The Certificate in Capital Markets (CCM)

Prospective students

The Certificate in Capital Markets (CCM) is the only pre-requisite for capital market practitioners to pave the way to becoming a professionally qualified Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Sri Lanka and accepted by the industry.

Even though CCM was initially started in English Medium in year 2008, SEC successfully developed CCM modules in Sinhala Medium and inaugurated first Sinhala Medium Batch in the year 2009 so that many students could enroll with the programme.

CCM ensures that professionals practicing in the industry possess the competencies essential to secure the confidence of investors in the capital market. Therefore, this certification course assists to develop a pool of candidates who are trained in fundamentals of capital markets.

Obtaining this qualification will pave the way for recruitment in the areas of Banking, Stock Brokering, Money Brokering, Fund Management, Investment Banking, Corporate Financing, Venture Capital, Insurance, Leasing & Finance, Accounting, Valuation, Financial Consulting etc.

Certification

There are five different levels of certifications under the qualification framework (QF) where each of the first four certificates will form the basic training required to obtain the license as an investment advisor for each asset class.

The Certificate in Capital Markets (CCM) will be the apex qualification to become a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).

1.Certificate in Equity Securities
2. Certificate in Debt Securities
3. Certificate in Derivatives (to be introduced in future)
4. Certificate in Unit Trusts
5. Certificate in Capital Markets

A candidate who seeks to secure a certification in a specific asset class will be required to mandatorily complete series 1, 6 and 7 above, as well as the module (from among series 2 to 5) corresponding to the asset class in which he or she seeks certification. On completion of these four modules, the candidate will be eligible to receive the first level of certification: i.e., a Certificate in Equity Securities, in Debt Securities, in Derivatives or in Unit Trusts, as the case may be.

Individual Asset class Advisor

On completion of the first level of certification and with six months of relevant industry experience, candidates may proceed to facing a VIVA VOCE examination conducted by a panel comprising SEC, Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), and industry professionals in order to obtain the designation corresponding to the asset class in which he or she has selected.

1. Certified Equity Securities Advisor
2. Certified Debt Securities Advisor
3. Certified Derivative Securities Advisor
4. Certified Unit Trust Advisor

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA)

A candidate will be required to complete all seven series in order to earn the CCM qualification. On
completion of the CCM and with one year of relevant industry experience candidates may proceed to
facing a VIVA VOCE examination conducted by a panel comprising SEC and CSE officials and industry
professionals in order to become a RIA.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

As per SEC Circular no. 08/2009 (Ref: SEC/LEG/09/10/31) dated 13 October 2009 and SEC Directive no.
Ref: SEC/CMET/2018/12/103 dated 18 December 2018, all Investment Advisors (Registered Investment
Advisors and Individual Asset Class Advisors) are required to earn four CPD credits mandatorily as
minimum annual requirement during their licensing year.

Programme content

CCM Series 1 – Securities Markets & Instruments

This course provides a survey of the financial markets and instruments including money, bond, stock, derivative and mutual fund markets. This is intended to build the overall knowledge of the functioning of the securities markets and all the instruments. The coverage will include

Overview of the Financial Markets
Structure and Functions of Financial Markets
Mutual Funds (Unit Trusts)
Central Banks and Monetary Policy
Money Markets
Derivative Securities Market
Capital Markets

CCM Series 2 – Equity Securities

The course on equity securities focuses on the knowledge required to understand the equity securities
and markets and covers the following topics.

Introduction to Investments
Time Value of Money
The Stock Market
Introduction to Risk and Return
Stock Market Indices
Stock Valuation
Capital Market Theory Basics
Financial Statement Analysis
Technical Analysis
Economic and Industry Analysis

CCM Series 3 – Debt Securities

The course in debt securities covers the essential knowledge in debt securities and markets. This will test the knowledge and skills required to perform job functions in the areas of Government debt securities and corporate debt securities. Both money market and capital market debt instruments will be covered. The major topics covered include the following:

Corporate Debt Instruments
Valuation of Bonds
Determination of Bond Yields
Government Debt Securities and Markets
Corporate Debt Securities Market
Credit Rating and Analysis

CCM Series 4 – Derivatives

As the derivatives markets in Sri Lanka will develop in the future, it is critically important that Sri Lanka’s securities industry have professionals who have the knowledge to understand, analyze and advise on derivatives products such as options, futures, forwards, and swaps.

