CFA Society Switzerland

CFA Society Switzerland is the eighth largest of the CFA Institute societies worldwide and part of a global network of more than 207,000 investment professionals. It offers three membership types: charterholder membership, professional membership for experienced professionals without the charter and associate membership for candidates and certificate holders. Members pay reduced fees for paid events such as the flagship conferences and the annual dinners, and they can join volunteer committees.

Nine special interest groups cover fields such as quant investing, value investing, indexing and venture capital. The group on DLT, blockchain and digital currency invites speakers from research, public authorities and companies with pioneering projects in digital assets. Other groups deal with sustainable investing, Swiss private banking and the transformation of asset management.

Mirjana Wojtal is the chief executive officer of CFA Society Switzerland and leads its strategy and operations with a small office team. Mirjana Wojtal trained as a neurobiologist and has worked in scientific research and in non-profit, academic and family office organizations. The society draws on about 300 volunteers, who run its committees and many of its events.

The board of directors is elected by the members, and Olivier P. Müller is its president. Laura Prina Cerai is vice-president, Oliver Grimm is secretary and Ioana Basca is treasurer of the society. Further board members are Sunny Karkhanis, Cyrill Moser and Gabrielle Slavik, while Alida Carcano, who co-founded the society in 1996, and Sébastien Gyger are nominated for the financial year 2026/2027.

CFA Society Switzerland runs professional learning events, conferences and networking events for its members across the country. The networking program ranges from after-work drinks and luncheons to a summer barbecue, and the Talent Summit explains how top employers recruit. Candidates in the CFA Program get kick-off events, mock exams and study groups on their way to the charter.

Through the Global Passport Program, members of participating CFA societies abroad attend Swiss events at the local member price. Members of CFA Society Switzerland use the same program when they travel to events of other societies.

The annual dinner is the main social event of CFA Society Switzerland and takes place in both Zurich and Geneva with a keynote speaker. Guests take part in a friendly forecasting contest, in which they give bullish or bearish estimates for key market data from one dinner to the next. The award ceremonies in autumn congratulate new CFA charterholders and new holders of the CIPM certificate.

The Swiss Pensions Conference has been the flagship event of CFA Society Switzerland since 2012 and addresses the decision makers of Swiss pension funds. It runs every year in two editions, one in Lausanne for French-speaking Switzerland and one in the Zurich area for German-speaking Switzerland. Swiss actuarial and pension expert bodies recognize each conference with five continuing education credits.

The Generations Conference is a one-day forum on wealth creation and preservation for family offices, family businesses and wealthy asset owners. The Swiss Sustainable Investing Conference in Zurich brings investment managers, asset owners, regulators, NGOs and academics together for a full day of talks.

UBS compiles the UBS CFA indicator every month together with CFA Society Switzerland. The indicator is based on a survey of financial analysts on how they expect the Swiss economy to develop over the coming six months. In February 2026, the indicator rose to plus 9.8 points from minus 4.7 in January (in German), with 41 analysts taking part in the survey.

CFA Society Switzerland responds to Swiss consultations with the help of member working groups and contributes a Swiss view to the advocacy of CFA Institute. In May 2024, it published a position paper on investment governance at Swiss pension funds, with guidance for boards of trustees on roles, external providers and conflicts of interest. The paper appeared in four languages: English, German, French and Italian.

In February 2026, the society supported the planned Swiss license categories for payment institutions and crypto institutes (in German) in its consultation response to the federal finance department. CFA Society Switzerland asked for clearer rules on the reserves of stablecoin issuers and welcomed the precise definition of staking as participation in validation. The response also points to gaps around foreign stablecoins that Swiss intermediaries use.

The office of CFA Society Switzerland is at Höschgasse 83 in 8008 Zurich. CFA Society Switzerland is a legal entity separate from CFA Institute and works with other CFA societies worldwide toward its mission.