The Financial Literacy Network, made up of international finance professionals with a shared passion for financial literacy, supports the CFA Society® community globally with its financial literacy activities.
The CFA Society network has created excellent financial literacy and investor education programming and the FLN wants to ensure information on these activities and resources is shared. On 12 September, CFA Institute opened a survey asking societies about the activities they sponsor to promote financial literacy in their local markets. The survey closed on 10 October and received more than 40 responses. Thank you to those societies who helped to update the database of activities, which you can view on the FLN website.
Here we highlight a selection of society financial literacy efforts taking place around the globe.
Americas
CFA Society Atlanta

Financial Literacy Efforts: Partners closely with the Atlanta Society for Financial and Investment Professionals (ASFIP) Foundation in identifying opportunities in the Atlanta community to provide financial literacy. Through the partnership, CFA Society Atlanta leverages members from the society to volunteer and support financial literacy efforts.
Target audience: Youth and young adults—elementary, middle, high school, and college. Also engages with veterans.
Content: Organic online content
Long-term objectives: To continue to educate youth and young adults about the importance of finances and managing assets, as well as create a level of interest for youth and young adults to consider finance and investments as a career.
CFA Society Bermuda

Financial Literacy Efforts: Created a four-week interactive course delivered through the local college's adult education program. It is an introduction to basic money and financial concepts, where people can begin to build practical financial skills that will help them take control of and manage their financial future. Specific topics covered include Developing Financial Goals, Determining Your Current Financial Position, Understanding Sources of Income and Expense, Creating a Budget, Managing Debt, and Planning for Retirement. The course was developed and is presented by local society member volunteers. CFA Society Bermuda has subsequently created a second series, targeted specifically for low-income earners, delivered in partnership with non-profit service providers.
Target audience: Adults
Content: CFA Society Bermuda has created the course content, including weekly PowerPoint presentations in class and supplementary materials, which together form a student workbook. Emails are sent to participants the day after each class.
Long-term objectives: CFA Society Bermuda aims to support people towards greater financial health and provide unbiased, factual information. It also wants to encourage discussion, create conversations around money, and share experiences.
CFA Society Boston

Financial Literacy Efforts: The CFA Society Boston Financial Literacy Initiative aligns the local society with non-profit groups to reach a wide variety of audiences from late high school onward. Since its inception in 2014, the initiative has touched thousands of people, partnered with over 30 organizations, and has over 30 active volunteers. This community outreach program makes valuable financial literacy content available to the general investing public through collaboration with its alliance partners. The initiative addresses personal finance, the basics of investing, retirement, bonds vs. equities, choosing a bank, and more.
Target audience: High school and older
Content: CFA Society Boston partners with local organizations to offer financial literacy education virtually and in-person. It has existing partnerships and receives regular inbound requests through a form on its website and existing volunteers and members. Once the local society receives a request, one of its FinLit Chairs reaches out to the organization to determine if it is the correct fit and, if so, get the pertinent information. The Chair then speaks to its pool of volunteers to request someone to serve as Alliance Leader and any additional volunteers needed to fine tune the material and present.
Long-term objectives: The CFA Society Boston Financial Literacy Initiative's mission is to close the financial literacy gap by imparting financial knowledge without conflicts of interest, thereby improving the economic opportunities and lives of its diverse audiences and the communities in which they live, the credibility of our industry and ultimately, the stability and growth of the economy.
CFA Society Minnesota

Financial Literacy Efforts: In partnership with Financial Beginnings, several CFA Society Minnesota members and industry professionals recently launched a financial literacy education program called MNFEI (Minnesota Financial Empowerment Initiative). This non-profit organization teaches individuals how to play an active role in their financial well-being. The group’s mission is to help those in the Minnesota community who seek to improve financial knowledge and economic security and raise awareness of financial education's importance for all Minnesotans. MNFEI provides a platform for passionate volunteers to deliver no-cost, unbiased, and open-sourced financial education programs to Minnesota communities and schools, with a special focus on those in greatest need.
Target audience: Underserved communities within the Minnesota region, including diverse lower-income communities, immigrants, and other underserved populations.
Content: Open source and a formal partnership with Financial Beginnings. Seeking partnerships with other providers (such as BestPrep, Financial Literacy Network, Babson FLI, and Next Gen Financial).
Long-term objectives:
- Bring high-quality financial literacy education to Minnesota community and schools.
- Engage many of the local CFA® charterholders, their firms and other interested individuals to volunteer and support MNFEI in various ways.
- Focus on helping those in the community with the greatest need for financial education, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented.
CFA Society Pittsburgh

