The Association for Investment Management and Research has opened its second international office, in London, and has added two new chapters in South Africa and Lebanon.

Virginia-based AIMR opened its first international office in Hong Kong in 1997 to accommodate its rapidly growing member base in the Asia Pacific region. AIMR says that it continues to experience similarly high demand in Europe and other parts of the world.

Global demand for the CFA charter has driven unprecedented expansion for AIMR, which added six new chapters in six countries in 2001. It also surpassed 50,000 members for the first time. Both the Financial Analysts of South Africa and the Lebanon Chapter of Investment Professionals cited the need to support a growing number of local CFA candidates as a primary reason for forming the new organizations and affiliating with AIMR. The chapters also noted that affiliation with AIMR will help in the development of South Africa’s and Lebanon’s ethical conduct standards and overall investment professionalism.

The number of professionals and students registered each year for the series of three CFA exams has increased by 227% worldwide since 1995. For the 2001 exams, almost half of the 86,421 registered candidates came from outside North America.

Heading the new London office is John Barrass, who joins AIMR as its new vice president for global affairs (Europe) from the UK’s Financial Services Authority, where he was a senior staff member. At AIMR, Barrass is responsible for liaising with professional and regulatory bodies in Europe and working with AIMR’s 10 European chapters to support the needs of European CFA candidates and AIMR members.