Financial Markets Certificate brochure
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A key to professional recognition
In partnership with the Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA), our Financial Markets Certificate provides a benchmark industry-based qualification.
This course is for:
- financial markets professionals who require accreditation and either want to learn more about finance or are interested in pursuing more senior roles
- individuals who do not work directly in finance but who require financial markets knowledge and skills.
If you do not work for an AFMA member firm, you must have at least two years’ professional work experience or an undergraduate degree in order to apply. You can enrol in one or all of the six units.
Program Overview
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Key course details
Study options
Part-time
Online
Fees 2024
AFMA member firms
$1515 (per unit)
$6060 (complete program)
General public
$1695 (per unit)
$6780 (complete program)
Recognition of Prior Learning Challenge Test 2024
Pathways | Cost per unit |
---|---|
AFMA member firms | $756 |
General public | $847 |
Course outcomes
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
- critically assess the functions of financial markets and their environments to evaluate the implications for all relevant stakeholders
- analyse financial market products, their relevance, and how to execute transactions in accordance with relevant regulation and within a risk management framework
- evaluate ethical issues and develop relevant actions using the AFMA ethical decision-making framework
- apply skills in a specified product area, selected from debt, energy or foreign exchange
- interact appropriately with clients and colleagues by using effective communication skills.
Course structure
There are six terms per year, and each of the six units (three core units and three elective units) are offered each term.
The minimum estimated workload for each unit is 75 hours. This estimate includes time spent completing unit readings and working on assessments. Studying two units simultaneously is not recommended.
You must complete four units (three core units and one elective unit) sequentially, over the course of four terms and within 18 months in order to qualify for the Financial Markets Certificate and apply for your accreditation. We cannot issue the certificate if this timeframe is exceeded unless an exception is approved by the program director.
Units must be taken in the following order:
- Financial Markets Concepts
- Financial Markets Transactions
- Risk Management Principles
- Your choice of elective.
Core modules
You will need to complete all three core modules.
1. Financial Markets Concepts
This unit provides a broad overview of the Australian ‘over-the-counter’ and exchange-traded financial markets. It introduces financial market sectors, participants, and the economic environment. Participants will assess how the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policies and the business cycle affect the money, bond, and FX markets.
Leading economic indicators and their effects on economic output and financial markets are also examined. Participants will analyse longer-term macroeconomic developments and their effect on financial markets such as inflation targeting and quantitative easing.
Download Financial Markets Concepts unit outline PDF.
2. Financial Markets Transactions
This unit provides an overview of the financial products traded in financial markets.
Participants will:
- identify the underlying key features of products, who uses them and how and why they are used.
- examine the deal lifecycle of a financial transaction to gain an appreciation of how to execute transactions and to recognise that institutions have their own specific requirements.
- review, through the lens of regulatory frameworks, ongoing requirements of a general nature that govern how market participants should conduct themselves.
We evaluate issues using professional codes of conduct and ethical principles.
Download Financial Markets Transactions unit outline PDF.
3. Risk Management Principles
This unit examines the risk landscape of financial markets in Australia and the principles that influence how this risk is managed.
Participants will:
- evaluate ethical issues and apply the AFMA professional code of conduct and ethical decision-making framework to develop suitable actions.
- examine the principles and practices used by institutions to manage financial market risks, and also the risk management services provided to clients by financial institutions.
This unit will outline the global risk management frameworks for banks and securities firms, and consider the risk management process defined in the international risk management standard and its application to financial markets and the risks arising in the deal lifecycle. Participants will discuss the controls used to manage these risks, including the client suitability framework applied by financial institutions to assess and manage clients.
Download Risk Management Principles unit outline PDF.
Elective units
You will need to select one of the following three units to complete.
Debt Markets
This unit provides the foundational knowledge and skills required to work effectively in debt financial markets, within both regulatory and organisational requirements.
You will be equipped with an understanding of:
- how debt markets operate
- the primary debt products and how they are used by market participants
- the processes for developing risk management strategies, pricing transactions, and managing trading exposures.
Participants will learn to evaluate ethical issues and apply the AFMA professional code of conduct and ethical decision-making framework to develop suitable actions.
Download Debt Markets unit outline PDF.
Energy Financial Markets
This unit examines Australian power markets. The unit describes:
- the establishment and development of the national physical electricity market in Australia
- the resultant development of a financial market to manage the risks faced by its participants
- the different financial market products available, along with their use and applications.
This unit includes an exploration of the gas and environmental markets in Australia. It also examines changes occurring in the local power industry, pricing benchmarks and trading, and the impact of renewables.
Participants will learn to evaluate ethical issues and apply the AFMA professional code of conduct and ethical decision-making framework to develop suitable actions.
Download Energy Financial Markets unit outline PDF.
Foreign Exchange Markets
This unit provides participants with a core framework of knowledge of the functioning of the foreign exchange (FX) market, the fundamental trading, advising and risk management skills.
The unit outlines:
- the structure of the FX market
- the pricing and usage of various FX instruments
- strategies to manage FX exposures and provide appropriate advice to clients
- developments in global FX markets, including new global principles of good conduct in the foreign exchange market.
Unit delivery
Unit content is available on our custom-built online learning platform. You will have access to discussion forums where you can ask facilitators questions throughout the term.
Assessments include:
- online quizzes
- online participation
- short answer questions/exercises
- a report/case study.
