Marquette’s AIM Program and the CFA Program Partners Initiative

Since 2006, Marquette University’s Applied Investment Management (AIM) program has had a partnership with the CFA Institute. The CFA Program Partners initiative is administered by CFA Institute and helps affiliated schools provide support to undergraduate and graduate students.  The AIM program was the first undergraduate school globally to receive the CFA Program Partner designation and is one of only 36 schools in the United States to receive the designation.

The partnership recognizes the fact that Marquette’s AIM program incorporates at least 70 percent of the CFA Program curriculum and its code of ethics into the curriculum. Through the partnership, Marquette is awarded five scholarships annually to help students offset a portion of CFA exam fees. The AIM program also benefits from the partnership through the receipt of the CFA Institute’s textbooks, journals, webcasts, and other educational resources - all of which help students prepare for the CFA exams.

Dr. David Krause, AIM program director said, “We have had excellent success with our students’ CFA exam results. Since our first class graduated in 2006, we have had 22 AIM students pass all three levels of the CFA exam – including 11 this year. The AIM class that graduated in 2011 had a pass rate of 88% for the Level I CFA exam, while the global average pass rate was 39%.”

“We encourage our AIM students to sit for their first exam immediately after graduating with their undergraduate degree from Marquette,” Krause continued. “Taking and passing the Level I exam gives them an edge when they interview for jobs at high-profile companies – especially when competing against graduate students.”

He added, "For our students who are pursuing careers in asset management, the CFA track is nearly required by almost every firm. Additionally, our students going to work in investment banking and private wealth management also find that CFA track is useful. They see it as a practical designation and a key differentiator in their career pursuits."

The CFA Institute has more than 100,000 charterholders in over than 130 countries. According to the CFA Institute there were over 200,000 people registered in the CFA program, with the greatest growth in the Asia Pacific region. The top 10 employers of CFA Institute members are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, RBC, UBS, and Wells Fargo.