Private Markets Certificate FAQs
Gain practical skills and foundational knowledge with CFA Institute’s Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate. Find out whether the certificate is right for you with these FAQs.
The Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate is a globally recognized, practitioner‑designed certificate that equips professionals with applied private markets knowledge.
The certificate is designed for professionals who need to understand private markets well enough to engage confidently, ask better questions, and contribute meaningfully in their roles
The certificate provides a structured, self‑paced introduction to private markets concepts, terminology, and investment context across key asset classes.
The certificate is designed for professionals who need a clear, practical understanding of private markets, whether they work on the limited partner (LP) or general partner (GP) side of the industry, or in roles that support or interact closely with private markets activity.
- Students and early career professionals who aspire to work in private markets
- Investment, advisory, sales, and client‑facing professionals who need to understand private markets to better support clients or stakeholders
- Asset owners, consultants, and investment professionals transitioning into private markets roles
- Investment Consultants working with general partner or limited partner firms who want to understand the industry landscape and terminology
- Investment practitioners who want to strengthen their understanding of key concepts before pursuing more advanced training
The certificate consists of five courses that provide an overview of major private markets asset classes and investment structures:
- Introduction to Private Markets and Alternative Investments: Overview of private markets, their role in portfolios, and key investment considerations
- Private Equity and Private Credit Investments: Fund structures, value creation, risks, and core strategies
- Real Estate and Infrastructure Investments: Investment structures, returns, diversification, and valuation fundamentals
- Commodities and Natural Resources Investments: Market drivers, investment vehicles, and portfolio diversification uses
- Hedge Fund Investments: Common strategies and risk‑return characteristics within diversified portfolios
Together, these courses focus on key concepts, terminology, structures, and investment considerations across private markets.
Each of the five courses takes about 15 hours to complete. Most learners spend between 70 and 90 hours completing the full curriculum.
The certificate is fully online and self‑paced, allowing learners to study in a way that fits their schedule.
Private markets refer to investments that are not traded on public exchanges and include asset classes such as private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, and commodities.
Private equity is a specific asset class within private markets and focuses on investing directly in private companies, typically through buyouts, growth capital, or venture capital strategies.
Prior investment experience is not required to registerin the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate.
While familiarity with basic investment concepts can be helpful, the curriculum is designed to support learners with a range of backgrounds, particularly those who are new to private markets or working in adjacent roles and want to build foundational knowledge.
The certificate includes a final online assessment consisting of 60 multiple‑choice questions, with 90 minutes to complete.
The assessment is unproctored (taken online) and designed to evaluate understanding of key concepts and terminology covered in the curriculum. Learners have two attempts to successfully complete the assessment.
Yes. The Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate is offered by CFA Institute, a globally recognized organization in investment education.
The curriculum is developed with input from industry practitioners and subject‑matter experts and reflects globally relevant private markets concepts and practices.
By earning the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate you will:
- Gain a clearer understanding of how private markets operate;
- Build fluency in the language of private markets, and the confidence to contribute earlier to private-markets related roles;
- Communicate more effectively with clients, colleagues, and stakeholders;
- Receive a shareable digital badge upon completion to showcase your achievement across professional networks.
CFA Institute is globally recognized for setting standards in investment education and offers a wide range of courses and certificates across investment topics.
The Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate serve as the foundational course in the private markets learning path is one of three private markets certificates offered by CFA Institute. It provides a broad, introductory overview of private markets concepts and terminology and is designed to complement more advanced or specialized private markets certificates.