How to prepare for the ACI Dealing certificate?

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The ACI Dealing Certificate (002-100) exam has expired on 31st March 2021. The replacement available is ACI Dealing Certificate New Version

ACI – The Financial Markets Association (ACIFMA) is an examination body. 

Exam preparation opportunities are offered by third parties like business schools, training companies and authors. 

Established in 1955, ACIFMA is focused on increasing best market practices and supporting the market participants in accordance with the principles of ethical conduct.

Also, the ACI Financial Markets Association is a leading worldwide trade association which represents the interests of the professional financial markets community. 

As we know, Global financial markets are dynamic and continuously changing and these conditions demand highly qualified professionals with wide-ranging market knowledge and skills.

ACI FMA’s range of education, certification and certified products and services, its committees and sector working groups and the global network of National Associations offers a universal framework for education, endorse, and advice for the individuals and organisations working in today’s financial markets. In this article, we are discussing the ACI Dealing Certificate in detail. 

Advantages of ACI Dealing Certificate 

Career and Employer Benefits:-

  • It Increases the candidate’s opportunities nationally and internationally with a worldwide qualification. 
  • Also, fulfil the requirements which are established by the financial services authorities for regulated activities. 
  • To learn global standards and a skill set which is specific to the treasury. 
  • Further, become part of a worldwide community of ACI certificate holders.
  • In addition, enable the administration to successfully pass risk conducted by regulators. 
  • Moreover, Staff members also fulfil the requirements established by the financial services authorities for regulated activities.

Also, ACI’s Education Programme renders nationwide portable, professional qualifications that improve career prospects, enhance job performance and set frameworks within the industry.

ACI’s training companies and business schools offer classroom training and also distance learning materials which help the candidate to prepare for their exam. Study packs and trainers are available to help them to prepare for their exam.

Who can take this exam?

The course is organized for the following groups:

  • New entrants and junior dealers who have approximately 0-18 Months Experience in the dealing room.
  • Middle office and operation personnel
  • Auditors and compliance officers
  • Staff members who fulfil the requirements recognized by the financial services authorities for governed activities. 
  • Risk managers 
  • Fund managers 
  • Financial analysts With a very good understanding and knowledge of financial English.

ACI Dealing Certificate: An Overview 

ACI Dealing Certificate is an institutional programme that permits candidates to gain a working knowledge of the operation and structure of the major money markets and foreign exchange, applications of the fundamental mathematics that are used in these markets, core products such as cash, forwards and derivatives and the basic skills required for capable participation.

Exam Details 

All ACI exams are computer-based. 

The ACI Dealing Certificate and other ACI certifications are also available in German and English. 

The ACI Dealing Certificate is mainly delivered in German and English language. 

The price of the exam is 250 € all taxes included.

The examination lasts 2 hours i.e. 120 minutes and consists of 90 multiple-choice questions. 

ACI Dealing Certificate

The overall pass level is 60% (54 correct answers), presuming that the minimum score

criteria for each of the topic baskets are met.

  • Grades: Pass 60% – 69.99 %
  • Merit 70 – 79.99%
  • Distinction 80% and above

Also, if a candidate fails then Re-exams can be taken as many times as needed. Candidates who successfully passed the exam are allowed to use the title DC on their business card.

Course Outline 

The course outline forms the most crucial part of any certification exam. Therefore, one must be very thorough about course outline.

ACI Dealing Certificate

Basic Interest Rate Calculations

  • First of all, Time Value of Money 
  • Secondly, Simple Interest and Compound Interest
  • After this, Day Count Conventions and Conversions 
  • Subsequently, Interest Rate and Discount Instruments 
  • Also, Country Day Count Conventions 
  • Furthermore, Day and Date Conventions
  • Not to mention, Benchmarks- LIBOR, EURIBOR, and EONIA
  • Moreover, The Yield Curve 
  • Next, Interpolated Interest Rates for Broken Dates 
  • Lastly, Cash and Forward Rates 

Cash Money Markets

  • First of all, Cash Money markets 
  • Secondly, Treasury Bills 
  • Not to mention, Subsequently, Interbank Deposits
  • Also, Certificate of Deposit 
  • In addition, Bankers Acceptance/Bills of Exchange 
  • Furthermore, Commercial Paper 
  • Consequently, Repurchase Agreements 
  • Last but not least, Summary of Money Market Instruments  

Foreign Exchange

  • Firstly, The Foreign Exchange Markets 
  • Secondly, Foreign Exchange Quotations 
  • Then, Spot Foreign Exchange 
  • Also, Forward Outright Exchange Rates 
  • Further, Foreign Swap Exchange Rates 
  • In addition, Forward Cross Currency Outrights 
  • Moreover, Market Terminology 
  • Lastly, The Metals Markets 

Forward-forwards, FRAs and Money Market Futures & Swaps

  • Forward-Forward Interest Rates 
  • Forward Rates Agreements 
  • Interest Markets Future 
  • Interest Rate Swap 

Options

  • Firstly, Options 
  • Subsequently, Option Pricing 
  • Also, The ‘Greeks’- Managing Options Risks 
  • Not to mention, Option Payoff Profiles 
  • Trading Strategies 
  • Foreign Exchange Options 
  • Interest Rate Guarantee, Caps and Floors 

Principles of Asset & Liability Management 

  • Firstly, it includes an understanding of the fundamentals of Asset & Liability Management as an exercise of hedging and managing risks that originate due to mismatches between the asset and the liability side of the balance sheets of a bank. 
  • Secondly, it explains how risk factors like funding and liquidity risk, market risk, credit risk, business risk, leverage risk, and operational risk are interconnected and how they impact the balance sheet of a financial institution.
  • Lastly, it describes common risk management and protection techniques which help control effects and to understand how techniques are used to set up a state-of-the-art ALM approach.