However, at present we do not conduct lectures for this Series.

When lectures commence the Series will focus on fundamentals of trading, pricing and regulations of options and futures and covers the following topical areas.

Organization and functions of derivatives markets
Types and characteristics of derivatives products
Call and put options
Financial forwards
Financial futures contracts
Forward rate agreements
Interest rate futures
Interest rate swaps
Trading, hedging and investment strategies
Derivatives trading, clearing and settlement
Derivatives regulations

CCM Series 5 – Unit Trust

This course will cover the specialized knowledge and skills expected of an investment professional dealing with mutual fund / unit trust products. This is specially designed for investment professionals employed by unit trust companies in Sri Lanka. The topics include

Introduction to Unit Trust
Organization and Structure of Unit Trust
Unit Trust Fees and Expenses
Valuation and Pricing of Unit Trust
Evaluating Unit Trust
Unit Trust Regulations

CCM Series 6 – Financial Planning, Advising & Marketing

The Series 6 is designed to provide the specific knowledge and skills needed to provide proper investment advice to clients. This course will focus on the following areas.

Financial planning process
Evaluating the investment profile of a client
Drafting a comprehensive investment policy statement for individual investors
Creating an Investment portfolio
Investment objectives and constraints of clients

CCM Series 7 – Securities Regulation & Ethics

This course is intended to give candidates a broader understanding of laws and regulations governing Sri Lanka’s securities industry. The Series 7 Examination will cover the following topics.

SEC Act, Rules & Circulars
Company Takeovers & Mergers Code
Central Depository System Rules & Regulations
Automated Trading System Rules
Stockbroker Rules
Listing Rules
Corporate Governance Directions & Codes
Company Law
Ethical Framework and Best Practices in Professional Conduct

Registration

Entry qualifications

Minimum entry qualification is passing all subjects at the Advanced Level Examination.

Applicants who do not possess the minimum entry qualification should be eligible from the below mentioned two categories;

Professional level entry qualification category

Entry to CCM is permitted if the student possesses full/part 1 qualifications from any of the below mentioned professional institutions:

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL),
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA),
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA),
Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM),
The Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka (AAT), or
Any other qualification acceptable to the FSA.

Academic level entry qualification category

Entry to CCM is permitted if the student possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in any of the disciplines mentioned below:

Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Accounting, Management, Economics,
Marketing, MIS / IT, Engineering, Law or Arts.

Documentation & Payment

Relevant Documentation

The SEC will register a student for the CCM programme only when the following documentation is complete:

Completed Application Form
Certified 2 Copy of Advanced Level Certificate or any other relevant qualification as per the entry
qualification requirement
Certified 3 Copy of National Identity Card/Passport Copy
Original Payment Slip(Customer Copy) of the Bank

Payment Details

Course Fee is subsidized by the SEC for all students.

CCM Registration fee : Rs 50,000/-

Registration fee for separate Certifications:

Series No:	Series Name	Fee Structure	* Mandatory subjects to be followed for all certifications .
Series 1*	Securities Markets & Instruments	Rs. 10,000.00
Series 2	Equity Securities	Rs. 10,000.00
Series 3	Debt Securities	Rs. 5,000.00
Series 4	Derivatives	–
Series 5	Unit Trusts	Rs. 5,000.00
Series 6*	Financial Planning, Advising and Marketing	Rs. 10,000.00
Series 7*	Securities Regulation and Ethics	Rs. 10,000.00

Registration fee excludes the examination fees. Payments for the examinations should be made at the time of applying for the examination.

Payment should be made to Bank of Ceylon (Corporate Branch) A/C No. 9919753 and forward the original payment slip along with the application form (All cheques should be drawn in favor of “Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka”

Examinations

Examinations will be held after completing lectures for each series.

