Over 900 candidates from across the GCC, Lebanon and Jordan have registered for the June examinations of the CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals.

This represents an increase of 131 per cent over the past five years, highlighting increased commitment to professionalism within the regional financial community, a statement said.

A total of 144,900 candidates registered globally from 162 countries, an annual increase of 4 per cent on last year, it added.

Asia Pacific continues to be the largest source, accounting for 42 per cent of the total, followed by 36 per cent from the Americas, and 22 per cent from EMEA.

The UAE remains the largest source of new registrations from the Middle East in 2011, representing 49 per cent of the regional total, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with 12 per cent and Kuwait with nearly 10 per cent.

“It is encouraging to see the growth in the overall number of candidates registering for the CFA Program, despite the aftermath of the global financial crisis,” said Nitin Mehta, CFA, managing director for EMEA at CFA Institute.

“Our recent CFA Middle East Societies Market Sentiment Survey suggests that this is being driven by a number of factors, including a desire for personal career development, a growing demand for well-qualified investment professionals, and an urgent need to restore trust in financial markets.  This development evidences a continuing drive for greater professionalism and the application of global standards around the region,” he added.

Following a rise in the number of local candidates, a new examination centre was used for the first time in Doha, Qatar, and complemented the ten other existing examination centres across the Middle East.

John Rogers, president and CEO of CFA Institute, said: “We are pleased to report an increase in registrations for both the June exam and in fiscal year 2011, for yet another year. It is very encouraging to see that financial professionals across the world continue to dedicate themselves to the ethics, rigor, tenacity, and analytics at the core of the CFA Programme and, through this, they commit in many ways to bettering our profession.”

The CFA Programme is a self-study program, considered to be the most rigorous credentialing program in the investment industry, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service