Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate

The Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate is designed to give you a foundational understanding of these growing investment classes with content from practicing subject matter experts around the globe. The certificate teaches you the key features and differences between private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure, commodities, and hedge funds. By earning this certificate, you will learn practical application of leading private markets and alternative investments concepts.

Built on globally recognized CFA Program content, it provides foundational level knowledge across alternative investments.

The certificate is composed of five courses with practical application exercises and one final assessment.

Ready to start learning? Get a feel for the learning experience with complimentary access to a lesson pulled directly from the certificate coursework.

Access Sample Lesson

• New entrants to the private markets industry: individuals who aspire to work for a general partner firm (GP) or other alternatives specialist.
• Existing industry professionals: investors or asset owners who are looking to allocate to private markets or alternative investments.
• Consultants: those working with General Partner or Limited Partner firms and wish to understand the industry landscape and terminology.

Courses must be completed in order as concepts are related and build on each other. Course descriptions are provided below or you can view the full syllabus (PDF)

Prerequisites

Upon completion of this certificate you will be able to:

• Understand alternative investments, their benefits, and challenges, explore various investment methods, and develop a basic knowledge of risk management strategies, while gaining an introductory perspective on the performance of alternative investments compared to traditional ones.
• Explain and analyze the features, investment characteristics, and value creation sources of private equity and private debt, compare various investment types and evaluate fund structures, terms, and financial performance from an investor's perspective.
• Explain the features, characteristics, and investment structures of real estate and infrastructure investments; analyze their sources of return, risks, and diversification benefits, and apply due diligence and valuation approaches for informed decision-making.
• Explain the role of natural resource and commodity investments in a diversified portfolio, describe and analyze their unique features and characteristics, apply key terms and concepts, evaluate different commodity sectors, explore market dynamics, and assess the impact of natural resources on economic growth and commodity prices.
• Explain hedge funds' investment features and contrast them with other asset classes, analyze their sources of risk, return, and diversification, explore strategy classifications, assess the role of hedge fund strategies in a portfolio, describe the role of due diligence, and evaluate hedge fund performance both before and after fees.

• Investment Management Strategies
• Financial Markets
• Equity Investments
• Alternative Assets
• Investment Products and Asset Classes