Principles of Risk 

  • Risk Management 
  • Market Risk
  • Credit Risk
  • Settlement Risk 
  • Liquidity Risk 
  • Operational Risk
  • Legal Risk 
  • Risk Capital 

The Modal Code 

  • Business Hours and Time Zones 
  • Personal Conduct Issues 
  • Back Office, payments, and Confirmations 
  • Disputes, Differences, Meditation and Compliance 
  • Authorisation, Documentation and Telephone Taping 
  • Brokers and Brokerage 
  • Dealing Practice 
  • Dealing Practice for Specific Transactions 
  • General Risk Management Principles for Dealing 
  • Additional Guidelines for Corporate/Commercial Clients 
  • Market Terminology 

Preparatory Guide 

Let’s quickly discuss the preparatory guide. 

ACI Dealing exams are targeting the Foreign Exchange, Repos, Money Markets, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Asset Liability, Risk Management and Conduct for the front, middle and back-office staff. 

The ACI Dealing Certificate is a foundation course/programme that allows candidates – 

  • Firstly, to attain a working knowledge of the structure and operation of the major foreign exchange and money markets, 
  • Secondly, applying the fundamental mathematics used in the markets and their core products such as cash, forwards and derivatives, 
  • Also, to develop the basic skills which are necessary to compete in the markets, 
  • Then, to acquire the perfect knowledge of Model Code and to learn how to enforce it to their situation, 
  • Further, to get an understanding of the products of the financial and money markets. 

Understand the Objectives

Objectives are the major topics which the candidate should cover in order to successfully pass the ACI Dealing Certificate. 

The Domains are following mentioned:

  • Basic Interest Rate Calculations
  • Cash Money Markets
  • Foreign Exchange
  • Forward-forwards, FRAs and Money Market Futures & Swaps
  • Options
  • Principles of Asset & Liability Management 
  • Principles of Risk
  • The Model Code

The candidate should understand each and every objective and its aspects. 

Refer to the Study Guide!

The study guide is the blueprint of the exam which provides exact information for the ACI Dealing exam. The candidate can download the blueprint form the official page of the educational body. It is one of the most important study materials you need.

Accurate Study Material 

Finding the right study material is a very important step in the preparation for the ACI Dealing exam. Here, we are listing some books which the candidate can refer:

  • Financial markets and the ACI Dealing Certificate Paperback by Philip J L Parker
  • ACI Dealing Certificate questions and answers by Philip Parker
  • Mastering The Aci Dealing Certificate: A Practical Guide To The Aci Education Level 1 Syllabus & Exam (Financial Times Series) by Phil Parker 

Training Program by ACI 

As above mentioned, the ACI provides the training programs for each and every certification. This training course comprises all the objectives or we can say modules of the ACI Dealing certification. 

It includes: 

  • Time Value of Money, Simple Interest and Compound Interest, Interest Rate and Discount Instruments, Day and Date Conventions, Benchmarks- LIBOR, EURIBOR, and EONIA, The Yield Curve etc. 
  • Treasury Bills, Certificate of Deposit, Bankers Acceptance/Bills of Exchange, Commercial Paper etc. 
  • Forward-Forward Interest Rates, Forward Rates Agreements, Interest Markets Future, Interest Rate Swap etc. 
  • Option Pricing, The ‘Greeks’- Managing Options Risks, Trading Strategies, Foreign Exchange Options, Caps and Floors etc. 
  • Risk Management, Credit Risk, Liquidity Risk, Operational Risk, Legal Risk etc. 
  • Business Hours, Time zones, Disputes, Differences, Meditation and Compliance, Authorisation, Telephone Taping, Dealing Practice for Specific Transactions etc. 

Make a Strategy 

After taking the training course and go through the objectives, make a strategy for covering all the necessary modules in accordance with the available time. It will help the candidate to make things easy for them. So, go and make a strategy and achieve your goals. 

Try Practise Tests 

Practise tests are the most important step in the preparatory guide. The candidate can measure their preparation with these practise tests. Also, they help to find the weak areas of the candidate. So that they can work on them and pass the exam with the perfect exam. There are many free practise tests available on the internet. 

Let’s Conclude!

To summarize, ACI connects regularly with a broad range of national Regulators on the education and training of market participants. The ACI Dealing Certificate is a precursor to the ACI Diploma. 

Basically, it is designed to ensure that candidates after taking this exam acquire a superior knowledge of the foreign exchange and money markets, related instruments, environment and applications, and the links that exist between markets and the practice of risk management.

Therefore, Studying and practising on a regular basis will surely help you to accomplish your dreams. For more practise papers, CLICK HERE!

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