EFFAS
EFFAS, the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies, is a not-for-profit federation of the national associations of investment professionals in Europe. It was founded in January 1962 in Courchevel and today has 15 member societies, which together represent more than 18,000 financial analysts and other investment professionals. The federation is a registered association in Frankfurt am Main.
EFFAS promotes high standards in investment analysis, professional conduct and financial training through its member societies, expert commissions and certifications. The best-known qualifications are the Certified European Financial Analyst and the EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst, and more than 28,000 people hold an EFFAS certificate. The federation also speaks for analysts and investors in consultations of European standard setters.
CESGA: the certified ESG analyst
The EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA) trains investment professionals to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into analysis, valuation and portfolio management. Version 4.1 of the program follows the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, with support from EFRAG for the ESRS content.
The online course with the exam costs 1,500 euros excluding VAT and includes six months of access to the EFFAS Academy platform. The exam lasts 150 minutes and combines 20 multiple-choice questions with a case study of nine open questions, and each part counts for half of the result.
CEFA and further certifications
The Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) by EFFAS covers financial analysis, company valuation, portfolio management, ESG integration and professional ethics in four exams. The online course costs 4,000 euros for 24 months of access, each of the four exams costs 150 euros, and exams take place in April and November.
Further programs include the EFFAS Certified Climate Risk Analyst, the Financial Risk Analyst, the Certified Investment Manager and the Certified Portfolio Manager. The Digital Assets and MiCA program places the MiCA regulation in the context of blockchain technology, tokenization and sustainable finance.
Member societies
EFFAS has 15 member societies: ÖVFA in Austria, EFFAS Benelux, FSFA in Finland, SFAF in France, DVFA in Germany, HCMPS in Hungary, AIAF in Italy, MLT in Malta, FFN in Norway, ZMiD in Poland, APAF in Portugal, AAFBR in Romania, IEAF in Spain, SFF in Sweden and SFAA in Switzerland. Six value added partners promote the EFFAS certifications in countries outside the federation.
Upcoming fintech and finance events in Germany
Chair and board of directors
Hans Buysse of EFFAS Benelux has chaired the Executive Management Committee since 2026, after Friedrich Mostböck of Austria and Jesús López Zaballos of Spain, who led EFFAS from 2012 to 2025. Thorsten Müller of DVFA is deputy chair, and Manuel Puerta da Costa of the Portuguese society APAF is treasurer. Further board members come from the societies of Austria, France, Norway, Italy and Spain.
Hans Buysse is managing partner of Clairfield Belgium and was president of the EFRAG Administrative Board from 2022 to 2024. In July 2026 EFFAS appointed Dr. Valeria Fauner as its managing director.
Commissions on capital markets, ESG and reporting
EFFAS organizes its expert work in four commissions with members from the national societies. The Capital Markets Commission works on equity and bond markets, the funding of small and medium-sized companies and the capital markets union, and it organizes the Capital Markets Forum.
The Commission on ESG develops ESG reporting and valuation standards and runs the CESGA Congress and the Gasperini Awards. The Commission on Financial Reporting answers consultations of IFRS, EFRAG and ESMA, and the Training and Qualifications Commission reviews the certifications and the Summer School.
History and office in Frankfurt
Pierre Cabon and Peter Freeman drafted the first statutes of EFFAS in Courchevel in January 1962, and the first EFFAS congress followed in Cambridge in July 1963. National societies hosted further congresses about every two years until 2000, and in 2012 the federation marked its 50th anniversary. Fritz H. Rau of Germany, today honorary chairman of DVFA, chaired EFFAS from 2001 to 2008.
The office of EFFAS is at Hamburger Allee 45 in 60486 Frankfurt am Main. The federation is registered at the district court of Frankfurt under the number VR 12546.
EFFAS and Finance Loop
Finance Loop members across Europe work on questions that the newer EFFAS certifications also cover, such as how the MiCA regulation governs digital assets and how climate risk enters investment analysis. Finance Loop holds events on these topics in Frankfurt and in other European financial centers.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.