News Flash
New ACI Exam Titles
The ACI Board of Education has decided that ACI certificate holders will automatically be awarded a title which may be put on their business cards. The ACI education programme represents the highest standards of professionalism and market expertise in the global finan-cial markets. The title reveals that the candidate was successful and that he/she has become a part of the ACI community of excellence.
Certificate holders may use the following titles:
ACI Diploma: ACI Dipl.
ACI Dealing Certificate: ACI DC
ACI Operations Certificate: ACI OC
Candidates who have passed the former ACI Settlements Certificate have the right to use the title ACI OC.
Be proud to be a “MEC”
The ACI Board of Education is seeking nominations from National Associations for member-ship of the new ACI Market Experts Committee (MEC).
In order to maintain ACI’s reputation of industry excellence and the level of distinction in our field, the ACI Board of Education has decided to establish and implement a new ACI Market Experts Committee. The MEC is a subcommittee of the ACI Board of Education similar to the ACI Exam Appeal Committee. The Chairman is Alan Malone from Allied Irish Banks Global Treasury who is also a member of the BOE.
As a gateway between the ACI market practitioners and the ACI education programme, the MEC will play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and quality of ACI’s suite of examina-tions. Each MEC member will be a recognised market expert and primarily responsible for reviewing ACI exam syllabi and test question databases related to his/her field as well as for proposing new exam test questions. Additionally he or she will advise the BOE and the CFP on latest market developments and current best market practice.
Become a “MEC” and be part of a wonderful community called ACI which gives you the op-portunity to network on a global basis and contribute to the professionalism of our young market practitioners.
For more information on the qualification requirements and your duties as a MEC please visit www.aciforex.org where you’ll also find an application form.
Recognition of ACI Operations Certificate by CISI
The ACI Operations Certificate has recently been officially recognized by the Chartered Insti-tute of Securities and Investment CISI, the former Securities Institute, as equivalent to one technical examination of the CISI's Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ).
The IAQ is a practitioner-led programme for administration and operations staff and consists of three examinations. The first examination unit - International Introduction to Securities & Investment - provides candidates with an awareness of the industry; the second and third technical examination units (for which the ACI Operations Certificate can be counted as one examination with the exception of the Global Securities Operations unit) - allow candidates to specialise from a large number of options covering financial services regulation, operations and administration.
Recognition of the ACI Operations Certificate will allow financial services staff taking the IAQ to include foreign exchange and treasury services in their specialism.
It will also allow existing ACI Operations Certificate holders to expand on their qualification and increase their skill set.
For more information on the IAQ see www.cisi.org.iaq
NEW! The ACI Diploma
The ACI – The Financial Markets Association, together with its education partner, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, has revised its suite of qualifying examinations to reflect new developments in the financial markets. After launching the new ACI Operations Certificate in 2008, the ACI Board of Education has now reshaped the ACI Diploma to reflect the increasingly global nature of the markets, as well as the wider skill set now required at the top of the financial markets industry.
The ACI Diploma builds on the ACI Dealing Certificate and the ACI Operations Certificate and is designed to ensure that candidates acquire a superior theoretical and practical knowledge of the foreign exchange and money markets, their related instruments, and the connections between those markets and the practice of risk management. Candidates are expected to have acquired a solid grounding in the core subject areas and have the requisite background in financial mathematics prior to matriculating for the Diploma.
Whereas formerly exam questions for the Diploma were focused on the markets in London and Frankfurt, they have now been extended to encompass developments in Asia and the Americas, ensuring that the examination retains its global relevance. In addition, the new Diploma covers a wider range of topic baskets, including a greater emphasis on risk management in the light of recent developments in global financial markets. In addition to FX and money markets, the new ACI Diploma covers Fixed Income, Options, FRAs, Swaps, as well as both fundamental and technical analysis.
The course of study for the ACI Diploma is designed for:
• senior foreign exchange and money market dealers
• corporate and bank treasurers
• senior operations staff
Attention!: Operations staff who hold the ACI Operations Certificate are now eligible to sit the ACI Diploma, whereas previously the examination was only open to those who held the ACI Dealing Certificate.
There have also been changes to the structure of the Diploma, it now only offers multiple choice questions and calculations. Candidates must now answer 107 questions in three hours and the minimum passing score for each of the nine topics is 50% and a 60% mark overall.
“The new ACI Diploma reflects the changing environment within financial markets,” says Christoph Niggli, Chairman of the ACI Board of Education. “We want to ensure that candidates master all instruments at a theoretical and practical level to ensure they are fully equipped and qualified to meet the challenges of the modern financial markets.”