Family A · Pension funds and insurers · Mexican regime · Exam open
Derivatives Certification · Insurers (CNSF)
The derivative hedges the reserve. The error surfaces in solvency.
DER-CNSF
01 — ABSTRACTDerivatives Certification · Insurers (CNSF)
An insurance company backs every policy with a portfolio that must satisfy a regime. Derivatives enter that portfolio to hedge rates, currencies and inflation against liabilities that mature decades out. The Circular Única de Seguros y Fianzas (CUSF) requires that the staff who trade those instruments, manage their risks, and control and record the transactions be certified, and in its Annex 8.4.2 it recognizes the independent third parties that may grant that certification. This certification attests to that command in the role each person actually holds within the institution.
Annex 8.4.2 of the CUSF, amended in 2017, treats as valid the certification in investments or derivatives risk management for insurance companies when it is granted by RiskMathics. The RiskMathics Certificate Institute, established in 2025 as the group's division that certifies and does not teach, administers it as an independent third party: it builds the exam, audits it against the current regime and administers it. The exam changes with the role. Whoever decides the position is not assessed like whoever records it, or whoever can stop it.
The body of knowledge covers futures, forwards, options and swaps, structured notes, risk management, trade recording and control, and the regime and best practices that govern the use of derivatives inside an insurer. The preparation program is delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute and is optional: the exam can be taken with or without it, and each has its own fee. The exam fee is being defined and the CNSF-specific documentation is being integrated; both will be published on the enrollment page.
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02 — INDUSTRYWhat is happening in the industry
An insurer's balance sheet is built on long liabilities. Reserves are matched to assets by tenor and currency, in pesos, UDIs and dollars, and derivatives are the tool that corrects a mismatch without selling the asset. The Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas, enacted in 2013, put in place a three-pillar solvency regime equivalent to Solvency II: the effect of every hedge shows up in the capital requirement, not only in the month's result.
The market those hedges rely on keeps growing and keeps changing. Notional outstanding in OTC derivatives reached USD 846 trillion in June 2025, up 16% on the year. In Mexico, the swaps market references close to USD 4.9 trillion linked to TIIE, and since 1 January 2025 the reference is TIIE de Fondeo, an overnight, transaction-based rate. Every curve, every valuation and every peso hedge changed its base.
Regulation followed the same path. Banco de México sets institutional requirements for insurance companies, as it does for banks and broker-dealers, before they trade derivatives: authorization, manuals, risk units, committees, audit and reporting. The CNSF added the layer of the individual: Annex 8.4.2 of the CUSF, amended in 2017, recognizes two independent third parties to certify derivatives staff. In a sector whose premiums grew 84% over the past decade, individual competence stopped being an employer's preference.
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03 — WHYWhy this certification
Inside an insurer, a derivative is not a bet: it is the hedge on an obligation that matures in twenty years. A mismatched swap, a forward outside what was authorized or a structured note booked to the wrong account is not corrected the next morning. It is discovered in the capital requirement, in the solvency test or in a regulator's observation. Certifying the people who decide, measure, oversee and record those transactions is the least costly way to avoid that discovery.
This certification exists because the regime demands it and because the Institute can sustain it. The derivatives item bank is live and audited against the current rules: when a rule changes, the item is withdrawn or rewritten. The exam recipe is fixed by subject and by level of mastery, and it changes with the role. Two candidates in the same role face the same demand, at any insurer in the country.
- Real regulatory recognition: Annex 8.4.2 of the CUSF treats the derivatives certification granted by RiskMathics as valid.
- Role-specific assessment: Investments and Trading, Risk Management, Compliance Control and Back Office sit different exams.
- An item bank audited against the current regime and a fixed recipe by subject and level of mastery.
- Independence: the division that certifies is separate from the one that teaches, with its own legal entity and its own item bank.
- Three-year validity, because the regime is not permanent either.
- Saturday exam, online, proctored with government-issued ID; an institution can enroll its whole team.
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04 — OUTCOMESWhat it prepares for
- 01
Value futures, forwards, options and swaps off the right curve and the right reference, TIIE de Fondeo included.
- 02
Size a rate, currency or inflation hedge against a reserve liability and document it as a hedging program.
- 03
Measure market, counterparty credit and liquidity risk in a derivatives book, margin calls included.
- 04
Decompose a structured note into its components and recognize its risks before booking it.
- 05
Apply the limits and conditions the regime imposes on the use of derivatives at an insurance company.
- 06
Confirm, settle, reconcile and report derivatives trades with segregation of duties between desk, risk and control.
- 07
Identify conflicts of interest and apply the conduct codes and international principles that govern the market.
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05 — INSTITUTIONSThe cut-off line
An insurer that requires this certification hires against an observable rule. It does not ask for a certificate of attendance: it asks for an exam passed before a third party that does not belong to the institution being assessed and is willing to fail a candidate. The certification also answers to the role. Whoever joins the desk attests to valuation and hedging; whoever joins risk, to measurement and limits; whoever joins control or back office, to recording and reconciliation.
