Society Service Standards Reference Guide

This guide is intended to provide specific recommendations on activities societies can undertake to meet the Society Service Standard requirements for your segment and impact the associated success metrics.

Society Service Standards are aligned with the CFA Institute strategy and represent the areas where societies are best equipped to contribute. The service standards underpin the four categories below and are differentiated for each society segment. The success metrics, also reflected below, will be monitored over time against target goals set by each society, in some cases in collaboration with CFA Institute.

Guide to Services, Engagements, and Activities That Fulfill the Society Service Standards

Use the dropdowns below to navigate to a table that includes examples, links to resources, and more ideas for how your society can fulfill the Society Service Standards for your segment.

Success Metrics: Member Retention, Membership Growth, Members Satisfaction/NPS

Some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) your society may consider measuring: retention among key cohorts like new charterholders, unaffiliated gap, participation in new charterholder events/value of charterholder recognition, networking event attendance, partnerships with new professional organizations, member survey response rate and scores.

Services/Engagement Activities GFC Prof. Assn. Member Local Examples
Deliver or collaborate to provide and promote at least 30* Professional Learning (PL)-credited hours of content annually to society members, including 2 hours of SER (Standards, Ethics, and Regulations) credits Yes Yes (20) Yes (20) Yes (20) Submit PL-credited events to be featured on Community Content monthly megathreads on Connexions for other societies to cross-promote; submit PL-credited event content and toolkits for the society network to leverage in hosting their own programming.  

Refer to the PL-eligibility criteria to determine if educational events qualify for credit.
Share at least 10 PL-credited events/content with the global society network, for example, via Connexions and/or the Global Passport Program Yes Yes

Aside from delivering your society created programming to members, other examples include:

  • collaborating with societies in region/sub-region to host PL-credited programming
  • promoting another society’s PL-credited event to members. 

View monthly Community Content megathreads on Connexions. 
Grow and retain membership through targeted recruitment and renewal campaign Yes Yes

Implement Member Renewal Toolkit supplied by CFA Institute.

Find more renewal details on Connexions.
Maintain minimum level of membership retention 85% Yes Yes

Implement Member Renewal Toolkit supplied by CFA Institute.

Find more renewal details on Connexions.
Monitor member satisfaction through annual surveys, Net Promoter Score (NPS), or pulse surveys to inform continuous improvement Yes Yes

Collaborate with other societies to share past member satisfaction survey questions.

View society NPS scores in Consolidated Society Data Reports.
Offer career-focused services to members such as mentorship and soft-skills programs, career events, job board  Yes Yes

Solicit local employers to participate in the CFA Institute Job Board and promote to membership.

Engage in idea-sharing with other societies on the Connexions Community.
Host Charter Recognition Ceremonies or similar welcome events for new charterholders Yes Yes Yes

Explore society event resources.
Organize engaging networking events to foster connections and professional growth Yes Yes Yes Yes (1)

Explore society event resources.
Minimum Requirements 6 6 4 3

Success Metrics: Adherence to Governance Requirements & Submission Deadlines

Governance & Operations Activities GFC Prof. Assn. Member Local Examples
Strategic plan (updated approx. every 3 years) Yes Yes Contact relationship manager for consultation.
Board manual Yes Yes Yes Yes Template available here.
Articles of incorporation Yes Yes Yes Yes Society should have on file, can get copy from local jurisdiction; suggest to review every three years to ensure alignment with evolving operations.
Bylaws Yes Yes Yes Yes Template available here.
Code of conduct Yes Yes Yes Yes Template available here.
Conflict of interest policy Yes Yes Yes Yes

Both board members and employees must abide by conflict of interest policies. Generally, conflict of interest policies should clarify what a conflict of interest is, what board members and employees must do to disclose possible conflicts of interest, and what board members and employees should do to avoid acting inappropriately if and when a conflict of interest does arise. Please reach out to your relationship manager or contact us for more examples.

A conflict of interest section is included in the Code of Conduct template available here.
Whistleblower policy Yes Yes Yes Yes

A Whistleblower policy can be added to a society’s Code of Conduct or could be a stand-alone document. 

Template available here.
Data protection/privacy policy Yes Yes Yes Yes

Template available here.
Business plans and year-end report (requested information will vary by segment) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Template available here.
Partnership Effectiveness Survey Participation (administered by CFA Institute) Yes Yes Yes Yes

CFA Institute administers this survey annually to gather quantitative and qualitative feedback on the effectiveness of the partnership between societies and CFA Institute, as based on the Principles of Partnership. It is sent to all current society board members and staff. The expectation is for each society to be represented by submitting at least one response.
Participate in PC Elections (NEW for FY26!) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Society president/chair or proxy should cast a vote in PC Chair and PCR elections (where applicable).
Minimum Requirements 11 11 10 10

Success Metrics: NL1 Growth, CFA Institute Certificate & Course Registration Growth

Some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) your society may consider measuring: registrations outside NSA, non-member registrations, # of members attesting to meeting PL credit guidelines, engagement with new departments/programs/universities, UAP participation, licensed course material from curriculum, info session attendance and registration, engagement with new firms, increase in RC/EC participation, uptake of candidate engagement opportunities, CFA Program throughput rate.

