(formerly known as the General Certificate Programme - GCP)

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMME  |  DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMME

Course Overview

Established for over 30 years as THE qualification for the fixed income market, the IFID training programme puts emphasis on developing practical skills for trading, investment and risk management. The IFID is a proven, internationally recognised, standard of competence that can be embedded into employers’ appraisal requirements to ensure that staff are fully up-to-date with technical developments in the fixed income markets. 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 a second-level 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

Click here to download the detailed IFID syllabus.

Target Audience

The training programme is primarily intended for client or market facing positions in fixed income within a bank or fund management company, although it is becoming increasingly popular with middle office and operations managers who require greater product and market knowledge. The course is open to ICMA Members and non-members.

Course format

Offered in two formats:

• in a 1-week on-site Residential course
• in a Distance Learning format

Both formats entitle registered candidates to access the IFID course hosted on a Wiley Plus platform. Couriered packages are sent to all candidates allowing access to our On-line Campus for course preparation. In addition, the new delivery platform also provides candidates with a fully bound, soft cover book of the entire IFID content to augment the On-line Campus.

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.

IFID Update and Programme Recognition

The IFID was completely updated as of 1 May 2009 and represents current and authoritative content for its topics.

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 30 credit hours under the guidelines of the CFA Institute Continuing Education Programme.

Existing CFA Charterholders, Members and candidates also qualify for ICMA member discount. CFA Members and candidates who would like to take advantage of this reduced rate are required to email their CFA Charterholder, candidate or membership number to David Senior directly after registering.

ICMA, in association with the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) of Hong Kong, has announced that any holders of either the International Fixed Income and Derivatives (IFID) Certificate Programme or the Operations Certificate Programme (OCP) can apply to be a TMA Associate Member, provided that they have passed the examination on the Code of Conduct and Practice of the TMA (Elementary Level). The TMA ‘Associate Member’ status is part of the new Primary Qualification Framework (PQF), which was recently put in place in Hong Kong.

IFID certificate holders

The names of the successful candidates from previous examinations are included in our list of certificate holders. Profiles of delegates can also be found on the respective Residential and Distance Learning course pages.