Previously known as Claritas, the Investment Foundations Program by CFA Institute was paused in December 2021 for a product refresh.
Since then, a new, enhanced version of the Investment Foundations Certificate was launched globally.
With the same educational objective as before, it now has an enhanced, self-paced online experience, requiring only 60-90 hours of study for a small fee.
Assuming it is suitable for your career situation and objective, it is something you can even register for right now, study and complete the online exam from the comfort of your own home.
Curious about the CFA Investment Foundations Program? Read on to find out more!
Awarded by CFA Institute, the CFA Investment Foundations Program is a comprehensive online certification that provides a fundamental understanding of the global investment industry.
Originally launched in 2013 as Claritas Investment Certificate (and later renamed), this self-study course is specifically designed for all support professionals in finance and investment industries, such as IT, HR, operations, project management, accounting, legal, administration, strategy marketing. It is also suitable for those without finance backgrounds who aspire to be in front office roles.
In fact, the Investment Foundations certificate was launched to fill a gap in the industry. For every investment decision maker, there are 9 other people working alongside them coming from different disciplines.
This group of professionals may not have had any formal investment training, but would greatly benefit from some foundational investment knowledge in their day-to-day role – non-investment decision-makers need to know their stuff too!
To date, there are more than 50,000 Investment Foundation Certificate holders from more than 100 countries. The program has received solid feedback so far from candidates and employers, with:
CFA Investment Foundations is a self paced, 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, strategy, 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:
What’s different from other typical finance designations is that in this new Investment Foundations Certificate, candidates are assessed throughout the certificate learning experience via coursework, in addition to the final assessment.
There are end of module and end of course (2 retakes max) questions after each corresponding module or course is completed. This continuous check on candidate’s readiness before allowing the final online exam to be taken is likely to increase the pass rates.
The Investment Foundations exam can be taken online once certain conditions are met, and within 12 months of the registration date.
Once the online exam is completed, preliminary results are provided instantly. Upon successfully passing the final examination, candidates can claim a digital badge and the Investment Foundations Certificate.
According to UK NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre of the United Kingdom), the Investment Foundations Certificate is benchmarked as a Level 3 qualification under UK Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).
This means that in terms of difficulty, Investment Foundations qualification is comparable to post-secondary education training or specialised secondary level education (e.g. ‘A’ Level).
As an introductory course into investment management for non-investment decision makers, Investment Foundations is unsurprisingly relatively easier compared to other financial designations such as CFA, CAIA, FRM.
Here’s a quick summary comparing other financial qualifications’ difficulty under RQF (with PhD programs being Level 8 as a benchmark):
| Qualification | Comparable UK RQF Level | Difficulty Equivalent to |
|---|---|---|
| CFA Investment Foundations | Level 3 | Post-secondary education training or specialised secondary level education (e.g. ‘A’ Level) |
| Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and Certificate in ESG Investing | Level 4 | Certificate of Higher Education, or the first year of a Bachelor’s degree |
| CFA Level 1 | Level 5 | Diploma of Higher Education |
| CFA Level 2 | Level 6 | Bachelor’s degree |
| Certificate in Investment Performance Management (CIPM) | Level 6 | Bachelor’s degree |
| CFA Level 3 | Level 7 | Master’s degree |
| Financial Risk Manager (FRM) | Level 7 | Master’s degree |
In addition to the (zero) fees, what makes Investment Foundations certificate really attractive is the relatively high pass rates.
82% of the candidates passed the first Claritas exam, and CFA Institute expects the CFA Investment Foundations’ pass rates to be around 60-85% on average.
That said, we expect this new, enhanced Investment Foundations certificate to be on the higher end of this pass rate range as the continuous assessment throughout the course also contributes to the overall score. With a maximum of 3 retakes for the questions at the end of each of the 6 courses, this should improve the pass rates significantly as the constant testing of knowledge is present throughout the course before the final exam.
The investment Foundations Certificate does a great job in covering a breadth of topics in 6 courses that serves as a good overview of the investment industry.
