CFA Institute will celebrate 50 years of the Chartered Financial Analyst program by opening trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and hosting ceremonies in 23 other financial centres around the world on Tuesday, May 29.

The global market ceremonies represent the greatest number of stock exchanges worldwide opened or closed by one organization on a single day.

The ceremonies set the stage for next weekend, when more than 149,000 registered candidates from 168 countries will take the Level I, II and III CFA exams on June 2 and 3.

The events usher in a year of celebration for CFA Institute, which offered the first CFA examination in June 1963. Joining CFA Institute to open TSX will be the Toronto CFA Society, the second largest CFA Institute member society in the world.

The CFA charter sets the standard for investment practice and is a globally recognized benchmark for ethics in the profession. Following the first exam, 268 investment professionals were awarded the CFA charter. Nearly 50 years later, there are more than 100,000 charterholders in 139 countries and territories.

Margaret Franklin, former chairwoman, CFA Institute Board of Governors, and Frederick Pinto, CFA, president, Toronto CFA Society, will join TMX Group executives to open TSX on May 29 at the TMX Broadcast Centre.

The original CFA Program focused on equity security analysts in a U.S. setting and emphasized ethical and professional standards. Today, the program represents a global context, and covers topics such as fixed-income analysis, alternative and derivative investments and portfolio management.

CFA Institute recently kicked off the 50th Anniversary celebrations at it’s annual conference, where it issued a call to action to the global investment community with its Integrity List, a collection of tangible steps that investment professionals can take to restore trust in the industry.