Investment Foundations (For Exams in 2026)

Investment Foundations

Investment Foundations will provide learners with an overview of the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles, providing a clear understanding of the global investment industry including terminology and foundational concepts. This series of courses is designed for those aspiring to, or currently working within, support roles across the investment and finance industries. It will benefit those in roles such as marketing, sales, project management, human resources, IT, and legal through better understanding of the industry, facilitating communication with colleagues, and advancing in one’s career.

Modular Structure

- Six courses

- 60-90 hours of total study time

- Online, 100 multiple-choice question final assessment

Program structure

• Course 1: Industry Overview and Structure

  An introduction to 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.

  
  

• Course 2: Types and Functioning of Markets

  An introduction to primary and secondary markets and how they operate.

  You will also be introduced to decentralized finance, the concept of investment vehicles, how they are structured, and how those structures serve investors.

  
  

• Course 3: Investment Instruments

  An introduction to the types and characteristics of primary investment instruments, including equity securities (stocks), debt securities (bonds), alternative investments, and derivatives.

  
  

• Course 4: Investment Inputs and Tools

  Enhanced understanding of how investment professionals identify relevant information and how the analysis of that information affects their investment and financing decisions.

  
  

• Course 5: Serving Client Needs

  An introduction to how investment firms serve clients' investment needs and examine risk considerations and management. You will also learn how portfolio performance evaluation enables investment professionals and their clients to better understand sources of risks and returns.

  
  

• Course 6: Serving the Greater Good

  An introduction to the benefits, key concepts, and approaches to ESG investing and its link to DEI. You will also learn how ethical dilemmas that arise in practice within and beyond each of these elements can be addressed through an ethical decision-making framework.