Family C · Markets, instruments and transactions · Coming soon
Financial Derivatives Specialist
From the model to the desk: price, hedge and answer for the book.
Notice
Financial Derivatives Specialist carries no regulatory recognition. It does not replace the derivatives certification that CONSAR and CNSF require of AFORE and insurance company staff.
FDS
01 — ABSTRACTFinancial Derivatives Specialist
The global derivatives market has never been larger or more tightly regulated. Notional outstanding in OTC derivatives reached USD 846 trillion in June 2025, up 16 % in a year, and the LIBOR transition closed for good in 2024. In Mexico, cleared swaps referencing TIIE run to roughly USD 4.9 trillion, and the market moved from 28-day TIIE to the overnight TIIE de Fondeo in January 2025. The instruments have changed. The credentials that vouch for the people who handle them have not.
Financial Derivatives Specialist is the RiskMathics Certificate Institute credential for professionals who price, trade, structure, hedge or control derivatives. It has two levels. Level I certifies derivatives theory and pricing, quantitative methods, risk management, markets and regulation, and ethics. Level II certifies exotic and structured products, quantitative modelling and programming in Python, Latin American market specialisation, portfolio hedging and current issues in technology. The exam can be taken with or without the preparation program.
Global certifications treat derivatives as a chapter: the CFA devotes 5 to 8 % of Level I to them, and none covers the derivatives regime of a Mexican pension fund, TIIE de Fondeo or the Reglas Tripartitas. Local credentials stop at an introductory level. Financial Derivatives Specialist takes derivatives as the whole subject, from the forward to XVA, in Spanish and with the regulatory specificity of the region. It is the first certification in the institute's new catalogue to open for examination.
FDS
02 — INDUSTRYWhat is happening in the industry
Interest rate derivatives carried USD 548.3 trillion in notional at end-2024; FX derivatives, USD 130.1 trillion. Daily turnover in OTC interest rate derivatives rose 59 % between 2022 and 2025, to USD 7.9 trillion, according to the BIS Triennial Survey. Central clearing now covers 73.5 % of traded interest rate notional and 67.9 % of CDS notional. Today's desk is a desk of central counterparties, collateral and capital.
Latin America has an ecosystem of its own. B3 in Brazil is the world's second-largest derivatives exchange by contracts, at roughly 8.3 billion contracts in 2023. In Mexico, MexDer trades 7 to 8 million exchange contracts annually; the OTC swaps market is of a different order, at USD 4.9 trillion cleared. Mexican banks' derivatives exposure equals 8.2 % of system assets, close to MXN 1.2 trillion, and the ten AFOREs manage more than MXN 6 trillion with authorisation to hedge with derivatives.
The regulatory framework has fragmented and grown more technical. FRTB takes effect in the European Union in 2027; EMIR 3.0 requires active accounts at EU clearing houses; SA-CCR and CVA capital change the cost of every trade; the ISDA SIMM is now recalibrated twice a year. No certification today integrates these frameworks with Mexican regulation from Banxico, CNBV and CONSAR. This credential is built in that gap.
FDS
03 — WHYWhy this certification
A derivatives professional in the region currently chooses between two poor options: English-language certifications that ignore the specifics of Mexico and Latin America, or local credentials of introductory depth that never reach stochastic calculus, exotics or XVA. Price widens the gap: the quantitative program closest to this ambition costs more than USD 22,000 and is delivered only in English.
Financial Derivatives Specialist closes that distance with a body of knowledge that runs from the forward to XVA, a graded programming practical and case vignettes built on the region's own markets. What the certificate reports is narrow and checkable: that the holder priced the instrument, measured its risk, read its infrastructure and applied the regime that constrains it, on an exam whose standard the employer does not set.
- Derivatives as the whole subject: from forwards and futures to exotics, structured products and XVA.
- Two levels with progression: foundations and application at Level I; specialisation, programming and cases at Level II.
- Regional specificity: the AFORE derivatives regime, TIIE de Fondeo, the Reglas Tripartitas, B3 and ComDer.
- Programming that is assessed: Level II includes a proctored Python practical, graded separately against a rubric.
- An exam independent of the program: it can be taken with or without the preparation course.
