Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate
Build practical knowledge of private markets and alternative investments you can apply in real investment conversations. The Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate helps you understand how private market investments are structured and evaluated across private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure, natural resources, commodities, and hedge funds.
Develop a clearer understanding of fund structures, fees, capital mechanics and performance so you can contribute more confidently to governance, oversight, reporting, and investment discussions.
Build practical understanding for private markets work
As private markets play a larger role in portfolios, professionals need more than broad familiarity. They need clear understanding they can use in meetings, reporting, diligence, and decision-making.
Built on the globally recognized CFA Program, this certificate helps you build that practical fluency. Learn the terminology, structures, mechanics, and asset-class characteristics that shape private markets investing so you can interpret information more effectively and engage more confidently with colleagues, stakeholders and managers.
Why choose the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate?
Practical, work-relevant skills
Apply core concepts to private markets workflows, from fund structures and fees to performance and portfolio context.
Authoritative content
Learn with practitioner-informed content from CFA Institute, designed for professionals working in or alongside private markets.
Understanding of asset-class characteristics
Understand the features that differentiate major alternative asset classes and shape investment evaluation and oversight.
Insights you can apply in real discussions
Ask better questions, interpret manager information more effectively, and contribute with greater confidence.
Recognized achievement
Earn an assessment-backed certificate that supports professional credibility and complements on-the-job experience.
Explore our private markets certificates
Build your skills with the CFA Institute private markets learning pathway – three certificates designed to support every stage of your career, from core knowledge to advanced private equity. Complete one or stack them together for a deeper understanding of this growing area of investing.
Who should enroll
- Investment professionals involved in private markets allocation, manager evaluation, portfolio analysis, or oversight
- Professionals in risk, compliance, operations, reporting, advisory, consulting, or monitoring roles who support private markets activity
- Wealth and client-facing professionals who need to explain private markets concepts and strategies with greater clarity
- Professionals moving into private-markets-related responsibilities who need structured, credible learning they can apply quickly
- Early-career professionals seeking broader context across private markets asset classes and investment mechanics
Roles suited to this certificate
If you work in any of the roles below, this certificate helps you build the terminology and practical context needed to engage confidently with private markets.
Primary roles
- Asset manager
- Portfolio manager
- Investment analyst
- Allocator
- Relationship manager
- Fund marketing
- Sales roles
Also relevant
- Private Wealth Manager
- Credit Analyst
- Equity Analyst
- Investment Consultant
- Investment Strategist
- Performance Analyst
- Private Equity Associate
- Product Manager
- Risk Analyst
Curriculum
In this course, you will gain a "helicopter" view of all alternative investments. You will be able to compare key features of different alternative investments, such as risk, expected return, liquidity and correlation to traditional investments. You will understand how investing in alternatives changes the risk and return characteristics of a portfolio and why many investors allocate some of their portfolio to these investments.
In this course you will gain fluency in key terminology used in private equity and private debt investments, and you’ll learn about their risk and return characteristics. You’ll explore how venture capital and LBO investments work, as well as the features of the many varieties of private debt investments. Finally you’ll calculate and interpret the key metrics for evaluating private equity and private debt fund performance.
In this course you will develop the practical skills to analyze and allocate funds into real estate and infrastructure investments within multi-asset portfolios. You will also explore how different investment methods, ownership structures, and risk mitigation strategies influence the benefits and challenges of these asset classes.
Commodities and natural resources are among the most popular alternative investments. In this course, you will learn about the different types of commodities, what factors influence their prices and how they can help diversify portfolios. You will also learn about different vehicles for investing in commodities and be able to determine the ideal investment vehicle based on an investor's circumstances. In the latter half of the course, you will find out about natural resources. You will understand key differences of different types of natural resources investments, such as farmland and timberland as well as vehicles that can provide investors with access to them.
In this course you will learn about the investment features and distinguishing characteristics of hedge fund vehicles and investments, including their typical risk-return profiles. You'll gain skills in identifying and classifying hedge fund strategies, including event-driven, relative value, opportunistic, and multi-manager strategies. Finally, you'll develop basic skills for conducting due diligence of hedge fund investments by going through a detailed case study that incorporates real-world considerations.
Complete the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate with an online, unproctored assessment, made up of 60 multiple-choice questions. You’ll have two attempts to complete the assessment.
Learn via engaging content and activities
Work toward the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate in a format that fits around professional commitments. The learning experience is designed to help you build and retain practical understanding as you progress.
Self-paced online learning
Work through interactive lessons that include readings, expert video content and discussion-based learning designed for working professionals.
Regular knowledge checks
Reinforce key concepts throughout the learning journey with short assessments that support retention and applied understanding.
Voices of success: Certificate testimonials
See how the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate has benefitted previous candidates.
The certificate offers excellent insights on each and every asset class, topped off with real-life case studies and interactive Q&A sessions.
Taking this course was part of my continuous learning ambition, and it's been an opportunity to complement my knowledge of traditional public markets with concepts, terminology, and key aspects of private markets.
Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate
- Certificate – 5 course series
- Foundational level
- 70-90 hours to complete
- Self-paced online learning
Frequently asked questions
You’ll have access to the learning materials for 12 months from the date of purchase. Learning materials and assessments can be accessed anywhere, online, providing maximum flexibility and convenience to candidates.
Yes, the course provides downloadable module summaries for your convenience. However, the full curriculum is not available in hard copy or PDF format. You can access all the comprehensive content and resources online.
The certificate combines readings and videos, all delivered through our interactive online learning platform. This blended format ensures a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.
The certificate is not purely conceptual; it includes numerous calculation-based questions to ensure practical understanding and application of mathematical concepts within private markets and alternative investments.
Develop private markets and alternatives expertise organization-wide
Learn how CFA Institute can support employee learning in private markets and alternative investments.
