The institute aims to promote standards in ethics, education, and professional excellence in the global investment services industry.

[5][6] CFA Institute is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, with additional offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.

In 1947, four financial analyst societies—Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia — cooperated for the purpose of promoting the exchange of ideas and supporting the welfare of their profession, calling the new group the National Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (NFFAS).

[8] In 1959, the NFFAS Board of Directors approved the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA), which was incorporated in 1962.

[8] The Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) was founded in 1990 as the umbrella organization for the ICFA and the FAF, still separate entities at that time.