International Fixed Income and Derivatives (IFID) Programme I C M A C E N T R E T H E B U S I N E S S S C H O O L F O R F I N A N C I A L M A R K E T S
Course Overview Established for over 30 years as THE qualification for the fixed income market, the IFID programme puts emphasis on developing practical skills for trading, investment and risk management. This is a demanding, examined course aimed at developing a broad and in-depth knowledge of the key fixed income instruments, derivatives and markets. The syllabus contains five topic sections: Fixed income analysis Rates trading and hedging Structured securities Credit analysis and products Portfolio & risk management. As an intermediate qualification, the IFID certificate syllabus requires that the candidates should already have some familiarity with the below listed topics (note that Background Reading is provided on the below topics for those who wish some reading on any of the topics): Fundamental Numerical Skills Overview of Financial Markets and Participants The Main Fixed Income Securities The IFID was completely updated as of 1 May 2009 and represents current and authoritative content for its topic areas. Programme Recognition The IFID programme is a "Recommended Exam" on the FSSC (Financial Service Skills Council, United Kingdom) Wholesale Banking list for people working and advising in Securities and Derivatives, and it has also met the FSSC's Key 2 "Appropriate Exam" standards for activities: 'Advising on Derivatives and 'Advising on Securities. IFID candidates also qualify for 29.5 credit hours under the guidelines of CFA Institute Continuing Education Programme. I found the IFID Certificate extremely relevant and very satisfying and one of the only courses available with such a market orientation focus. Kim Andersen, Portfolio Manager, Danmarks Nationalbank
ICMA Education combines a top calibre academic faculty and financial practitioners from the huge ICMA membership base to deliver world class and intellectually stimulating training. By blending input from the banking sector and academic world, I believe the IFID syllabus provides candidates a comprehensive understanding of cash and derivative fixed income securities and their markets. It is a well respected training programme, having gained strong regulatory recognition. IFID has obtained appropriate exam status at the retail and more recently recommended exam status at the wholesale level for securities and derivatives within the United Kingdom. Brian Lawson, Co-Head Equity and Fixed Income Syndicate, Nomura International plc Course Content and Format Course Format The IFID is available in two formats: Residential 1-week course twice a year, in April and October Distance Learning Total flexibility as candidates work in their own time (subject to a six month exam deadline) Both formats entitle registered candidates to access the On-line Campus for course preparation. Candidates will be awarded the ICMA IFID Certificate upon successful completion of the IFID examination, which is jointly granted by ICMA and the University of Reading. Course Content 1. Fixed Income Analysis 1.1. Bond markets, pricing and yield 1.2. Yield curve dynamics 1.3. Spot and forward yields 1.4. Interest rate futures 1.5. Interest rate risk 4. Credit Analysis And Products 4.1. Corporate bond analysis 4.2. Credit derivatives 4.3. Structured credit products 5. Portfolio and Risk Management 5.1. Portfolio Construction 5.2. Risk Management Target Audience The programme was designed for persons in an analytical or trading and investment role at a either a bank or investment management firm. It has also become popular with companies that provide services to the financial markets such as consultants, financial IT service companies and exchanges and central securities depositories. The course is open to ICMA Members and non-members. 2. Rates, Trading And Hedging 2.1. Securities financing 2.2. Outright and spread trading 2.3. Bond futures 2.4. Swaps 2.5. Options structures, pricing and risks 2.6. Introduction to exotic options 3. Structured Securities 3.1. Callable/putable bonds 3.2. Convertible bonds 3.3. Inflation-linked bonds 3.4. OTC structures
www.icmagroup.org www.icmacentre.ac.uk/icma_executive_education Programme Director and Speakers Programme Director John D. Evans CFA is a full-time member of the academic staff of the ICMA Centre, University of Reading and is also Programme Director for the Centre s MSc Investment Management. He is also Programme Director for the ICMA IFID and Foundation Course certificate programmes. Prior to academia, John spent twenty years in the fixed income market in Toronto, New York and London in areas of research, origination and sales and trading. Online Campus Tutor Gail Rolland has ten years of fixed income experience in London and New York in the areas of sales and trading and new product structuring. Since the mid-1990s she has worked with ICMA Professional Education in addition to running her own financial markets training firm and has particular expertise in advising to the insurance industry on capital market investment strategies. Expert Speakers Dr Andy Bevan graduated with a first class BA in economics from Reading University in 1978 and was awarded a PhD in international monetary economics from City University in 1986. Andy started his career in the markets in 1978 and in 1994 was appointed Director of International Bond Research at Goldman Sachs in London and later becoming Managing Director and Head of Global Markets Research in 2000. He retired from this post joining Fulcrum Asset Management as Research Director in May, 2006. Andy is also a part-time lecturer at the ICMA Centre teaching courses in fixed income. Mr David Oakes