RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Earnings Forecast Accuracy of Financial Analysts Who are CFA Charterholders JF The Journal of Investing FD Institutional Investor Journals SP 19 OP 24 DO 10.3905/joi.2006.650139 VO 15 IS 3 A1 Rich Fortin A1 Stuart E Michelson YR 2006 UL https://pm-research.com/content/15/3/19.abstract AB This article examines the earnings forecast accuracy of financial analysts who have earned the right to use the CFA designation. Given the extensive rigor of the three-level CFA examination along with the substantial work experience requirements and required adherence to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, it is hypothesized that CFA charterholders will provide more accurate earnings estimates than other financial analysts not holding the CFA charter. Our estimation results support this hypothesis. We find that, on average, financial analysts who hold the CFA charter provide 3.78% (2.70%) “tighter” forecast accuracy than non CFA charterholders for annual (quarterly) data respectively over the 1986 through 2002 time period. This is important information to the investment community as investors use financial analyst earnings forecasts in making assessments of correct security valuation.TOPICS: Performance measurement, statistical methods