Welcome to CFA Chicago
You are not signed in

You are here:   > >   CFA Chicago | CFA Candidates |

All Candidates are invited to join CFA Chicago!!!

Note:

If you take a CFA Institute Self-Administered Standards of Practice (Ethics) Exam, you are eligible for an Affiliate membership even if you have not yet passed Level I. For more information regarding the Self-Administered Ethics Exam, please click here. To request a copy of this exam, please contact CFA Institute at 1-800-247-8132.

You are NOT a member of CFA Chicago or CFA Institute until you complete a member application and are approved by both organizations. Enrollment in the CFA Program is independent from membership and member benefits.

Requirements

Regular

Affiliate
Provide one CFA Chicago Charterholder Sponsor AND one Supervisor Sponsor*
Sign and submit the Member's Agreement and the Professional Conduct Statement.
Adhere to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
Complete any additional application procedures or requirements established by CFA Institute
Passed Level I of the CFA Exam - OR - Passed the CFA Institute Self-Administered Standards of Practice (Ethics) Exam
Hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution - OR - have equivalent education and work experience
 
Four years of acceptable work experience as defined by CFA Institute**
 

* The supervisor sponsor requirement is waived if the applicant is the principal of the firm, a student, retired, self-employed, unemployed, or if providing a supervisor sponsor places the applicant in a difficult professional position. In these cases, applicants must provide another sponsor who is a Regular Member of CFA Chicago (i.e., a total of 2 CFA Chicago member sponsors). Note: In order to waive the supervisor sponsor requirement, you must e-mail CFA Institute at cmservices@cfainstitute.org explaining why you are not submitting a supervisor sponsor.

** For a detailed description and definition of these requirements, please visit http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/requirements/workexperience.html.

Note to ALL Applicants regarding Work Experience Section in Membership Application:

Affiliate Members: While work experience is not required, you must still provide some information in this section regarding your current status (i.e., a sentence explaining whether you are a student, currently unemployed, etc.) in order to avoid any delays in processing your application.

Regular Members: You must provide a detailed work experience narrative.

 

Upgrades

Candidates:

Students:

Note to Pending Charterholders:
Before CFA Institute can approve you as a new Charterholder, you must become a Regular member. (If you are already a Regular member, you need not take any further action at this time.)

Current Affiliate Members

If you are currently an Affiliate member, you must upgrade to a Regular membership and provide all information to CFA Institute.

Requirements

  • Submit 36* months of appropriate work experience for review and consideration - OR- If position has previously been approved by CFA Institute as acceptable experience, and the job responsibilities have not changed, e-mail CFA Institute at cmservices@cfainstitute.org when required amount of time for position has been met;
  • Complete any additional application procedures or requirements established by CFA Institute.

*These work experience requirements apply to those who registered for the program before 2005. If you have not been accepted as a Regular member by July 1, 2007, or if you registered in or after 2005, you will be subject to the new requirements (i.e., 48 months and a larger percentage of time spent in an investment decision-making position) because of the changes in the CFA Institute membership requirements.

Note:
To learn more about upgrading your membership and to download an application, please visit http://www.cfainstitute.org/memresources/pdf/upgrade.pdf.

In addition to completing the Membership Upgrade Form, you must e-mail CFA Institute at cmservices@cfainstitute.org explaining how your work experience has changed.

If you are unsure of your membership status, or if you have questions regarding your status, you may call CFA Institute at 1-800-247-8132, email cmservices@cfainstitute.org or visit the Online Membership Application (OMA) tool (requires login).

Current Non-Members

Note:
You are not a member of CFA Institute or CFA Chicago until you complete a membership application and are approved by both organizations. Enrollment in the CFA Program is independent from membership and member benefits.

If you have not yet applied for membership with CFA Institute and CFA Chicago, you must apply for Regular membership.

Requirements

  • Submit appropriate work experience narratives
  • Provide sponsor forms from one Regular Member and your Supervisor, one of whom must be a CFA Chicago member
  • Sign and submit the Member's Agreement and the Professional Conduct Statement
  • Complete any additional application procedures or requirements established by CFA Institute

To apply, please visit our Membership Application Links section.

To check your application status, you may call CFA Institute at 1-800-247-8132, email cmservices@cfainstitute.org or visit the Online Membership Application (OMA) tool (requires login).