Financial Markets Certificate

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.

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:

1. Financial Markets Concepts
2. Financial Markets Transactions
3. Risk Management Principles
4. 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 elective unit can be taken as a stand alone unit. This unit examines Australian power markets and 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.

Download Foreign Exchange Markets unit outline PDF.

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.

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:

• Graduate Certificate of Finance
• Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance
• Master of Applied Finance.

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday 6 December 2024
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday 12 December 2024
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday 19 December 2024

Register for Term 1

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday 14 February 2025
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday 20 February 2025
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday 27 February 2025

Register for Term 2

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday 11 April 2025
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday 17 April 2025
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday 24 April 2025

Register for Term 3

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday 6 June 2025
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday 12 June 2025
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday 19 June 2025

Register for Term 4

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday 1 August 2025
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday 7 August 2025
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday 14 August 2025

Register for Term 5

Important dates:

• RPL Applications Close for the term: Friday, 26 September 2025
• AFMA Academic RPL Challenge Test FMC Deadline: Thursday, 2 October 2025
• Academic RPL Challenge Test FMT Deadline: Thursday, 9 October 2025

Register for Term 6