In 2009, The CFA Society of St. Louis (CFA-STL) will be celebrating its 60th anniversary as an organization for St. Louis financial analysts. The society was founded in 1949. It was called the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts until 2005. The society was 9th member society (by seniority) to be admitted to the National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS, now known as the CFA Institute). In 2005, the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts was renamed to be the CFA Society of St. Louis.
In the past, the CFA Society of St. Louis has hosted two annual conferences for the national societies. In 1969, the FAF gathered in St. Louis for its 22nd annual conference. Over 1,300 members attended the conference. It was the most attended annual conference at the time. In 1991, the St. Louis society hosted the 1991 annual conference for the national societies again. It was widely considered as another successful and well attended conference.
A brief history of how NFFAS became CFA Institute
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In 1947, National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS) was formed in New York. This was created through the merger of analyst societies located in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. As new societies formed in other cities, they also joined the NFFAS.
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In 1959, the NFFAS board formed the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA) to provide a certification of competence. The new ICFA was formally incorporated in 1961 and gave the first certification examination on 15 June 1963.
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In 1961, NFFAS changed its name to the Financial Analyst Federation (FAF).
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In 1990, a parent organization to both the ICFA and the FAF was formed. It was called the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR®).
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In May 1999, the ICFA and the FAF were merged under AIMR, and the ICFA and the FAF ceased to exist.
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In May of 2004, the membership overwhelmingly voted to change the name to CFA Institute to align the organization with its core identity and to strengthen brand recognition.
CFA-STL is a member of the CFA Institute, an organization with over 96,000 members from 134 countries. The CFA Society of St. Louis currently has over 570 members.