Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA) is a global finance designation offered by the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts (ACIIA) to financial professionals; candidates may be
financial analyst
A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job.
portfolio managers or investment advisors.
The CIIA maintains standards both at the national and international levels: ACIIA tests candidates at the local level (at their home country), and, having cleared those country specific exams, at the common international level.
Because of similarity in exam content and difficulty, CIIA is perceived by some, particularly in Europe and Asia, as an alternative qualification to the CFA.
Association of Certified International Investment Analysts
The ACIIA is recognised and promoted by both ASIF and
EFFAS
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) is the federation of financial analyst associations in Europe. EFFAS is the umbrella organisation of 14 national, local societies of investment professionals in Europe.
Its mission ...
representing financial analyst federations in Asia and Europe. ACIIA is the international umbrella organisation for national and regional associations of investment professionals representing over 60,000 portfolio managers, analysts, investment advisers, asset managers and fund managers etc. worldwide.
ACIIA was formed in year 2000 by two large and world's leading federations "
EFFAS
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) is the federation of financial analyst associations in Europe. EFFAS is the umbrella organisation of 14 national, local societies of investment professionals in Europe.
Its mission ...
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
joined with ACIIA to offer CIIA program to member countries bringing in a common platform of Knowledge and uniform standards to Investment professionals worldwide. For the constituent analyst societies see under
EFFAS
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) is the federation of financial analyst associations in Europe. EFFAS is the umbrella organisation of 14 national, local societies of investment professionals in Europe.
Its mission ...
To be awarded the CIIA, candidates must pass two "Common Knowledge" Exams and a third National/Regional Exam, examining knowledge of specific markets. Candidates must also have 3 years relevant experienc and be a member of ACIIA, as well as of their local or regional society. The exams are taken twice per year and are written at a postgraduate, postgraduate level; they require 18 hours in total, and the recommended preparation time is about 900 study hours.
Th Common Knowledge Exams consist of four papers at the "Foundation level", and two at the "Final level". The foundation level papers, in turn, comprise
multiple choice
Multiple choice (MC), objective response or MCQ (for multiple choice question) is a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are asked to select only the correct answer from the choices offered as a list. The multiple choice format i ...
case studies
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...
and in-depth essays. The topics covered at both levels are:
*
Financial accounting
Financial accounting is a branch of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial transactions related to a business. This involves the preparation of Financial statement audit, financial statements available for pu ...
and
statement analysis Statement analysis, also called scientific content analysis (SCAN), is a pseudoscientific technique for analyzing the words people use to try to determine if what they said is accurate. Proponents claim this technique can be used to detect concealed ...
;
*
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance is an area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the Value investing, value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analy ...
;
*
Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
analysis
Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
;
*
Fixed income
Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the pr ...
analysis
Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
;
*
Derivative
In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity to change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is t ...
Regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
;
*
Ethics
Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
*
Financial statement analysis
Financial statement analysis (or just financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing a company's financial statements to make better economic decisions to earn income in future. These statements include the income statement, bala ...
The CIIA is variously recognised as regards regulatory requirements or educational /exam exemptions:
* The CIIA qualification is recognised as a key 2 qualification in the UK by the Financial Services Skills Council.
* Membership of
Securities & Investment Institute
The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) is a professional body for members of the financial and investment profession. It offers qualifications and resources for professional development, as well as setting standards of conduct ...
(SII) with 3 years of Professional experience for CIIA diploma holders for full membership (MSI). SII is also a part of the ACIIA network.
* The ACIIA has an awarding body status in the UK and CIIA qualification to be included on the appropriate examinations list for seven relevant activities that are regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) in the UK.
* The Securities Analysts Association of Japan (SAAJ) offering the prestigious Japanese qualification CMA has given exemptions to common exams and CIIA holders have to give only regional or local exams covering only national topics.
* Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (the equivalent of SEC for USA) recognises CIIA holders for Test of Competence and for fulfilling regulatory requirements.
* Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) is a part of ACIIA network offering the CIIA qualification and also membership to CIIA holders.
* The CIIA fulfils the regulatory requirements of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission for registration as a licensed securities broker or investment adviser.
* CIIA holders are recognized by PRMIA (
Professional Risk Managers' International Association
The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) is a non-profit, member-driven professional organization that focuses on the development and education of the risk management profession. Its membership provides a network of risk ...
) as the equivalent of passing first two required exams.
*
Life Office Management Association
LOMA, (formerly the Life Office Management Association) working together with LIMRA (formerly Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association) under the umbrella organization LL Global is an American trade associations for the insurance indust ...
(LOMA), an international association of Insurance and Financial services companies headquartered in the US, has recognised the CIIA designation for Professional Achievement Credits (PACs) in it Fellow, Financial Services Institute (FFSI) Programme.
* IFBL (Institut De Formation Bancaire Luxembourg) in association with
PWC
PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom.
It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Fo ...
recognises CIIA diploma holders for their Certified Private Banker program Certified private banker /ref> giving exemptions from attending tuition blocks for (i) Legal and Regulatory Framework and (ii) Portfolio Management, as well as for specific examinations.