- Items written at levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy and calibrated under one and the same psychometric rulebook.
FDS
04 — OUTCOMESWhat it prepares for
- 01
Price forwards, futures, options and swaps using multi-curve frameworks and calibrated volatility surfaces.
- 02
Compute and manage portfolio Greeks, limits and dynamic hedges with transaction costs.
- 03
Measure market and counterparty risk: VaR, Expected Shortfall, EE, PFE, EPE and initial margin.
- 04
Decompose and value structured products: autocallables, capital-protected notes, CLNs and securitisation tranches.
- 05
Calculate valuation adjustments (CVA, DVA, FVA, KVA and MVA) and explain their effect on price and capital.
- 06
Implement Monte Carlo pricing engines, TIIE curve construction and Greeks calculators in Python.
- 07
Apply the AFORE derivatives regime, regulatory capital (SA-CCR, FRTB, CVA) and clearing and reporting rules.
- 08
Recognise prohibited conduct, conflicts of interest and suitability requirements in the sale and trading of derivatives.
FDS
05 — INSTITUTIONSThe cut-off line
Institutions hiring for a derivatives desk today rely on technical interviews, in-house tests and credentials that measure something else. The FRM attests financial risk; the CFA, investment analysis; the CQF, quantitative depth, in English and at more than USD 22,000; the regulatory certification, compliance with the regime. None combines quantitative depth, assessed programming and the specifics of Mexico and Latin America, in Spanish. None attests that the candidate can build a TIIE de Fondeo curve or price an autocallable within an AFORE's limits.
Requiring Financial Derivatives Specialist sets a verifiable floor. The certificate states which domains were tested, at what weight and at what level of mastery, and it is stated by a third party that did not teach to the exam. For risk, compliance or human resources, that turns a two-hour interview into a decision with evidence behind it.
- A common standard for desks, risk, structuring and control in banks, broker-dealers, AFOREs, insurers and corporates.
- Domains with published weights: the institution knows exactly what was certified.
- Level II with graded programming: evidence of implementation ability, not theory alone.
- Periodic renewal (validity to be confirmed): the credential is not for life.
FDS
06 — PROFILEWho it is for
Who it is for
- Traders, structurers and institutional sales professionals in banks, broker-dealers and brokerages.
- Quants and teams in valuation, model validation and XVA.
- Market and counterparty risk, compliance, treasury and back-office teams with derivatives exposure.
- Staff of AFOREs, insurers and corporates who want to go beyond the regulatory exam and certify technical mastery.
- Consultants and auditors who review derivatives books.
Who it is not for
- Anyone seeking a general introduction to financial markets without a quantitative base.
- Anyone who only needs the regulatory derivatives certification for AFOREs or insurers; that is a different certification, with a different exam and different recognition.
- Anyone seeking to certify data science or machine learning; the catalogue's Machine Learner Certification™ serves that purpose.
FDS
07 — KNOWLEDGEBody of knowledge
Eight domains across two levels. Weights follow the certification blueprint and are confirmed in each level's call for candidates; topics come from the preparation program calendar and the blueprint.
