A larger percentage of Chartered Financial Analyst candidates passed the third and final level of the designation exam in June as a record number of people took all three parts of the test.


Fifty-four percent of those taking the level-three exam were successful, compared with 53 percent last year, CFA Institute Chief Executive Officer Paul Smith said in an interview Friday on Bloomberg Radio with Tom Keene. Forty-three percent of applicants passed level one, up from 42 percent a year ago, and 46 percent succeeded on the second level, the same as in 2015.

More than 170,000 signed up for all three parts of the exam in June, compared with 160,000 a year earlier, the Charlottesville, Virginia-based institute said in May.

Candidates can take all three levels in June. In December, only the first level is given. Those who took the third part spent about 300 hours studying for each section, which tests knowledge of investment tools, portfolio management and wealth planning.