I saw on the CFA institute website 2 interesting facts:
- The initial pass mark is calculated as follows: Take the top 1% of exams results, average the score, work out 70% of that score, that is the pass mark.
Thus the theoretical maximum for the passmark is 70%. That said, given that no one is really ever going to get 100% (some will of course but certainly only a very small number), and that the top 1% of exams accounts for quite a large number of people, the actual passmark is likely to be slightly less than 70%.
Its also true about the ethics enhancement if you are borderline. Not sure what they consider a good ethics score - probly >70 though. From the website:
FAQs: CFA Program Candidates
What is the �ethics adjustment�?
The Board of Governors instituted a policy many years ago to place particular emphasis on ethics. Starting with the 1996 exams, the performance on the ethics section became a factor in the pass/fail decision for candidates whose total scores bordered the minimum pass score.
CFA Institute has a policy of not releasing either the minimum passing score or individual candidate scores. Consequently, CFA Institute does not release specific information about the ethics adjustment or the candidates who were affected. The adjustment has had a net positive effect on candidate scores (and thus pass rates) in most exam sessions. The published pass rates therefore always take into account the ethics adjustment for borderline candidates.