. CFA Societies Canada continues to build awareness of the ESG Disclosure Standards and has seen 13 firms in Canada sign on to the DEI code, with many more in the pipeline. 

CFA Societies Canada is recognized for their AMER Impact and Innovation award

Through their Family Group Program initiative, CFA Society Taiwan brought members together into smaller cohorts led by a “parent,” who organized networking and professional development events catered to the group’s interests.  

Their Family Group Program has provided a valuable way to connect with members, engage early and often, and get participants’ feedback through personalized outreach. The initiative has contributed to steadily improving retention rates by nearly 6 percent over the last 3 years. 

CFA Society Taiwan accepts their APAC Impact and Innovation award

CFA Society South Africa earned the 2023 EMEA Impact and Innovation award for their Day of the Girl job-shadowing initiative, which promoted empowerment and education throughout the region.

Expanding on the nationwide initiative launched virtually in 2021, the society pivoted to an in-person format. This gave adolescent girls the opportunity to visit corporations and gain firsthand experience with roles in the investment industry at a critical time of career exploration. Through this initiative, CFA Society South Africa engaged 27 employers and 168 young female participants across 17 schools. 

CFA Society South Africa is recognized for the EMEA Impact and Innovation award

From advocating for transparency in gender data to launching groundbreaking research, CFA Society India has taken a proactive stance in addressing workplace gender disparities.

CFA Society India’s collaboration with CFA Institute resulted in the report, “Mind the Gender Gap—Analysis of Women’s Participation, Pay, and Other Measures,”’ a data-backed investigation of the barriers faced by women who want to pursue financial careers in India. The report offers analysis and recommendations for closing the gender gap. CFA Society India’s work continues as they have committed to updating the report annually to track progress and advance their advocacy. 

CFA Society India receives their Outstanding Research award

Congratulations to the following award-winning volunteers, and to their respective societies for cultivating and fostering an engaged volunteer network!

Volunteers of the Year
· Leo Schmidt, CFA: CFA Society New York
· Syed Raza Haider Jafri, CFA: CFA Society Pakistan
· Ibukun Oyedeji, CFA: CFA Society Nigeria

Outstanding Young Leader
Siddarth Gupta, CFA (CFA Society India)

Lifetime Achievement
Richard Mak, CFA (CFA Society Hong Kong)

CFA Society Pakistan is recognized for the achievements of APAC Volunteer of the Year Syed Raza Haider Jafri, CFA

David Allen, CFA, of CFA Society New York accepts the AMER Volunteer of the Year award on behalf of Leo Schmidt, CFA

EMEA Volunteer of the Year Ibukun Oyedeji, CFA, of CFA Society Nigeria, accepts her award

Siddarth Gupta, CFA, of CFA Society India receives his Outstanding Young Leader award

CFA Society Hong Kong celebrates the Lifetime Achievement award for Richard Mak, CFA