Originally launched in 2013 as Claritas, the Investment Foundations® Certificate served the finance and investment industry as the core certificate for non-investment professionals and students new to the industry.
Covering the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles, the program provided certificate holders with a clear understanding of the global investment industry.
In December 2021, recognizing the significant effort required to keep the program and curriculum current and to maintain the technology platform at a time when the pandemic called for resources to shift, CFA Institute ceased offering the certificate while we explored how to update and modernize the product.
We kept your feedback about the importance of the Investment Foundations Certificate in your markets in mind as we worked to improve and reintroduce the program.
We are thrilled to provide you with more details about the 14 February relaunch of the enhanced Investment Foundations Certificate.
The goal of the Investment Foundations Certificate remains the same: to provide an overview of the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles, giving learners a clear understanding of the global investment industry, including terminology and foundational concepts. Learners develop competence by understanding industry functions, relationships, and their role and professional responsibilities, helping them see where they fit within their firms and the broader investment industry. The course material will continue to be especially relevant for those aspiring to—or currently working within—support roles across the investment and finance industries, including those in marketing, sales, project management, human resources, IT, and legal.
How we are delivering the content, however, has changed to better serve the needs of candidates and employers. The curriculum is made up of self-paced, online course work and reflects a variety of study materials, including text, videos, assessments, graphs, discussion prompts, and interactive content. New content covering fintech, DEI, ethics, and ESG issues in investing brings the curriculum up to date.
In addition to improving the learning experience, we have also updated the certificate assessment. Learners are now assessed throughout the certificate learning experience, in addition to the end-of-certificate assessment. Additionally, learners will not need to schedule a final exam or attend a test center and can complete the entirety of the certificate within the online learning experience.
Additional requirements and details follow:
- Format: self-paced, online
- Time commitment: 60–90 hours
- Assessment: a 140-minute, 100-question online final assessment
- Registration window: Complete the course work and assessment within 12 months of registration
- Cost: USD 350
- Recognition: Successfully pass each course to earn a course-level digital badge; complete all six courses and final assessment to earn the Investment Foundations Certificate and digital badge
We have begun informing our stakeholders of this relaunch, and marketing efforts for the new Investment Foundations Certificate will kick off this month.
Introducing the Inside Track Virtual Information Series
The Global Society Relations team is excited to share a new learning opportunity exclusive to our society leaders and staff. Hosted by subject matter experts from CFA Institute, Inside Track sessions will walk you through the latest developments in our flagship products.
In our inaugural virtual sessions held on 31 January and 2 February, we gave an overview of new Investment Foundations Certificate, a preview of our marketing plans, and answered your questions. You can access a session recording and presentation deck on Society Center (Candidates tile > Investment Foundations Certificate).
Promotional Resources
To help you understand the learning program and begin promoting the certificate to your audiences, we have developed a suite of resources, including
- a one-page promotional flyer (PDF)
- a pitch deck (PPT) to help you speak to the benefits of the certificate to institutional partners
- an overview of learning goals and topics (PDF)
- learning outcome statements (PDF)
- FAQs (doc) that we will update with your questions
- a society marketing toolkit
- a demo of the experience
We look forward to working with you as we relaunch this valuable offering.
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