An international, nonprofit organization of more than 50,000 investment practitioners and educators in over 100 countries. The organization was founded in January 1990 when the Financial Analysts Federation (FAF) and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA) merged. Its purpose is to educate and examine investment managers and analysts and to ensure that high standards of professional conduct and financial analysis are followed. AIMR administers the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, which is a three-year testing and study program to certify that investment management professionals are qualified. Pass rates for the CFA exam in 1963, the first year it was introduced, was 94 percent. That rate declined steadily to 54 percent in 2001. AIMRÂ’s members are securities analysts, portfolio managers, strategists, consultants, educators, and other investment specialists who work in a variety of financial services companies.