This module brings ethics to life through realistic scenarios and case studies that apply the Code and Standards. You'll practice identifying violations, applying ethical reasoning, and making judgment calls in complex situations. It’s all about turning ethical principles into confident, day-to-day decision-making.
This module introduces the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS), a set of voluntary, ethics-based principles that promote fair and transparent reporting of investment results. You'll learn why GIPS exist, who uses them, and how they help clients compare performance across firms by standardizing calculations, disclosures, and presentation practices.
Standard VII reinforces the duty to uphold the reputation and integrity of the CFA designation. It requires members and candidates to comply with the Code and Standards, avoid any conduct that could harm the CFA Institute, and never misrepresent the meaning or implications of earning or pursuing the CFA charter.
Standard VI addresses the importance of identifying and managing conflicts of interest that could compromise objectivity. It requires full and fair disclosure of any potential conflicts—especially those involving ownership, compensation, or referral arrangements—so that clients and employers can make informed decisions with confidence.
Standard V focuses on maintaining the integrity and quality of investment research and decisions. It requires professionals to base analyses on thorough due diligence, clearly communicate investment recommendations and risks, and retain records that support the investment process. The standard ensures transparency and accountability in all investment actions.
Standard IV outlines the responsibilities investment professionals have toward their employers. It covers the duty of loyalty, maintaining competence, and acting with integrity while on the job. It also addresses proper conduct when leaving a firm and the importance of not misusing employer resources or confidential information.
Standard III emphasizes the fiduciary responsibility investment professionals owe to their clients. It outlines duties such as loyalty, prudence, and care; ensuring fair dealing; preserving confidentiality; and providing suitable, objective advice. This standard reinforces that clients’ interests must always come first.
Standard II protects the fairness and transparency of global capital markets. It focuses on two key areas: Material Nonpublic Information—ensuring analysts don’t misuse inside information—and Market Manipulation—prohibiting practices that distort prices or trading volume. The goal: promote investor confidence by keeping markets level and trustworthy.
Standard I covers the fundamental duty of acting with integrity and professionalism. It sets expectations around knowledge of the law, independence and objectivity, misrepresentation, and misconduct. You'll learn how to navigate conflicts, avoid biased research, and maintain trust in your professional interactions—especially when legal and ethical standards diverge.
This module introduces the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Conduct, the backbone of ethical investment practice. You'll explore the six core ethical responsibilities and seven standards that guide duties to clients, employers, markets, and the profession. Each standard is explained with practical examples to help you apply them in real-world scenarios.
This opening module explains why ethics and trust are foundational to functioning capital markets. It explores how ethical conduct enhances investor confidence, defines professionalism, and reduces systemic risk. You'll also learn to distinguish ethical standards from legal ones, and understand the consequences when fiduciary duty is breached. This sets the tone for the rest of the Ethics curriculum.
Here the curriculum turns to behavioral finance, categorizing cognitive errors and emotional biases that can distort investor decisions. It illustrates common biases (e.g., overconfidence, loss aversion), links them to market anomalies such as momentum and bubbles, and discusses how awareness of these tendencies can improve wealth-management advice. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Focusing on practical implementation, this chapter explains the Investment Policy Statement—its key components, objectives, and constraints—and shows how client information feeds into capital-market expectations, strategic asset allocation, and ESG considerations when assembling portfolios. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
The chapter adopts a portfolio perspective, highlighting diversification benefits and the risk–return trade-off. It walks through the three-step portfolio-management process (planning, execution, feedback), profiles individual and institutional investors, and surveys the structure and current trends of the global asset-management industry. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Building on Part I, this chapter introduces capital-market theory. It derives the Capital Market Line and the Security Market Line, decomposes total risk into systematic and nonsystematic components, develops the CAPM and beta, and presents key risk-adjusted performance measures such as the Sharpe, Treynor, M² and Jensen’s alpha. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
This chapter lays the foundations of modern portfolio theory. It reviews the historical risk-return profile of major asset classes, explains risk aversion and utility, shows how diversification shapes the minimum-variance and efficient frontiers, and demonstrates how investors combine a risk-free asset with risky portfolios to reach an optimal allocation. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Long/short, event, relative-value, macro … Unpack the strategy zoo. Key features: leverage, shorting, derivatives and flexible mandates. Direct vs. fund-of-funds vs. liquid-alt wrappers. Risk/return drivers, common draw-downs and true diversification worth.You’ll finish able to decode any hedge-fund pitch-book in under five minutes.
Timber, farmland, and commodities join the alternatives toolkit. Contrast land-based investments (farmland, timberland) with commodity futures rolls. Dive into supply-and-demand drivers, storage costs and seasonality. Explore inflation-hedging properties and where natural resources fit alongside real estate in the real-asset bucket.Perfect if you’ve ever wondered why soybeans and gold dance to verydifferent macro tunes.
Bricks, mortar & bridges. Compare the cash-flow engines ofincome-producing property and long-lived infrastructure projects. Equity vs. debt vs. REIT structures for property exposure. Greenfield, brownfield and secondary-stage infrastructure—how risk and return step down each stage. Inflation linkage, GDP sensitivity and diversification traits of each sub-asset.After this module you’ll know why toll roads trade like bonds and officesbehave like equities.
From start-ups to leveraged buy-outs. Map the spectrum ofprivate equity (VC, growth, buy-out) and private debt (direct lending,mezzanine, distressed). Key terms: committed vs. called capital, exit routes, GP/LP economics. Risk–return expectations and why valuation lags can mask volatility. Diversification benefits and where private capital slots into a broader portfolio.Essential listening before you quote IRRs at networking drinks.