CFA Institute Investment Foundations® Program : A Brief Overview

This is an online learning experience offering universal accesibility and inclusivity, helping to further our commitment to build market integrity.
Abhishek Bansal

What Is CFA Investment Foundations® Program (Formerly Claritas)?

This is an online learning experience offering universal accesibility and inclusivity, helping to further our commitment to build market integrity. The program gives those working with investment decision makers a clear understanding of the investment industry, roles and responsibilities, and the vital importance of ethical conduct.

The CFA Institute Investment Foundations Program covers the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles, providing a clear understanding of the global investment industry.

This zero-cost, online learning experience is designed for anyone who wants to enter or advance within the investment management industry, including IT, operations, accounting, administration, and marketing.
To date, there are more than 25,925 Investment Foundation Certificate holders from more than 100 countries. The program has received solid feedback so far from candidates and employers, with:
🔥 93% of certificate holders stating that they have gained a clearer understanding of the investment management industry;
🔥 87% of certificate holders indicating that they would highly recommend the program to others;
🔥 98% of managers (who manage certificate holders at a major asset management firm) would recommend the program.

CFA Investment Foundations In A Nutshell

CFA Investment Foundations is a free online certificate program designed to equip non-investment decision makers with a solid foundation knowledge in investment management. Examples of the target group ideal for this certification are financial services industry professionals working in IT, HR, legal, marketing, operations, administration, accounting and more.

Similar to most other professional designations such as CFA, FRM, CAIA and IMC, Investment Foundations is also a self-directed learning program:
🎯 It is administered in English and all its contents are offered online globally through CFA Institute’s digital learning platform called Learning Ecosystem.
This course is made up of 7 modules, covering the industry’s purpose, ethics and regulation, tools and building blocks, investment securities, industry structure, risk management and client needs.
🎯 It requires around 100 hours of study, for a single online exam that consists of 100 multiple choice questions in 100 minutes.
🎯 The Investment Foundations exam can be taken online once certain conditions are met, and within 6 months of the registration date. Once the exam is completed, preliminary results are provided instantly. Upon successfully passing the final examination, candidates can claim a digital badge and a print certificate.

Topic Areas, Weightings and Curriculum PDF Downloads

The investment Foundations Certificate does a great job in covering a breadth of topics in 7 modules that serves as a good overview of the investment industry.
 
​The topics areas, in-depth description and exam weights are as below:
The Course of Study consists of 20 chapters, organized into seven modules:

Module 1: Industry Overview – 5% topic weight
Chapter 1: The Investment Industry: A Top Down View

Module 2: Ethics and Regulation – 10% topic weight
Chapter 2: Ethics and Investment Professionalism
Chapter 3: Regulation

Module 6: Serving Client Needs – 5% topic weight
Chapter 16: Investors and Their Needs
Chapter 17: Investment Management

Exam Fees & Costs

CFA Institute Investment Foundations® certificate program is free to take.

Exam Schedule & Key Deadlines

As it is an online-only program, candidates can sit for the Investment Foundations exams throughout the year, once certain conditions are met (see below).

Upon registering for the program at CFA Institute, you must meet the following in order to unlock the final exam:
Wait 30 days from the time of registration
👩🏻‍💻 Achieve 70% or better on Mock Exam A
👩🏻‍💻 Achieve 70% or better on Mock Exam B
Exam registration limits and number of attempts:
⭐ Candidates have 180 days (6 months) from date of registration to complete the exam. ​
⭐ Each registration allows 2 attempts to pass. The exam can be repeated without re-registering as long as it is within the 180-day window.
⭐ Candidates can only register twice in a 12-month period.

So this means the fastest time one can complete the Investment Foundations certification is in 1 month, and that there is a maximum of 4 attempts per year (only if applicable!).

Benefits of the CFA Investment Foundations Certification
Given CFA Institute’s brand cachet and Investment Foundations’ international recognition, this qualification can be particularly useful for:

📌 Financial services professionals working in middle or back office, or even lawyers working with financial services clients, who would find the knowledge base beneficial for their day-to-day role.
📌 University students or fresh graduates (with or without finance background) looking to explore a career in finance. This could be a low cost and effort way to learn about the investment industry for free, whilst obtaining a certification that could set you apart from the rest. It could also serve as a stepping stone for other higher level, financial designation such as CFA, FRM or CAIA once you’ve gained a few years working experience in the sector.

 By completing and earning the Investment Foundations Certificate, you can expect to:

💡 Lead with confidence and work better with your colleagues and clients
Gain a fundamental framework and knowledge of the investment industry.
💡 Improve your job performance by gaining an understanding of common global industry standards.
💡 Differentiate yourself and stand out in a competitive global job market.
Abhishek Bansal