Six decades and hundreds of thousands of charterholders later, CFA Institute is thrilled to celebrate this milestone on 15 June! We invite you to join in our commemorations throughout the month.

From an idea first conceived by the famed investor Benjamin Graham, the first CFA exam was held on 15 June 1963, when 284 professional investors took the exam at 25 locations across the United States and—for one candidate who was travelling to England at the time—on the high seas onboard the RMS Queen Mary. 

All member societies at the time, with the exception of those newly admitted, had at least one candidate sitting for the exam in 1963. Click here to see the list of those societies and the names of our first candidates.

Already established and highly regarded in their fields, the first test takers also included former presidents of the National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS)—the forerunner to CFA Institute—and individuals well-known for their authorship of articles and books on investing. Among them were Lucien O. Hooper, a recognized financial columnist, and Jane Ashby, one of only six women to participate.

Three months later, Jane Ashby and Lucien Hooper were two of the first 268 successful candidates to be awarded the CFA charter. Fellow candidate and a former president of the NFFAS, George M. Hansen, received CFA Charter No 1.

This anniversary follows a milestone we celebrated last year—the 75^th anniversary of our founding when societies from Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia joined together to create the NFFAS.

Celebrate with Us!

We will be commemorating this milestone throughout June and would love for your society to join us!

• Check out the press release that will be posted on the Press Room page of our website on 15 June.
• Beginning 15 June, check out our social media accounts (for CFA Institute, CFA Program, and President and CEO Marg Franklin, CFA), and like, share, and comment on our posts. Many of the posts will encourage audience engagement, so we’d love to hear your experiences sitting for the exam and the impact the charter has had on your career.
• Use our social media toolkit, which includes recommended copy and a special 60^th anniversary logo to post on your own channels.

Societies have always been integral to the success of CFA Institute. Thank you for celebrating 60 years of the CFA Program. We look forward to sharing the next 60—and more—with you!