After concluding lectures for each series, the student will get an exam notification to register for the relevant examination.Examination instructions will be sent to all registered students via email. Every student should read the examination instructions and act accordingly prior to arriving at the examination.

Registration

The examination notice will be sent to all batches, i.e. batches that have completed lectures and on-going batches. Students who have missed or failed the examination can apply for the examinations irrespective of the batch they have registered for the programme.

Application

We are strict with examinations deadlines. Applications receiving after the dead line will
be automatically transferred to the next available examination.

Admission

Student should collect the Admission for the examination at the time of handing over the
examination application with payment. The admission should be attested by a Justice of
Peace /Commissioner of Oaths/Notary Public and submitted on the day of the
examination.

Payment

Examination Fee: Rs 2000/- per Series

Cheques and cash should be deposited to Bank of Ceylon (Corporate Branch) A/C
No. 9919753 and forward the original receipt along with the application form (All
cheques should be drawn in favor of “Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri
Lanka” crossed ”A/C Payee Only”)

Release of Results

Results will be released subject to Commission approval. When results are finalized, the SEC at the request of students will issue an official result sheet. Students are given the opportunity to sit the examinations multiple times.

Prescribed calculator

The BA II Plus is the main financial calculator sold by Texas Instruments as of 2015. It provides basic scientific calculator functionality alongside its financial functions, and provides most of its financial functions in the form of worksheets, where values are input as variables in a table; when a computation is requested, the calculator plugs the values from the worksheet into the appropriate internal expression and returns the requested result. It has been available in three case designs, based respectively on 1989's TI-68, 1999's TI-30X IIS, and the 2013 revision of the TI-30Xa. It is permitted on several professional exams, including the international Chartered Financial Analyst exam. The 2014 revision includes larger display numbers, but the computation functions remain the same as previous models. It has not been made available in a solar-powered model.

The BA II Plus Professional is an upgrade to the base model introduced in 2004, including several additional worksheet functions such as net future value and modified internal rate of return. Several companies, most notably Texas Instruments itself, have released emulators of the BA II Plus for various mobile operating systems. In addition, Stokes Publishing formerly sold The Educator Business, a calculator designed for use on overhead projectors that emulated the BA II Plus. An app on the Apple App Store is also available by Texas Instruments mirroring the Calculators design and functionality.

Publications

Exemption scheme

The exemptions are intended to provide waiver due to previous academic or professional training of candidates. Exemptions are granted on a modular basis for each certification.

A person who has passed the level I & II exams of the Certified Financial Analysts (CFA) program is eligible for exemptions from Securities Markets and Instruments (Series 1), Equity Securities (Series 2) Debt Securities (Series 3) and Derivatives (Series 4).

Exemptions for all other candidates including university graduates and holders of professional qualifications will be considered on a case by case basis through an evaluation of their transcripts and syllabi for the subjects for which exemptions are requested. It is the responsibility of the candidate seeing exemptions to have the relevant institution send transcripts and syllabi directly to the SEC for evaluation.

No exemptions will be granted for Financial Planning, Advising and Marketing (Series 6), and Securities Regulation and Ethics (Series 7)

Registered Investment Advisor

Students who have successfully completed the CCM programme with pre or post one year of relevant industry experience is eligible to enroll for the VIVA VOCE Examination conducted by the SEC. Passing of VIVA VOCE Examination will qualify the candidate as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA Designated).

Training Report

All candidates who are eligible to apply for the VIVA VOCE Examination should complete a
training report. The purpose of completing this training report is for the panel members to
identify if the candidate has obtained six months of “Relevant Work Experience” specified by the
SEC prior to awarding the “RIA” status. In order to fulfill this final criteria the candidates should
possess NOT LESS THAN 800 hours of “on the job training” in relation to the subject areas
followed at the CCM Programme.

VIVA VOCE Examination

The RIA is awarded after submission of the training report (Training guide provided by the SEC)
and facing an interview with a panel of industry experts who will evaluate the candidates on their
overall performance.

Training Record Book Fee : Rs 1,000/- (VAT included)
RIA VIVA VOCE Examination Fee : Rs 5,000/- (VAT included)

Capital Market Education