CFA Institute Investment Foundations Certificate
The goal of the Investment Foundations® Certificate is to provide a comprehensive overview of the investment industry and its structure, function, and role in global capital markets and society. You will learn real, tangible knowledge of the fundamentals of the industry, and receive a framework to better understand, solve, and communicate solutions for complex issues. Completion of all 6 courses makes you eligible to take the final assessment, which when passed confers an Investment Foundations® certificate.
USD 350
Prerequisites
Who should enrol
Ideal for those aspiring to – or currently working within – support roles across the investment and finance industries.
What you’ll learn
- Enhance credibility within your organizations by having a newfound confidence and a basic understanding of the investment industry, including structure, functioning, ethical considerations, forces affecting its evolution, and commonly used vocabulary.
- Elevate your ability to think critically, ask the right questions, and innovate in the investment industry.
- Understand the foundational concepts, tools, and techniques needed in your career to open more doors.
- Skillfully communicate and collaborate with and provide support to investment management professionals.
- Clarify job roles and responsibilities of those in the investment industry with whom you work with daily.
Topics covered
- Investment Industry
- Economics
- Financial Analysis
- Investment Management Strategies
- Standards, Ethics, and Regulations
How it works
Take each of the six courses, with assessments and activities along the way, to guide and ensure your understanding. Then take the final assessment to earn the Investment Foundations Certificate and digital badge.
| Modular Structure | Flexible Deliver | Program Excellence |
| – Six courses
– 60-90 hours of total study time |
– Self-paced
– Progress tracking – Set study goals – 12 month access to coursework |
– Engaging content
– Online, 100 multiple – Choice question final assessment – Shareable certificate upon successful completion |
Fees and scheduling
You can register for the Investment Foundations Certificate for USD350.
Once registered, you will have 12 months to complete the six courses and a final assessment, all completed through the online learning system.
Start with the foundations.
Enrol todayLearn the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles in the global investment industry.
Course description
The Investment Foundations Certificate will provide you with the fundamentals of the global investment industry, which will help better equip you for the world of finance.
This course will introduce the structure of the investment industry, including types of institutions, functions of participants, and types of services. You will gain an appreciation of the benefits provided by the investment industry and the forces that affect its evolution, including technological innovations, the importance of ethics/ethical conduct, and an overview of the purpose and types of regulators and regulations that govern the industry.
This course will introduce primary and secondary markets and how they operate. It will also introduce decentralized finance, the concept of investment vehicles, how they are structured, and how those structures serve investors.
This course will introduce the types and characteristics of primary investment instruments, including equity securities (stocks), debt securities (bonds), alternative investments, and derivatives.
This course will enhance understanding of how investment professionals identify relevant information and how the analysis of that information affects their investment and financing decisions.
This course will introduce how investment firms serve clients’ investment needs, examine risk considerations and management, and look at how portfolio performance evaluation enables investment professionals and their clients to better understand sources of risks and returns.
You will be introduced to the benefits, key concepts, and approaches to ESG investing and its linkage to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), as well as how ethical dilemmas that arise in practice can be addressed through an ethical decision-making framework.