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ICMA Centre at the University of Reading recognised as CFA Program Partner Institution – University of Reading

CFA Institute today announced that the ICMA Centre at the University of Reading is a CFA Program Partner and will offer a degree program that covers at least 70 percent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge, the CFA Institute Ethical and Professional Standards, and other requirements. To celebrate this good news, a formal signing ceremony and champagne reception will be held at the ICMA Centre on Tuesday 26 September at 3.00pm. Among the attendees will be the University's Vice-Chancellor Gordon Marshall, Managing Director of CFA Institute (UK) Nitin Mehta and invited representatives from investment banks in the city. The MSc in Investment Management will prepare students for entry into the fast growing and exciting investment industry. It provides a theoretical knowledge of portfolio management and quantitative finance, together with an applied set of courses looking at industry structure and trends. Students will benefit from professional guest speakers drawn from the heart of the global investment industry in the City of London, only a short distance away. Integral to the academic course is the parallel study of the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) programme, level 1. The two programmes reinforce each other, ensuring that graduates acquire both the academic and professional knowledge and qualifications required to succeed in the investment management industry. After completion, graduates will be qualified to work in a variety of investment functions, including research and portfolio management, with a diverse range of organisations such as investment banks, regulators, fund managers and consultants. Recognition as a CFA Program Partner signals to potential students, employers, and the marketplace that the university curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well-suited to preparing students to sit for the three levels of CFA examinations. The CFA Program sets a standard for developing the skills, standards, competence, and integrity of financial analysts, portfolio managers, investment advisers, and other investment professionals worldwide. It is widely considered the investment profession's most rigorous credentialing program. Administered in English, the CFA curriculum and examinations are identical worldwide. John D. Evans, CFA, Teaching and Programme Director for the MSc Investment Management comment, "We are extremely pleased to be a CFA Program Partner and to have included a CFA® Concentration in our Investment Management degree. Our ethos as an applied financial markets graduate school is to combine the best of financial theory with a strong professional orientation in our curriculum. Clearly, the CFA program adds the most internationally respected professional body of investment knowledge to our academic degree, which will provide a great benefit to our future graduates." CFA Institute recently announced that 52 percent of the 63,249 candidates worldwide in the rigorous CFA Program passed the exams they took in June. Those who passed the Level III exam – a record 12,314 candidates, which surpasses the last record of 9,410 Level III candidates in 2001 – will begin receiving their CFA charters in early October, provided that they also have completed the minimum work-experience requirement of three years in the investment industry (four years after July 1, 2007), signed a commitment to abide by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, and become a member of CFA Institute. Ends Media Contacts: Jessica Galehouse, CFA Institute – North America 434-951-5376 jessica.galehouse@cfainstitute.org Lucy Ferguson University of Reading 0118 378 7388 L.ferguson@reading.ac.uk Notes to Editors About CFA Institute CFA Institute is the global, non-profit professional association that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) curriculum and examination program worldwide, publishes research, conducts professional development programs, and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 84,000 members in 128 countries and territories, including the world's 69,600 CFA charterholders, as well as 134 affiliated professional societies in 55 countries and territories. CFA Institute is headquartered in the USA in Charlottesville, Virginia, with regional headquarters in London, Hong Kong, and New York. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org. (Bloomberg users can find CFA Institute at 497458Z). About the University of Reading The University of Reading is one of the top 20 research intensive universities in the UK, and internationally recognised for the excellence of its teaching on a broad range Arts, Humanities and Sciences programmes. In the last Research Assessment Exercise, 15 departments were awarded the grade of 5, with five designated the top rating of 5* (Archaeology, English, Italian, Meteorology and Psychology). The University consistently achieves high ratings for the quality of its teaching. For more information, visit the University of Reading website