The topics areas, in-depth description and exam weights are as below:
| CFA Investment Foundations Topics | Description |
|---|---|
| Industry Overview and Structure | This chapter gives a broad overview of the financial services sector, in particular the investment industry. It focuses on how the investment industry works, its participants and the benefits it brings to society when well regulated and done ethically. |
| Type 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. |
| Investment Instruments | This module provides a good introduction to quantitative concepts key to understanding the various main asset classes: equities, bond (fixed income), derivatives and alternative investments. |
| Investment Inputs & Tools | This is an important chapter explaining how the (economic) world works, on a micro and macro level. Candidates will learn about microeconomics, macroeconomics, international trade and financial statements. |
| Serving Client Needs | This topic is all about the process of understanding your client’s circumstances and investment needs, so their investments can be risk-managed and allocated in the right way. You’ll also learn about performance evaluation to keep track of investment performance. |
| Serving the Greater Good | An introduction to the benefits, key concepts, and approaches to ESG investing and its link to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). 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. |
The CFA Investment Foundations Certificate is online and costs US$ 350, including the curriculum. This includes six courses and final assessment, which are required to earn program-level certification.
Although there is a limited range of third party study materials, using the curriculum itself is sufficient to pass the exam. If you didn’t pass the final exam, you can only retake the exam twice.
If it is suitable for you and fits your career objectives, it is an unbelievably good value-for-money course to complete to boost your CV. All you need is an internet connection to register and start studying now!
As it is an online-only program, candidates can sit for the Investment Foundations exams throughout the year.
Exam registration limits and number of attempts:
Given its objective and target audience, the Investment Foundations Certificate is open to all, with no education or experience requirements.
The course is really approachable and designed for the many different people in the financial services industry who are not directly involved in analysing or making investment decisions, with no prior knowledge assumed.
Candidates who successfully pass the online exam can claim a digital badge and earn the Investment Foundations Certificate.
Given CFA Institute’s brand cachet and Investment Foundations’ international recognition, this qualification can be particularly useful for:
By completing and earning the Investment Foundations Certificate, you can expect to:
There is often confusion between Investment Foundations Certificate and IMC (Investment Management Certificate), of which the latter is a threshold qualification for aspiring financial services professionals run by CFA UK.
Let’s clarify this: the key difference is target audience and to a lesser extent, geography.
In short, IMC is UK-only, more regulatory-focused and intended for people who work in front office (involved in investment decision making).
On the other hand, Investment Foundations is more suitable for people who work in the middle and back office and even in related industries like professional services (e.g. lawyers working with financial services clients).
Here’s a quick summary table comparing Investment Foundations vs. IMC:
| CFA Investment Foundations | Investment Management Certificate (IMC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Geographical focus | Global | Global (with remote-proctoring) |
| Objective | To provide an accessible, foundation-level program for anyone wishing to enter or advance within the investment management industry. To supply successful candidates with a common understanding of industry structure and terminology, regardless of job function or geographic location. | Designed as the benchmark entry-level qualification into the UK investment profession.Delivers the threshold competency knowledge required by investment practitioners involved in portfolio management, research analysis, and other front office investment activities. |
| Topics Covered | The Investment Foundations syllabus consists of 6 courses covering the essentials of finance, ethics and investment roles. More details here. | IMC covers topics including economics, accounting, investment practice, regulation, and ethics.The content is global, with the addition of a distinct chapter on UK taxation. |
| Target Audience | The course is designed for professional disciplines supporting investment roles and requires no prior educational or industry experience. Candidates are typically drawn from areas such as operations, administration, IT, HR, marketing, sales, PR, compliance and customer service. | Often sat by university graduates and entry level professionals in the investment industry. Pursued by individuals across all areas of the investment sector and over half of candidates are actively involved in front office investment activities including portfolio management, research, investment consulting, risk management and relationship management. Most investment firms ask their employees to take the IMC to demonstrate the competency of their front office staff to the regulator. |
As you may know, the CFA charter is a Master’s degree equivalent designation that focuses more on portfolio management at its highest level.
On the other hand, Investment Foundations is an online certification equivalent to “A Level” that focuses on a foundational knowledge in investment management suitable for non-investment roles.
