A small group of anxious CFA candidates got to see their 'unconfirmed' results early
Anxious Chartered Financial Analyst candidates waiting for news on their Level I and Level II exams received their scheduled results on Tuesday.
A small group of Level III test-takers also accidentally got a peak at what their scores might be, according to the CFA Institute.
The association said the results, which are due to be published in full on August 11, were "preliminary" and "unconfirmed".
It is "possible but unlikely" that the scores will change, according to a person familiar with the matter.
From the CFA Institute:
We apologize to all CFA Program Level III candidates who briefly had access today to preliminary and unconfirmed June 2015 exam results. The results, scheduled to be released on 11 August, were mistakenly made available in candidates' CFA Institute online accounts for approximately one hour. Fewer than 100 Level III candidates - or 0.4% - accessed their own preliminary and unconfirmed results. Final results will be available to Level III candidates on 11 August as planned (detailed June Exam Results Timeline (PDF)). Exam results are still undergoing quality review procedures, which are requisite for protecting the integrity of exam results. We take very seriously our commitment to candidates; we sincerely regret this error and look forward to releasing results as scheduled.
The CFA curriculum, which consists of three levels, is considered to be the hardest test on Wall Street. It takes several months to prepare for each level, and fewer than 20% of candidates pass all three on their first attempt.
For the June 2015 exam, 42% of test-takers passed Level I and 46% passed Level II. Last year, 54% of Level III candidates passed compared to 49% the previous year.
Level III candidates are going to have to wait a couple more weeks to find out their results for certain.