A fifth of people due to take the notoriously challenging Chartered Financial Analyst exams failed to show up on the day of the tests – an all-too-familiar statistic for the CFA Institute, which has been working to bring the number down.

The CFA emailed the results of its Level III exam - taken in June - to all 28,884 entrants on August 9, with 54% receiving a pass mark. The pass rate for all three levels this year has been 46%.