Curso de Preparación CFA Nivel I

Program Overview

It covers ethical standards, quantitative methods, financial analysis, investment decision-making, and portfolio management. Taught by CFA® Charterholders, the program provides access to exam materials and CFA Society Spain membership. With a focus on global financial markets, the CFA® certification is highly valued in the finance industry.

Program Outline

The program is offered by IQS in collaboration with CFA® Spain.

Objectives:

The course aims to develop the following competencies and skills:

• Apply ethical and professional standards of the financial sector.
• Employ quantitative methods for valuing money over time and assessing risk.
• Make investment and financing decisions.
• Analyze and value fixed income, equity, derivatives, and alternative investment instruments.
• Manage portfolios and assets, planning their construction and monitoring their performance.

Description:

The program is designed for:

• University graduates from any field interested in investment and financial markets.
• Young professionals aiming to enter the financial sector in areas such as investment analysis, stock analysis, capital markets operations, portfolio and wealth management, corporate finance, and financial management.
• Financial professionals with experience in the industry who want to enhance their technical knowledge and advance their careers.

Outline:

Structure:

• The course consists of 60 hours of instruction, delivered in 3-hour sessions on Fridays from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
• The program is delivered in person.
This is the dedication recommended by CFA® Institute for a high chance of success.

Course Schedule:

• Start Date: 10/01/2025
• End Date: 13/06/2025
• Duration: 5 months

Modules:

• Ethical and Professional Standards:
• Covers the CFA® Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, including practical application examples.
• Introduces the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for comparing financial products and reporting systems.
• Quantitative Methods:
• Presents fundamental quantitative methods used throughout the CFA® program, including time value of money and descriptive statistics for risk assessment.
• Covers discrete and continuous probability distributions for explaining random variables and introduces linear regression.
• Economics:
• Explains concepts and tools for analyzing supply and demand, consumer theory, and firm theory.
• Provides tools for understanding product and resource markets and industry competitiveness.
• Covers key macroeconomic concepts, including aggregate supply and demand analysis, factors affecting economic growth, business cycles, fiscal and monetary policies, and the role of central banks and governments in minimizing economic fluctuations.
• Introduces macroeconomic analysis in a global context, explaining flows of goods, services, and capital, and their interaction in international trade.
• Includes the study of foreign exchange markets.
• Financial Reporting and Analysis:
• Describes general principles of financial analysis, types of available information (including financial statements), the accounting process, and applicable regulatory frameworks.
• Delves into the study of the three financial statements: income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.
• Covers various financial analysis techniques in depth.
• Examines different asset and liability categories from a financial analysis perspective, including the impact of accounting policies on financial statements and company ratios.
• Discusses financial reporting quality and its application to analyzing debt and equity assets.
• Explores techniques for analyzing companies and the implications of accounting policies on financial statement quality.
• Corporate Issuers:
• Analyzes principles corporations follow for investment and financing decisions.
• Covers capital budgeting and investments, expected and required rates of return, leverage and its impact on company value and financial statements, and different shareholder remuneration policies.
• Equity Investments:
• Studies the concept of market efficiency and its impact on investment analysis.
• Deepens the understanding of characteristics, analysis, and valuation of equity assets, including sector and competitive analysis.
• Fixed Income:
• Introduces fundamental concepts of fixed income asset analysis, elements defining these assets, different bond types, and calculating prices, yields, and spreads.
• Analyzes market conventions for quoting different assets and the composition of the yield curve.
• Examines various risks associated with fixed income assets, with a focus on interest rate risk and credit risk, and different methods for measuring them.
• Derivatives:
• Explores the increasing importance of derivatives in financial markets for managing risk and gaining exposure to specific asset types through synthetic asset creation.
• Analyzes the conceptual basis of the four types of derivatives: forwards, futures, options, and swaps, and the use of options in risk management.
• Alternative Investments:
• Discusses the growing trend of investors opting for alternative investments to diversify risk and achieve higher returns.
• Describes the characteristics of different alternative investments and their impact on investment decisions, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and commodities.
• Portfolio Management:
• Introduces the foundation for portfolio management, different types of investors, and concepts of return and risk applied to asset valuation and selection.

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods:
• The course combines theoretical concepts with practical exercises and exam questions from the CFA® Level I accreditation.
• Faculty:
• The program is taught by highly qualified professors with CFA® Charterholder certification, provided by CFA® Spain.
• Unique Approaches:
• The course provides access to competitive pricing for exam preparation materials, including the Member Package and Live Package from CFA Society Spain.
• Participants receive a free one-year annual membership to CFA Society Spain.
• Access to events and conferences organized by CFA Society Spain.

Careers:

• The CFA® certification is recognized globally as the most demanding in the field of finance.
• Obtaining the CFA® certification is a differentiating factor in the finance sector due to its high standards of rigor and integrity.
• Major employers of CFA® Charterholders include globally recognized financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, UBS, and others.

Other:

• The course is taught in Spanish, but materials are in English as the exam is conducted in English.
• IQS issues a Certificate of Participation in the CFA® Level I Preparation Course to those who attend at least 80% of the sessions.