Financial Literacy Efforts: Pittsburgh has very strong and developed financial literacy efforts. This success is largely due to the work of Gene Natali and Greg Filbeck. The local society hosts a financial literacy competition among local universities and visits local high schools and universities to provide financial literacy education. CFA Society Pittsburgh also sponsors an intern at Penn State-Behrend to help research the success of financial literacy programs.
Target Audience: High school and college students
Content: Organic content
Long-term objectives: To help spread financial literacy not only locally but globally. To advocate for financial literacy being taught in high school as a requirement.
APAC
CFA Society India

Financial Literacy Efforts: CFA Society India has a separate sub-committee spearheading financial literacy efforts. This sub-committee coordinates with self-help groups and foundations to create financial awareness in local communities.
Target audience: People with no direct access to financial tools and those with low financial literacy levels
Content: Organic content
Long-term objectives: The long-term objective of the local society is to ensure that the bulk of its citizens are empowered to make proper financial decisions.
EMEA
CFA Society Croatia

Financial Literacy Efforts: CFA Society Croatia launched a successful financial literacy campaign in 2021. The campaign is named mojesutra (my tomorrow) and is focused on raising awareness of the importance of financial literacy, which is considered low in Croatia.
Target audience: Everyone between the ages of 20 and 50
Content: Organic content in the local language
Long-term objectives:
- Increase awareness of the importance of financial education
- Increase knowledge about key segments of financial literacy
- Increase in household investment activity
CFA Society Cyprus

Financial Literacy Efforts: Presentations to private and public high school students. Close cooperation with the government in arranging presentations and pitching ideas to the Ad-Hoc Committee on Financial Literacy (which is setting a national strategy to tackle financial illiteracy). In partnership with a local university, CFA Society Cyrpus is arranging the first mandatory Financial Literacy Lesson (40 weeks) at a private high school and getting soft commitments from 15 other high schools to adopt the same course in the coming years.
Content: PowerPoint presentations to students
Target audience: High school students
Long-term objectives: Raise awareness, support the national strategy, and reach out to other vulnerable groups.
CFA Society Germany

Financial Literacy Efforts: CFA Society Germany has an established financial literacy program and supports the Alliance for Economic Education Germany, which works to make financial education mandatory in German schools. The local society regularly attends the respective events. In addition, its working group is focused on school visits to interact directly with students. Before, the working group was exchanging with several societies to learn more about their financial literacy strategies. Further projects of the working group are in discussion.
Target audience: Schoolchildren, trainees, students, and young professionals, in addition to decision-makers at a regional level.
Content: Content and selection of topics for the school visit is made individually in consultation with the responsible teacher.
Long-term objectives: Increase financial literacy and make financial interrelationships understandable for young people.
CFA Society Nigeria

Financial Literacy Efforts: CFA Society Nigeria is currently focusing efforts on students and youths. Its Advocacy Committee drives the financial literacy effort of the local society by using a third-party platform that has gamified financial literacy issues to engage students in secondary schools and universities in a fun way. Additionally, it recently commenced a university investment club initiative that will help push financial literacy efforts across Nigerian universities.
Target Audience: Students of secondary school and universities and other youths and young adults
Content: The local society collaborates with yellow-cowries and use a game developed for advocacy.
Long-term objectives: Bringing financial education to young ones early so they grow into financially enlightened adults that will contribute meaningfully to society.
CFA Society Portugal

Financial Literacy Efforts: Since 2019, CFA Society Portugal has been conducting a workshop that reached over 3,000 people (mainly university students and the general public). The local society is now speaking with corporates (it has already hosted one corporate event) and is starting to develop financial literacy content to upload to its website.
Target Audience: University students, the general public, and now corporate employees
Content: Workshops, either online or in-person
Long-term objectives: Increase CFA Institute brand awareness in nonfinancial corporates using the financial literacy materials as an engagement mechanism. Increase awareness about financial literacy needs and how this benefits the general public (particularly the less-educated segment).
Read more about the FLN, its resources, and how your local society can engage with the organization.
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