01Derivatives theory and pricingLevel I · 40 %
- Forwards and futures: pricing, basis and hedging
- Options: Greeks, volatility surfaces and strategies
- Interest rate and currency swaps: curves and valuation
- Credit derivatives: CDS, indices and the credit desk
- Structured notes: components, SPVs and payment waterfalls
- Hedge accounting
02Quantitative methods, modelling and programmingLevel I · 20 % · Level II · 25 %
- Black-Scholes-Merton and its derivations
- Stochastic and local volatility: Heston, SABR, SLV and rough volatility
- Post-LIBOR multi-curve framework and TIIE de Fondeo
- XVA: CVA, DVA, FVA, KVA and MVA
- Numerical methods: Monte Carlo, finite differences, FFT and Longstaff-Schwartz
- Applied Python: pricing engines, curves and Greeks
- Deep hedging and accelerated computing
03Risk management and portfolio hedgingLevel I · 15 % · Level II · 15 %
- Portfolio Greeks, limits and dynamic hedging
- VaR, Expected Shortfall and backtesting under FRTB
- Counterparty risk: EE, PFE, EPE and margin (SIMM, UMR)
- Validation of pricing models and model risk
- Trading book management
- Macro and tail risk
- Cases: LTCM, AIG, the London Whale, Archegos and LME nickel
04Markets, infrastructure and regulationLevel I · 15 %
- Infrastructure and access: exchanges, clearing houses and repositories (MexDer, Asigna, B3)
- Post-trade: confirmation, clearing, collateral and CSAs
- ISDA legal architecture
- The AFORE derivatives regime: limits, DCVaR, collateral and eligible counterparties
- Regulatory capital: SA-CCR, FRTB, CVA capital and uncleared margin
- Global regulation: Dodd-Frank, EMIR and Mexico's Reglas Tripartitas
- Economics of flow and institutional sales
05Ethics and professional conductLevel I · 10 %
- Market manipulation: spoofing, layering, wash trading and cornering
- Suitability, product governance and target market
- Conflicts of interest and industry codes of conduct
- Cases: LIBOR, Enron, AIG and Archegos
- Behavioural biases on the desk
06Exotic and structured productsLevel II · 30 %
- Autocallables, phoenix, worst-of and barrier reverse convertibles
- Rates products: range accruals, CMS steepeners, inverse floaters and TARNs
- Credit-linked products: CLNs, synthetic CDOs and nth-to-default baskets
- Securitisation: SPVs, payment waterfalls and credit enhancement
- Capital-protected notes linked to the IPC index
- Mexican vehicles: CKDs, CERPIs and certificados bursátiles fiduciarios
07Latin American market specialisationLevel II · 20 %
- The transition from 28-day TIIE to TIIE de Fondeo and swap hedging at a Mexican bank
- B3 DI futures in a Brazilian asset manager's strategy
- USD/MXN hedging for a multinational
- A derivatives overlay at an AFORE within CONSAR limits
- Regulatory compliance before CNBV and Banxico
- The markets of Colombia, Chile and Argentina: BVC, ComDer and MATBA-ROFEX
08Current issues and technologyLevel II · 10 %
- ESG and climate derivatives, including sustainability-linked derivatives
- On-chain derivatives and decentralised perpetuals
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning in pricing and hedging
- GPU-accelerated computing and the quantum horizon
- The desk technology stack: QuantLib, Python, C++ and platforms
FDS
08 — TWO PRODUCTSPreparation program · Certification exam
Preparation program
Preparation program
Program delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute
The Financial Derivatives Specialist program is delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute, the group's school since 2005. It covers the 22 modules underpinning both exam levels and includes mock exams built to the same recipe as the exam. It is a separate product from the exam: contracted separately, with its own fee, and not a prerequisite for sitting it.
Global Financial Derivatives Specialist — Certification Program 2026–2027
320 h22 modules and 128 sessions of 2.5 hours, from 24 August 2026 to 14 September 2027. It runs from Derivatives 360 and the forward engine through XVA, ISDA, global regulation and the closing Derivatives Desk Blueprint. One week off after every four modules.
- All 22 modules on the calendar, with live 2.5-hour sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Mock exams for each level, built to the exam recipe at Bloom levels 1, 2 and 3; the Level II mocks with vignettes on the region's markets: TIIE de Fondeo, B3 DI futures, USD/MXN hedging and derivatives overlays at AFOREs.
- A computational component in the Computational Edge module; the Python practice aligned with the Level II assessment is to be confirmed.
- One week off after every four modules, plus the year-end and Easter recesses.
24 August 2026 to 14 September 2027 · Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 19:00 to 21:30 Mexico City time · recess from 11 December 2026 to 11 January 2027 and from 22 March to 2 April 2027 · five interleaved weeks off.
Certification exam
Certification exam
Built, audited and administered by the RiskMathics Certificate Institute. It can be taken with or without the preparation program. Two sequential levels.
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, the fee for sitting the exam again and what happens to levels already passed. 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 written at levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy: remember, understand and apply. Each form follows a fixed recipe of items per domain and per level; calculation problems and case vignettes assess level 3, apply. Every item is calibrated for difficulty and discrimination before it counts towards the score, and no candidate sees the same item twice within 24 months, including across Level I and Level II. Bloom's Taxonomy →
FDS
09 — MOCK EXAMSMock exams
The preparation program includes mock exams for each level. Each is assembled to the same recipe as the live exam: the same domains, the same weights and the same proportion of items per level of mastery, from remember to apply. The items are distinct from the certification bank; they measure the same thing without exposing it.
