## Financial Market Analysis (FMAx)

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Financial Market Analysis (FMAx)](https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/courses/fmax)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/courses/fmax/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/courses/fmax/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/courses/fmax/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: July 23, 2025

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## Upcoming offerings

| Start date | End date | Location | Delivery Method | Session No. | Primary & (Interpretation) language | Apply |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| May 1, 2026 | April 15, 2027 | Course conducted online | [Online Training](https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/delivery-methods) | [OL 26.136](https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/schedule/ol/2026/fmaxol26-136) | English | [Apply online](https://www-ins.imf.org/TAS/signon.aspx?pkey=OL26.136E) by April 1, 2027 |

### Overview
- This online course introduces participants to the fundamentals of financial analysis that are in the toolkit of policy makers.
- Tools covered are used to study the characteristics of various financial instruments and their pricing, analyze portfolios of assets, and to gain familiarity with the basics of risk management.
- Mastery is essential for participants who wish to participate in more advanced and policy-oriented IMF courses in financial or macrofinancial areas.
- The course covers, among other topics:
  - the pricing of fixed-income securities and equity;
  - the term structure of interest rates;
  - portfolio allocation and diversification;
  - an introduction to risk management.

### Topic
- Financial Sector Issues

### Target Audience
- Officials in central banks, ministries of finance, and regulatory agencies who have experience with macroeconomics and are interested in building their expertise in finance.

### Qualifications
- Participants are expected to have some familiarity with basic statistics and probability techniques.
- Basic Microsoft Excel skills are essential.

### Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:
- Price a variety of financial assets (fixed income securities and equities) using the present value (PV) principle.
- Measure and compare different yield measures for financial assets.
- Construct and estimate a yield curve on the basis of readily available information and use several theories to interpret its behavior.
- Relate differences in the valuation of single equities or markets to economic fundamentals.
- Apply principles of diversification to historical return data to construct an optimal portfolio of risky assets and assess likely changes in its composition as macroeconomic conditions change.
- Assess the market risk of an investment by calculating its value at risk (VaR), stressed VaR, and expected shortfall, and apply back-testing to evaluate the accuracy of past VaR.

### Videos
- FMAx Promotional Video
  - Presented by the IMF Institute for Capacity Development, this course introduces participants to the fundamentals of financial analysis that are in the toolkit of policymakers.
  - These tools are used to study the characteristics of various financial instruments and their pricing analyze portfolios of assets and become familiar with the basics of risk management.
  - Speaker: Adolfo Barajas

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## References

- [Online Training](https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/delivery-methods)
- [OL 26.136](https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/schedule/ol/2026/fmaxol26-136)
- [Apply online](https://www-ins.imf.org/TAS/signon.aspx?pkey=OL26.136E)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/capacity-development/training/icdtc/courses/fmax_