An ethics component is incorporated into the core units Financial Markets Transactions and Risk Management Principles, as well as each of the elective units.
Pathway programs
Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive their Financial Markets Certificate, a digital microcredential issued by Macquarie University.
This is a key step toward gaining your AFMA accreditation, or a Macquarie University postgraduate degree.
Pathway to AFMA accreditation
Participants from AFMA member firms who successfully complete the Financial Markets Certificate will satisfy the education precondition for AFMA accreditation.
The next step is to contact AFMA and apply for AFMA Accredited Status (member firm endorsement required).
Soon after you receive your final results from Macquarie Business School, AFMA will communicate with all eligible individuals regarding next steps in the application process.
If you do not hear from AFMA within 10 working days of your results being released (and you believe you are eligible), contact education@afma.com.au.
Operations accreditation
If you work in an operations role for an AFMA member organisation you will be eligible to apply for AFMA Accredited (Operations) Status (member firm endorsement required).
To obtain this status, you are only required to complete the three core units with Macquarie University.
Note: the Financial Markets Certificate will only be issued after completion of four units (three core units and one elective).
For further enquiries, or to commence the application process, contact education@afma.com.au.
Pathway to Macquarie postgraduate studies
The Financial Markets Certificate program provides partial credit toward our Graduate Certificate of Finance and, by extension, the Master of Applied Finance.
Each successfully completed unit is worth five credit points (cp) which means you will earn 20cp overall for the certificate.
View our postgraduate finance courses:
Term dates and registrations
We have designed this program to suit busy professionals. Course content is available online, so you can study in your own time, and complemented by workshops designed to reinforce learning.
Each unit involves the following compulsory events:
- a live online welcome session in Week 1
- a live online workshop in Week 4.
If you are unable to attend a welcome session or workshop, you will need to apply for special consideration.
Term 3 2024: 29 April - 9 June (Open for registration)
Important dates:
- RPL Applications Close for the term - Friday 12 April 2024
- AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline - Thursday 18 April 2024
- Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline - Friday 26 April 2024
Unit name | Online welcome session | Online workshop |
---|---|---|
Financial Markets Concepts | Monday 29 April 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Monday 20 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Financial Markets Transactions | Tuesday 30 April 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Tuesday 21 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Risk Management Principles | Thursday 2 May 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Wednesday 22 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Debt Markets | Monday 29 April 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Thursday 23 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Foreign Exchange Markets | Tuesday 30 April 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 24 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Energy Financial Markets | Thursday 2 May 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 24 May 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Term 4 2024: 24 June - 4 August (Open for registration)
Important dates:
- RPL Applications Close for the term - Friday 7 June 2024
- AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline - Thursday 13 June 2024
- Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline - Thursday 20 June 2024
Unit name | Online welcome session | Online workshop |
---|---|---|
Financial Markets Concepts | Monday 24 June 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Monday 15 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Financial Markets Transactions | Tuesday 25 June 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Tuesday 16 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Risk Management Principles | Thursday 27 June 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Wednesday 17 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Debt Markets | Monday 24 June 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Thursday 18 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Foreign Exchange Markets | Tuesday 25 June 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 19 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Energy Financial Markets | Thursday 27 June 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 19 July 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Term 5 2024: 19 August - 29 September (Open for registration)
Important dates:
- RPL Applications Close for the term - Friday 2 August 2024
- AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline - Thursday 8 August 2024
- Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline - Thursday 15 August 2024
Unit name | Online welcome session | Online workshop |
---|---|---|
Financial Markets Concepts | Monday 19 August 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Monday 9 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Financial Markets Transactions | Tuesday 20 August 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Tuesday 10 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Risk Management Principles | Thursday 22 August 2024 5pm – 6pm AEST | Wednesday 11 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Debt Markets | Monday 19 August 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Thursday 12 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Foreign Exchange Markets | Tuesday 20 August 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 13 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Energy Financial Markets | Thursday 22 August 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST | Friday 13 September 2024 10am – 3pm AEST |
Term 6 2024: 14 October - 24 November (Open for registration)
Important dates:
- RPL Applications Close for the term - Friday 27 September 2024
- AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline - Thursday 3 October 2024
- Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline - Thursday 10 October 2024
Unit name | Online welcome session | Online workshop |
---|---|---|
Financial Markets Concepts | Monday 14 October 2024 5pm – 6pm AEDT | Monday 4 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
Financial Markets Transactions | Tuesday 5 November 2024 5pm – 6pm AEDT | Wednesday 6 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
Risk Management Principles | Thursday 17 October 2024 5pm – 6pm AEDT | Wednesday 6 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
Debt Markets | Monday 14 October 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEDT | Thursday 7 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
Foreign Exchange Markets | Tuesday 15 October 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEDT | Friday 8 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
Energy Financial Markets | Thursday 17 October 2024 6.30pm – 7.30pm AEDT | Friday 8 November 2024 10am – 3pm AEDT |
AFMA is proud of its collaboration with MQBS and the quality of the Financial Markets Certificate. Education and accreditation of market practitioners is core to AFMA’s professionalism initiatives.
The course content was relevant, up to date and the course structure was very open and engaging. The content was very applicable to the real-world economy and refers to current economic developments and the broader economic environment.
The Financial Markets Certificate was an excellently run and designed program that provided fundamental working knowledge of financial markets. It has certainly assisted and catalyst my development in a professional manner and I would highly recommend the program to those who wish to further/ascertain a strong knowledge base in this area of focus.