trained as an economist at the London School of Economics and was lecturer in finance at the University of Exeter and Warwick Business School before joining the ICMA Centre at the University of Reading as Director of Academic and Professional Education in 1998. He co-ordinated ICMA professional education programmes from 1994-2004. David left the Centre in 2004 to set up Dauphin Financial Training Limited, which specialises in advanced financial markets training to investment banks in New York. Neil Schofield is a Visiting Fellow at the ICMA Centre and principal for FMT Limited a UK-based firm that specializes in providing training in financial markets. He lectures on both the MSc degrees at the Centre and also with ICMA Executive Education. Previously, he was Global Head of Financial Markets training at Barclays Capital. He holds a BSc in Economics from Loughborough University and an MBA from Manchester Business School. He was elected as a Fellow of the IFS School of Finance (formerly the Chartered Institute of Bankers) in 1999. Neil is author of the book Commodity Derivatives' published by Wiley in November 2007. Dr Philip Xu is a visiting lecturer teaching interest rate modelling, fixed income securities and investment management at the ICMA Centre. His research focuses on pricing and risk management of fixed income investment strategies as well as credit derivatives. Philip is a hedge fund manager at Mount Capital Ltd in London focusing on Macro and Relative Value strategies. He previously worked with Credit Suisse with responsibility for oversight of the bank s hedge fund investments. Prior to joining the ICMA Centre, he worked as a structured finance analyst at LTCB and also as a credit analyst for Citigroup.
www.icmagroup.org www.icmacentre.ac.uk/icma_executive_education Course Information and Registration Fees Residential: 3,500 for Members and 4,550 for non-members. Discounts: 2 to 4 candidates 5% discount each* 5 to 9 candidates 10% discount each* 10+ candidates 15% discount each* *Please note that discounts are applied by way of a refund to the organisation when registration has closed and the final number of candidates from the firm has been determined. Further Information and Course Registration To register please use our online registration system: www.icmacentre.ac.uk/exec_registration/ Should you have any queries about the seminar or your registration please contact: John D Evans Head of ICMA Executive Education Email: ifid@icmacentre.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)118 378 6498 Distance Learning: 1,000 for Members and 1,300 for non-members. ICMA Executive Education For many years ICMA has made investment in executive education for the financial markets a priority. ICMA courses are administered and overseen by the ICMA Centre at the University of Reading. All are recognised as certificates of competence in the capital markets and are successfully completed by large numbers of international participants each year. The Association s four certificate programmes are: Financial Markets Foundation Course (FMFC) International Fixed Income and Derivatives (IFID) Certificate Operations Certificate Programme (OCP) Primary Market Certificate (PMC) In addition, there are many specialised courses offered in the areas of both products and markets and operations.
ICMA Centre The ICMA Centre at Henley Business School, University of Reading has an international reputation for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education for the financial markets. Established in 1991 with funding provided by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) in Zurich, the Centre is housed in a purpose-built modernist building with state-of-the-art facilities including three dealing rooms. The Centre recently celebrated the opening of its new extended facilities funded by a 5m donation from ICMA which includes an additional flagship 40-seat dealing room sponsored by Thomson Reuters. The International Capital Market Association The International Capital Market Association is the self-regulatory organisation and trade association representing constituents and practitioners in the international capital market worldwide. ICMA s members are located in 48 countries across the globe, including all the world s main financial centres, and currently number some 400 firms in total. ICMA performs a crucial central role in the market by providing and enforcing a self-regulatory code of industry-driven rules and recommendations which regulate issuance, trading and settlement in international fixed income and related instruments. ICMA liaises closely with regulatory and governmental authorities, both at the national and supranational level, to ensure that financial regulation promotes the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the capital market. The IFID programme is co-sponsored by CFA Institute. CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has nearly 100,000 members, who include the world s 84,136 CFA charterholders, in 131 countries and territories, as well as 136 affiliated professional societies in 57 countries and territories. International Capital Market Association Talacker 29 PO Box CH-8022 Zurich Switzerland Tel: +41 44 363 4222 Fax: +41 44 363 7772 Email: education@icmagroup.org www.icmagroup.org International Capital Market Association Limited 7 Limeharbour Docklands London E14 9NQ, UK Tel: +44 20 7538 5656 Fax: +44 20 7538 4902 Email: education@icmagroup.org www.icmagroup.org ICMA Centre Henley Business School University of Reading Whiteknights Reading RG6 6BA, UK Tel: +44 (0)118 378 8239 Fax: +44 (0)118 931 4741 Email: ifid@icmacentre.ac.uk www.icmacentre.ac.uk Designed & printed by The PD Group www.thepdgroup.com