For the institution the effect is twofold. It meets a regulatory obligation with a verifiable document of defined validity, and it lowers the odds that an operational error in derivatives becomes a regulator's finding. For the professional, the certification is portable across the institutions in the CNSF's perimeter and is renewed every three years against whatever regime is in force at the time.
- An exam passed here satisfies a regulatory obligation, not an employer's preference.
- The certification record is verifiable: enrollment number, date, role and validity.
- Whole teams enroll with a single payment and can be spread across dates.
- Triennial renewal guarantees that the attested knowledge matches the current regime.
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06 — PROFILEWho it is for
Who it is for
- Traders and investment staff who deal derivatives for the portfolio of an insurance company, pension insurers included.
- Risk managers who measure, limit and report the institution's derivatives exposure.
- Compliance control, internal control and compliance teams: those who verify that each trade fits the regime and what was authorized, and can stop it.
- Back office and control: those who confirm, settle, reconcile and record derivative financial transactions.
- Treasury and asset-liability teams that use derivatives to hedge reserves, and surety-company staff within the scope the CUSF assigns to them.
Who it is not for
- Afore staff: their regime is the SAR and their credential is Derivatives Certification · Afores (CONSAR).
- Anyone seeking an advanced quantitative credential in exotics, XVA and programming: that is the ground of Financial Derivatives Specialist.
- Anyone who leads an insurer's risk function without trading or controlling derivatives: that profile belongs to Certified Insurance Risk & Strategy Professional (CIRSP™), in development and without regulatory recognition.
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07 — KNOWLEDGEBody of knowledge
Eight subjects, assessed with a fixed recipe by subject and level of mastery that changes with the role. The specific weighting for the CNSF perimeter is published at enrollment once the documentation is integrated.
01Introduction to derivativesTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Exchange-traded and OTC markets; central counterparty and clearing house
- Initial and maintenance margin, margin calls and eligible collateral
- Master agreement and Credit Support Annex: events of default and termination events
- Open interest, volume and traded value; position limits
- Linear and non-linear derivatives; spot versus forward transactions
- Shape of the curve and its effect on the roll-over
02Futures and forwardsTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Cost-of-carry valuation, theoretical price and basis
- Basis risk, hedge ratio and hedging with futures
- FX and rate forwards; NDFs against the FIX exchange rate
- TIIE, M-bond and USD/MXN futures on MexDer; settlement through Asigna
- Mark-to-market and daily margin flows
03OptionsTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Premiums, intrinsic value and time value
- Put-call parity and arbitrage bounds
- Sensitivities: delta, gamma, vega, theta and rho
- Implied versus realized volatility
- Hedging and yield strategies with options
- Options on rates, currencies and indices
04SwapsTo be confirmed · varies by role
- TIIE interest-rate swaps; TIIE de Fondeo and the reference transition
- Cross-currency swaps and hedging of liabilities in dollars and in UDIs
- Curve construction and discounting; the multi-curve framework
- Central clearing of standardized swaps
- Hedging the asset-liability match of long-dated reserves
05Structured notesTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Decomposition: zero-coupon bond plus derivative component
- Capital-protected and credit-linked notes as the frontier with derivatives
- Issuer, market, liquidity and valuation risks
- Accounting recognition and valuation with the price vendor
- Treatment of notes with a derivative component under the investment regime
06Derivatives risk managementTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Market risk: sensitivities, VaR and stress tests
- Counterparty credit risk: exposure, netting and collateral
- Liquidity risk: margin calls and cash-flow matching
- Hedging programs: designation, effectiveness testing and documentation
- Limits, alerts and reporting to the integral risk management function and the committee
- Effect of the hedge on the solvency capital requirement
07Trade recording and controlTo be confirmed · varies by role
- Execution, capture and confirmation processing
- Settlement, delivery versus payment and reconciliation
- Custody, daily valuation and three-way reconciliation: custodian, accounting and regulatory report
- Regulatory reports on investments and derivative transactions
- Segregation of duties between desk, risk and compliance control
08Conflicts of interest, regime and best practicesTo be confirmed · varies by role
- The CUSF derivatives regime for insurance companies: permitted purposes, authorization and documentation
- Banco de México requirements for trading derivatives: authorization, manuals, risk units, committees, audit and reporting
- The BIS Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures
- The FX Global Code
- Standards for central counterparties, central securities depositories and delivery versus payment
- Conflicts of interest, conduct codes and governance of the trade
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08 — TWO PRODUCTSPreparation program · Certification exam
Preparation program
Preparation program
Program delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute
RiskMathics Financial Institute, the group's school since 2005, delivers the derivatives courses for insurers that prepare for this exam. They cover the eight subjects of the body of knowledge and include mock exams built with the exam's recipe. They are optional: the certification exam can be taken with or without them, and its fee is separate.
Derivatives courses for insurers
To be confirmedShort formats on the instruments, risks, recording and regime the exam assesses. Taken in full or by subject, according to the role the person will sit.
Tailored program for insurance and surety companies
To be confirmedDesigned with the requesting area and delivered to its team, with emphasis on the roles the institution needs to certify.
- Coverage of the eight exam subjects, with the emphasis of each role.