A Level I mock reproduces the format of 100 multiple-choice items and 10 calculation problems. A Level II mock reproduces the case vignettes on the region's markets and the Python practical. Its purpose is singular: that no one reaches the exam without having first faced its format, its pace and its demands.
- Level 1 · Remember: definitions, market conventions, formulas and terms from ISDA documentation.
- Level 2 · Understand: read a volatility surface, an exposure profile or the effect of a rate move on a swap.
- Level 3 · Apply: price, hedge, compute a CVA, build a curve or decide within an AFORE's regime.
FDS
10 — PATHLearning path
- Phase 1
Foundations and pricing enginesModules 0–IV · August 2026 to January 2027 · 50 sessions
Derivatives 360, forwards and futures, volatility and options, the Global Swap Stack and the credit derivatives core. The pricing base on which everything else rests.
- Phase 2
Credit desk, structuring and the trading bookModules V–VIII · January to April 2027 · 23 sessions
CDS Desk, Structured Notes, Trading Book Management and Post-Trade Reality. The Level I exam window opens in the first quarter of 2027, with mock exams beforehand.
- Phase 3
Flow, infrastructure, XVA and the rulebookModules IX–XVI · April to July 2027 · 34 sessions
Economics of Flow, institutional sales, Market Infrastructure & Access, XVA Framework, Hedge Accounting, ISDA & Legal Architecture, global regulation and ESG and climate derivatives.
- Phase 4
The frontier and the Desk BlueprintModules XVII–XXI · July to September 2027 · 21 sessions
Behavioral Edge, Computational Edge, Macro & Tail Risk, On-chain Derivatives and the closing Derivatives Desk Blueprint: the design of a desk, from instrument to business.
- Phase 5
Level II certificationFourth quarter of 2027 · to be confirmed
Six case vignettes on the region's markets and a proctored Python practical. The Level II mock exams close the program.
Investment
11Program and exam, priced separately
Program and exam are two products with two fees; neither includes the other. The exam fee is stated in US dollars plus applicable tax; payment terms are published with the call for candidates.
FDS
12 — FAQFrequently asked questions
Does it replace the derivatives certification required by CONSAR and CNSF?
No. Financial Derivatives Specialist is a professional certification with no regulatory recognition. The certification the regime requires of AFORE and insurance company staff is Derivatives Certification, with its own exam and its own recognition. Those who must comply with the regime sit that one; those who want to certify technical mastery beyond the regime sit this one. They are complementary, not equivalent.
Can the exam be taken without the program?
Yes. The exam is contracted separately and does not require the preparation program. The program covers the 22 modules of the syllabus and includes mock exams; candidates who already command the material may register directly for the exam.
What distinguishes Level I from Level II?
Level I certifies foundations and application: theory and pricing (40 %), quantitative methods (20 %), risk management (15 %), markets and regulation (15 %) and ethics (10 %), in 100 multiple-choice items and 10 calculation problems. Level II certifies specialisation: exotic and structured products (30 %), modelling and programming (25 %), Latin American specialisation (20 %), portfolio hedging and risk (15 %) and current issues and technology (10 %), in six case vignettes and a proctored Python practical.
When does the first exam open?
Level I opens in the first quarter of 2027 and is the first certification in the institute's new catalogue to open for examination. Level II is planned for the fourth quarter of 2027. Dates are published in the call for candidates.
Which programming language is assessed, and how?
Python. The Level II practical takes place in a proctored notebook environment and is graded separately against a rubric. Pricing an exotic by Monte Carlo, building a TIIE swap curve or coding a Greeks engine are examples of the kind of task set. Level I includes no programming practical.
In which language is the exam delivered?
The design provides for delivery in Spanish, with industry terminology kept in English where it is the standard: Greeks, Black-Scholes, swap, notional. Certification names remain in English. Details are confirmed in the call for candidates.
Financial Derivatives Specialist
From the model to the desk: price, hedge and answer for the book.