The CFA Society of the UK, supporting ASIP, CFA and IMC professionals.

 Mon 06 Oct 2008

UK Society of Investment Professionals - CFA Institute

ASIP qualification

‘A recognised qualification of CFA Institute’.

Just as investors now recognise the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis, so the ASIP designation was recognized in the UK market between its introduction in 1979 and its withdrawal in 2002.

Broadly equivalent to the CFA qualification in content and in rigour, the associate examination was phased out following the 2000 merger of IIMR and LSIP by which the present society was formed. The society continues to support the ASIP designation as a clear mark of professional excellence.

Following the society’s recent name change to CFA Society of the UK, members that have passed the associate examination should now be referred to in text as Associates of the CFA Society of the UK. However, the society will continue to use the ASIP designation to refer to such members. The designation is now well-known and will continue to be actively supported by CFA UK and by CFA Institute.

The associate examination was established in 1979. The examination structure was revised in 1989 when the associate examination was upgraded to university degree level with eight examination papers. The examination was amended to contain just six papers from 1994. To join the society as associates, candidates had to pass all six papers of the examination and had to have completed two years’ professional experience in investment analysis, fund management or another analytically based activity approved by the society. They also had to obtain sponsorship from an existing society member.

The examinations were divided into two parts:

Part I

Part II
Each of the six papers was a three-hour discursive question examination. The syllabus for each part of the exam is posted below. The examinations took place twice a year in June and November. Examinations were assessed by a panel drawn from academia and finance. The standard of each of the papers was equivalent to the pass level of a university degree. Average pass rates for Part I between 1994 and 2002 were 66% and average pass rates for Part II were 71%.

ASIP syllabus

Economics & Applied Statistical Analysis (click to download)

Securities & Investment (click to download)

Interpretation of Accounts & Corporate Finance (click to download)

Investment Regulation & Practice (click to download)

Portfolio Management (click to download)

Case Study (click to download)

Please direct any enquiries about the ASIP qualification to info@cfauk.org