CFA Institute announces settlement with the Department of Justice

CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, today announced that it had agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ), following an investigation into its practice of hiring some temporary exam graders from outside the U.S. It has agreed to pay a fine of $321,000 and does not admit liability.

CFA Institute cooperated fully with the DOJ during the course of their investigation into whether its hiring practices violated the Immigration and Nationality Act, while vigorously disputing the claim that CFA Institute discriminated against U.S. citizens. Graders are hired for a one- to two-week period every year to grade essay questions from Level III exams. The majority of graders have full-time jobs in financial services and participate in grading because of their charterholder status, their interest and commitment to the examination process, and membership of CFA Institute.

Paul Smith, CEO and president of CFA Institute, said: “We are upset at the outcome of this matter, but we must weigh the cost of a protracted dispute on our organization. We also regret that, as a result of this case, we will now select graders on an unpaid, volunteer basis, which will, unfortunately, take income away from all of them, including the 400 or so graders from the U.S. who will no longer be paid for their service.”

CFA Institute has 160,000 members around the world. It employs 455 of its 599 staff in the U.S.