Both qualifications are quite distinct in its objectives, therefore we hope the answer is clearer here:
Here’s a quick summary comparing both qualifications:
| CFA Investment Foundations | CFA Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Suited For | Non-investment decision making roles associated with the finance industry, such as IT, HR, legal, operations, customer service, accounting etc (typically middle or back office). | Finance professionals in a role that makes or advises investment decisions (typically front office) |
| Entry requirements | None. This course is designed to be accessible to all. | Have a bachelor’s degree; or Final year undergraduate of a bachelor’s program; or Have a combination of college degree and full time work experience that totals 4,000 hours. |
| Number of Exams | 1 | 3 levels (fastest route is in 18 months, although the average is 4 years to complete) |
| Exam Frequency | Online exam can be done anytime all year round. Maximum 2 attempts a year. | CFA exams are now computer-based with increased frequency: Level 1: 4x a year, in Feb, May, Aug and Nov. Level 2: 3x a year, May, Aug and Nov. Level 3: 2x a year in May and Aug. |
| Exam Format | 100 multiple-choice questions, online unproctored exam. | Level 1: Multiple choice questions Level 2: Item set questions (multiple choice) Level 3: Item set and constructed-response questions |
| Topics studied | 6 courses, focusing on ethics, and a high-level overview of the financial and investment industry. Non-technical, no calculations required. | 10 topics per level, with in-depth focus on ethics as well as technical coverage of the majority of investment instruments. Definitely has calculations involved. |
| Pass Rates | Estimated to be 80% or more | The range of CFA pass rates since 2010: Level 1: 22%-43% Level 2: 39%-47% Level 3: 46%-56% |
| Fees and Costs | $350 for 6 courses and online exam. | – One-off Enrollment Fee: $350 – Registration fee (per level): $940-$1,390 – Retakes: same as registration fee Total CFA exam minimum cost: ~US$ 3,170 |
| Study Hours Needed | 60-90 hours | At least 300 hours per level |
| Post Exam Requirements | To become an Investment Foundations certificate holder, all you have to do is pass the online exam to claim your digital badge and printed certificate. | To become a CFA charterholder: – Pass all the 3 levels of CFA exams; – 4 years of qualified investment work experience; – Submit reference letters for 2-3 professional references; – Become a regular member of CFA Institute; – Adhere to CFA ethics and professional conduct. |
Overall, the Investment Foundations certificate provides financial services professionals working in non-investment roles a great opportunity to upgrade their knowledge base about the global investment industry. It offers an unbeatable value as it is a free, high quality online certification with global recognition that requires relatively low time investment.
So if you’re currently student, working in an investment-supporting function, or just aiming for a career in investment management in general, CFA Investment Foundations can be a cost effective way to add a valuable credential to your CV.
Any questions? Let us know in the comments below!
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View Comments
what is the worth of Investment Foundation Certificate to someone who has passed the CFA Level-I exam.
I think CFA Level 1 (and the CFA program itself) is a level higher than IMC, so I'd say it wouldn't make sense to have an IMC once you have passed CFA L1.
Thanks
Hello! If the exam is online, am I required to purchase a personal laptop or a work laptop is allowed considering there are many restrictions when using a work laptop. If I cannot afford to buy a personal laptop as of the moment, what alternatives do I have?
Thank you.
Hi Fayye, it may be worth trying with a company laptop first to see if it works. If not a public library computer should work for educational purposes.
I've registered for the level 1 August 2023 attempt, Can I also register for the CFA foundation exam in Feb 2023?
Good day,
Kindly share the dates for the next registration for CFA Investment foundation program.
I am not found how to register for it, it only shows I am not registered for this exam how to register in 2022?
Do you know what are some good alternatives to the CFA Foundations for IT professionals in the finance supporting roles?
Hi Rada, IMC (Investment Management certificate) is a good alternative to check out as it builds a good foundation in investment management. We wrote a guide on it, check it out!
Since the CFA Institute has stopped accepting new registrations since Dec. 17th, do we just have to wait till they come up with the new offering? Do you have any idea as to when that will be?
I think they now charging $300 for one year valid. no more free
Hi Laura, yes unfortunately that's the case. But rest assured we will let you know once CFA Institute has provided more visibility on this front!
I think now its fee paying $300
any update Sophie regarding this ?
Sorry Ashish, nothing so far from CFA Institute. Rest assured we will keep you guys posted if we hear anything on this article!
Hi, when the Investment foundation program registration will start? I am unable to rgister, can't see the options to enroll, it is end of july, will it take a long?
Hi Kunal, as disclosed at the top of the article, CFA Institute has recently discontinued Investment Foundations program.
Hi..I have registered for the investment foundation and and the final date for my exam is in January but I am not well prepared and ready to write,how do I postpone it to the next exam?
I don't think you can postpone your Investment Foundations exam if your deadline has run out. Sorry.
I am unable to click on the attempt 1 tab only for the final exam. What to do?
Investment Foundations are going through some changes so this might be related to it. It's best to get in touch with CFA Institute to check - contact details here: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/utility/phone-numbers
hi
So basically once registered with the cfa investment foundation, after 30 days we get access to the 2 mock tests in which we have to score 70
% or higher respectively and then we get the final exam right?
That's how it was before CFA Institute took it off for individual candidates, yes. I believe the format is still largely the same.