- Mock exams built with the exam's recipe: Bloom level 1, 2 and 3 items, distributed by subject, with feedback by subject.
- Updates against the current CUSF regime and Banco de México requirements.
Calendar and price to be confirmed; both are published at enrollment. Enrolling for the exam does not require having taken the program.
Certification exam
Certification exam
Taken with or without the preparation program. The RiskMathics Certificate Institute builds, audits and administers it as a third party independent of the institution being assessed, on the Institute's derivatives body of knowledge and item bank, in the role the person holds; the applicable regime is the CUSF. The format follows the standard of the active certifications; CNSF-specific documentation is being integrated and pending parameters are published at enrollment.
The cut score in force is evidenced by the dated version of the exam it belongs to and is published here with that reference; in the meantime it may be requested at growth@riskmathics.com. The 600 out of 1,000 published by the Structured Products Certification · Afores (CONSAR) belongs to the registered exams of that subject and does not carry over to derivatives.
If the candidate does not pass
The Certification Board is defining the failure and retake policy: how many attempts each window allows, the minimum wait between them and the fee for sitting the exam again. It is published here as soon as it is approved; in the meantime, the figures may be requested at growth@riskmathics.com. Exam governance →
Items are built on levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy: remember, understand and apply. The share of each level changes with the role, according to what that role does on the job. Bloom's Taxonomy →
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09 — MOCK EXAMSMock exams
The preparation program's mock exams are built with the same recipe as the exam: a set number of items per subject and per level of mastery, in the role the person will sit. They are not a general derivatives review; they are a rehearsal of the real demand.
Every item is classified into one of three levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Remember: define initial margin or a termination event. Understand: explain why the shape of the curve alters the cost of the roll-over. Apply: compute the hedge for a UDI-denominated reserve with the right instrument and tenor. Nothing beyond level 3, because the exam does not go beyond it either.
- Same structure by subject and level as the certification exam.
- Feedback by subject, to direct study to where the weight sits in each role.
- Live items: withdrawn or rewritten when the regime changes.
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10 — PATHLearning path
- Phase 1
Define role and scopeBefore enrolling
The institution and the professional identify which function each person holds under CUSF Annex 8.4.2 and which Institute role it maps to: Investments and Trading, Risk Management, Compliance Control or Back Office. The exam depends on that role.
- Phase 2
Preparation by subjectDuring the program
Derivatives courses for insurers at RiskMathics Financial Institute, or independent study of the eight published subjects, with the emphasis that corresponds to the role.
- Phase 3
Mock examsClose of preparation
Rehearsals built with the exam's recipe and feedback by subject. Repeated until the result is stable in the subjects that carry the most weight.
- Phase 4
Certification examOne Saturday
Online enrollment up to three days before, a summons with a personal Zoom link 48 hours before, and the exam at 09:00 Mexico City time with government-issued ID.
- Phase 5
Certification and validityThree years
Certification with the recognition of CUSF Annex 8.4.2 and three-year validity. Renewed against the regime in force at the time of renewal.
Investment
11Program and exam, priced separately
The Institute's active certifications are billed in pesos from Mexico and in dollars from the rest of the world; the fee for this exam is announced as soon as it is approved.
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12 — FAQFrequently asked questions
Is this the same certification as Derivatives Certification · Afores (CONSAR)?
They share the Institute's derivatives body of knowledge and item bank, and both are assessed by role. They differ in the regime applied and in the recognition: the Afores credential answers to Article 70 of the general financial provisions for the Retirement Savings Systems (SAR); this one answers to Annex 8.4.2 of the CUSF and to the derivatives regime for insurance companies. The documentation specific to this perimeter is being integrated; any exam parameter specific to the CNSF perimeter is published at enrollment.
Who must be certified under the CUSF?
Annex 8.4.2 refers to the staff who trade derivatives, those who manage their risks, and the person in charge of the control and recording of derivative financial transactions. The Institute assesses those functions in its four roles: Investments and Trading, Risk Management, Compliance Control and Back Office. The text of the Annex speaks of insurance companies; each institution, surety companies included, must read the exact scope in the CUSF and in the Banco de México provisions that apply to it. The Institute advises on the role that corresponds to each position.
Is the preparation program mandatory?
No. The exam can be taken with or without the program. The program is delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute, covers the eight subjects and includes mock exams; the exam is administered by the RiskMathics Certificate Institute as an independent third party. They are two products with two fees.
How much does the exam cost and when is the fee published?
The fee is being defined and will be published on the enrollment page as soon as it is approved. The Institute's active certifications are billed in pesos from Mexico and in dollars from the rest of the world.
How and when is the exam taken?
Online, on a Saturday at 09:00 Mexico City time, proctored via Zoom with government-issued ID. It has 120 items per form, in four hours, with 40 seats per date; enrollment closes three days before and the personal link arrives 48 hours before. Weekday dates are available by prior appointment.
How long is the certification valid?
Three years. It is not permanent because the regime is not either: the item bank is audited against the current rules and renewal is taken against the regime of the day.
Derivatives Certification · Insurers (CNSF)
The derivative hedges the reserve. The error surfaces in solvency.