Services/Engagement Activities GFC Prof. Assn. Member Local Examples

Actively promote and raise awareness of the CFA Program, and, where relevant, other professional learning offerings, to:

  • Universities
  • Institutions
  • Other stakeholders; for example, professional bodies, regulators
 Yes Yes Yes Yes (at least 1 activity per year)

Host information sessions, presentations, informational meetings, marketing campaigns.

Leverage informational and promotional materials in Marketing Resource Hub.

Exchange university and employer engagement ideas with society peers on the Connexions Community.

Increase awareness and participation in CFA Institute’s professional learning offerings among members and stakeholders

 Yes Yes

Implement marketing toolkits & marketing assets related to webinars, courses, certificates, and conferences.

Collaborate with the CFA Institute business development team and/or your relationship manager on the design and execution of an institutional engagement strategy for your market

 Yes Yes (in select markets)

Contact relationship manager or Society Support Center for consultation.
Host (or co-host or collaborate on) CFA Institute Research Challenge or other related student engagement challenges Yes Yes Yes Yes

Find more information on Connexions.
Provide opportunities for candidate engagement through events, resources, or study support Yes Yes

Search Connexions, explore discussion threads, or post a new thread to find other helpful content related to support services for candidates.
Contribute to Practice Analysis through workshops and interviews (as offered/requested Yes

Explore the enterprise site.
Minimum Requirements 5 4 2 2

Success Metrics: Code, Standard, and Policy Position Adoptions

Some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) your society may consider tracking: Top-tier speaking engagements, engagement with social posts, event registration/participation, target firm attendee numbers, engagement with new firms, introductions made to CFA Institute representatives, representation of market in survey response pools, click rates on requests to contribute input, member awareness of new and existing codes and standards (via member survey).

Services/Engagement Activities GFC Prof. Assn. Member Local Examples
Promote locally relevant CFA Institute research and/or policy advocacy through a combination of media engagement (e.g., articles, interviews), social media, roundtables, webinars, events. Yes Yes

Anticipate: Refer to the Content & Product Pipeline for planned publications.

Leverage Content: Explore the Research & Policy Center or choose from featured content and initiatives and execute a campaign to increase awareness across stakeholders (i.e., media, firms, regulators).

Social Media: Stay up-to-date on launches and implement toolkits provided in the Marketing Resource Hub; follow the RPC on LinkedIn and subscribe to receive content; promote the CFA Institute Research Foundation Ambassador Program to members.
Proactively engage with local regulators and industry leaders on matters of policy, ethics, standards, and regulation. Yes Yes

Increasing/expanding regulator involvement in member-focused programming, via podcast, etc.

Explore Advocacy Outreach Resources.

Produce comment letters with input from members.
Contribute market insights and member perspectives to CFA Institute research through participation in surveys, amplifying calls to action, and supporting collaborative projects. Yes Yes

Participation in input surveys, amplify call to action for input from members. (Example: Select societies were asked to identify industry experts in AI to be invited to a series of AI roundtables in support of an active CFA Institute research project.)

Collaborate with CFA Institute on a research project related to the RPC thematic content. 
Raise awareness of CFA Institute ethics, professional conduct principles, and industry codes and standards such as Inclusion Code, ESG Disclosure Standards, AMC, GIPS among members and stakeholders. Yes Yes Yes

Amplify updates on Code of Ethics and Standards.

Leverage content from CFA Institute's website.

Host, or collaborate with other societies, on an information session or roundtable with interested members to hear from a CFA Institute representative or subject-matter expert.

Host annual events on investment performance.

Host Ethics Challenge involving members as volunteers (society example).
Encourage the adoption of CFA Institute industry codes and standards (Inclusion, ESG, AMC, GIPS) and utilization of our research by engaging directly with firms, regulators, and industry bodies.  Yes Yes

Connect CFA Institute to a local regulator who is interested in more information on ourindustry codes and standards.

Host annual events on investment performance.

Direct engagement: Host meetings with key decision-makers; get involved with CFA Clubs at employers to stimulate codes and standards awareness.

Roundtables: Host, or collaborate with other societies, on roundtable with key stakeholders and decision-makers.

(See links below for full details on industry codes and standards.) 
Where applicable, facilitate member and local expert contributions to the development and updates of CFA Institute codes and standards. Yes Yes

Amplify CFA Institute open comment periods and requests for volunteers (toolkits will be posted in the Marketing Resource Hub as available).

Example: A European Working Group was formed with the goal of launching further iterations of the Inclusion Code. 

Build awareness on updates to our codes and standards and items that we release for public comment; encourage entities and individuals in their local market to submit comment letters.

Submit a comment letter to CFA Institute.  

Build awareness of our volunteer openings (typically once a year) and introduce us to local subject matter experts that are interested in being a volunteer.

Bring to our attention ideas for new standards development.
Establish/maintain a Research & Advocacy Committee or dedicated volunteer/staff role to coordinate efforts in this area. Yes

Encourage advocacy committee members to complete refresher training on engaging regulators and policymakers if applicable.

Leverage the Society Advocacy Project Guide.

Participate in regional or sub-regional advocacy groups if available (e.g., EU Steering Committee, LatAm Advocacy Council).
Minimum Requirements 6 5 1 0

Visit the RPC to learn more about the following: