Family A · Pension funds and insurers · Mexican regime · Exam open
Structured Products Certification · Afores (CONSAR)
The error never shows in the price. It shows two years later.
EST-CONSAR
01 — ABSTRACTStructured Products Certification · Afores (CONSAR)
A CKD has no daily price. A CERPI may place up to 90 percent of its capital outside Mexico and still count as a structured instrument as long as it keeps 10 percent in national territory. A FIBRA-E brings energy and infrastructure to the market under rules of its own. None of the three corrects itself: value arrives late, through an independent appraiser, and a mistake in classification, in limit computation or in booking a capital call surfaces in a regulator's finding, not in the month's statement.
The Structured Products Certification · Afores (CONSAR) attests that the person who decides, measures, controls or books investments in structured vehicles commands four things: the anatomy of the vehicle and its distribution waterfall, the legal framework and the governance of the trust, the SAR investment regime with its limits and how they are computed, and the analysis of the manager and of valuation. RiskMathics Certificate Institute administers the exam as an independent third party, recognized by CONSAR under Article 70 of the general financial provisions of the Retirement Savings Systems.
The exam is taken by role: Investments, Risk Management, Compliance and Back Office receive distinct blueprints over one body of knowledge. It is 120 items in four hours, online, on Saturdays, proctored over Zoom with government ID. The credential is valid for three years. The certification consists of the exam alone; the Institute does not teach to its own exam: it builds it, audits it against the current regime and administers it.
EST-CONSAR
02 — INDUSTRYWhat is happening in the industry
In October 2024 CONSAR raised the structured-instrument ceiling from 20 to 30 percent of SIEFORE assets, and the FIBRA ceiling from 10 to 12.5 percent. By May 2026 the generational SIEFOREs held 8.973 trillion pesos in net assets and the Afores managed 70.3 million accounts. Room for vehicles without a daily price expanded inside a system that is already the country's second-largest financial actor, after commercial banking.
Real exposure trails the ceiling. At market value, structured instruments were 8.3 percent of assets in September 2024; counting committed but uncalled capital, the position runs near 18 percent. Roughly 135 CKDs with 64 managers and about 212 CERPIs with 25 add up to committed capital approaching USD 74 billion. Every capital call, distribution and valuation passes through someone who must know how it computes against the limit.
Performance does not forgive poor judgment. Only 37 of 133 CKDs report an IRR above 8 percent; the historical weighted IRR is 2.7 percent net in pesos, against 7.4 percent for CERPIs. As of July 2026, CONSAR's portal lists a single certifying body for structured instruments. The competence of the staff who decide, control and book these investments is no longer an employer's preference. It is a prudential control over retirement savings.
EST-CONSAR
03 — WHYWhy this certification
In derivatives, the error is quantified in the month's statement. In structured instruments it is not: the vehicle is valued with a lag, a capital call commits resources that have not yet left the balance sheet, and the reclassification of a CERPI as a foreign security can go unnoticed until the inspection visit. The certification exists so that the person who signs, controls or books that transaction understands the structure before the regulator explains it.
The exam draws on a proprietary item bank, registered with the authority and audited against the current regime: when a rule changes, the item is withdrawn or rewritten. The blueprint is fixed by subject and mastery level, and it changes by role, because the person who decides a position is not assessed like the one who stops it or the one who books it.
- Recognized by CONSAR under Article 70 of the SAR provisions: a passed exam satisfies a regulatory obligation, not an employer's preference.
- Four roles, four blueprints: Investments, Risk Management, Compliance and Back Office over one body of knowledge.
- Covers what global alternatives charters do not: CKD, CERPI, FIBRA and FIBRA-E, and the Mexican investment regime.
- A living bank audited against the current regime: when the rule changes, the item is withdrawn or rewritten, whether or not anyone demands it.
- Real independence: the Institute belongs to no assessed institution and does not teach to its own exam.
- Three-year validity, because the regime is not for life either.
EST-CONSAR
04 — OUTCOMESWhat it attests
- 01
Classify each vehicle in the right bucket of the regime: CKD, CERPI and FIBRA-E as structured instruments, the FIBRA under its own limit, and a CERPI with less than 10 percent in national territory as a foreign security.
- 02
Compute a capital call, a distribution or a revaluation against the limits per SIEFORE, per issue and per project, and tell an active breach from a passive one.
- 03
Read the trust agreement and explain the distribution waterfall: preferred return, catch-up, carried interest and management fees.
- 04
Identify who approves what in the governance of the vehicle: technical committee, holders' assembly, independent members and conflicts of interest.
- 05
Apply the criteria for analyzing a manager: investment process, alignment of incentives, minimum co-investment and due diligence.
- 06
Interpret the valuation of a vehicle with no daily price: independent appraiser, price vendor, frequency, lag and fair value.
- 07
Explain the effect of a CKD's J-curve on the SIEFORE's return and how it reads in risk and liquidity.
- 08
Book and reconcile positions, commitments, calls and distributions against the manager's report, the price vendor and the custodian.
EST-CONSAR
05 — INSTITUTIONSThe cut-off line
An Afore that requires this certification of its desk, its risk unit, its compliance officer and its back office is not hiring an attendance certificate. It is hiring evidence that each role was assessed on what it does in the job, with a fixed blueprint and a registered item bank of its own.
For the manager of a CKD or a CERPI raising capital from the Afores, a certified team shortens the distance to the buyer: it speaks the language of the regime, of the limits and of the file that CONSAR reviews on inspection.
- Verifiable compliance: a CONSAR-recognized certification, valid for three years, with an individual enrollment number per candidate.
- Fewer regulatory findings: staff who know how a vehicle computes inside the limit before capital is committed.
- One standard for four roles: the person who decides, the one who measures, the one who controls and the one who books all speak of the same waterfall and the same limit.
- Institutional enrollment by team: an institution enrolls its entire staff by CSV with a single payment and spreads them across dates.
EST-CONSAR
06 — PROFILEWho it is for
Who it is for
- Afore investment-desk staff who decide investments in CKD, CERPI, FIBRA and FIBRA-E.
- Risk management units (UAIR) and compliance officers who monitor limits, files and conflicts of interest.
- Back-office and operations staff who book capital calls, distributions, custody and regulatory reports.
- Teams at managers and infrastructure funds that issue and place structured vehicles with the Afores.
- Insurance-company staff with exposure to structured vehicles who want to attest the same command, without this replacing any certification required by the CNSF.
Not for
- Anyone seeking a derivatives credential: futures, options and swaps are assessed in the Derivatives Certification · Afores (CONSAR).
- Anyone who needs to attest global private equity, private debt or hedge funds without the Mexican regime: that belongs to the Alternative Investments Certification (LatAm), with a first exam planned for 2027.
- Anyone expecting an attendance certificate: the certification is an exam, and only an exam, administered by an independent third party.
EST-CONSAR
07 — KNOWLEDGEBody of knowledge
The certification's registered item bank is organized in three taxonomies. The percentage is each taxonomy's share of that audited bank, not the weight of each topic in the exam: each role's blueprint fixes how many items enter per subject and per mastery level, and it is published in the catalogue at enrollment.
01Taxonomy 1 · Best practices and principles of responsible investment40.8 % of the bank
- Principles for Responsible Investment and ESG integration in the investment decision
- Social and environmental risks of the financed project
- Corporate governance of the issuer and of the trust: technical committee, holders' assembly and independent members
- Conflicts of interest: co-investment, related parties and abstention on conflict
- ILPA principles and holder reporting standards
- Codes of conduct and Afore bodies: Investment Committee, Financial Risk Committee, UAIR and compliance officer
- The file behind each investment: due diligence, opinions, reasoned votes and minutes that withstand an inspection
02Taxonomy 2 · Legal framework and financial analysis40.6 % of the bank
- SAR structured vehicles: CKD for projects in national territory; CERPI with up to 90 % outside Mexico and a 10 % minimum in the country; FIBRA and FIBRA-E; trust estate and restricted public offering
- Securitizations and the structuring of investments; comparison with private vehicles (LP/GP)
- Applicable law and regulation: SAR Law and CONSAR provisions, CNBV Issuers Circular, tax regime of FIBRA and FIBRA-E
- Investment regime: definition of Structured Instruments, limits per SIEFORE (30 % in structured instruments and 12.5 % in FIBRAs since October 2024), concentration per issue and per project according to the Threshold (50 % or 80 %), minimum manager co-investment (2 %) and a 2 %-of-assets limit per instrument
- Limit computation: unfunded commitments, a CERPI counted as a foreign security (the 10 % rule), active and passive breaches, cure periods and notice to CONSAR
- Manager analysis: track record, investment process, alignment of incentives and due diligence (DDQ)
- Economic terms: fees, preferred return, catch-up, carried interest and the distribution waterfall
- Valuation principles and methods: independent appraiser, price vendor, frequency, lag and fair value
03Taxonomy 3 · Risk and portfolio management18.6 % of the bank
- Portfolio management concepts and allocation to alternative assets
- Returns on alternatives: IRR, multiples and the J-curve, and their effect on the SIEFORE's Net Return Indicator
- Private equity and buyouts: return, risk and structure
- Risk and return considerations: market, liquidity, concentration and counterparty
- Types of investment and manager profile
- Booking and control of operations: capital calls, distributions, custody and reconciliation against the manager, the price vendor and the custodian
EST-CONSAR
08 — CERTIFICATION EXAMCertification exam
Certification exam
Certification exam
The only requirements to sit it are a valid government ID and the role that matches the job. RiskMathics Certificate Institute administers it as an independent third party; the blueprint is fixed by subject and mastery level and changes by role.
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 written at levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy: remember, understand and apply. The share of each level changes by role, according to what that role does in the job. Bloom's Taxonomy →
EST-CONSAR
10 — PATHLearning path
- Phase 1
Choose the role and enrollBefore the chosen Saturday
Investments, Risk Management, Compliance or Back Office. The exam is assembled for that role; the syllabus and its weighting are published in the catalogue. Enrollment is online, individually or as a team by CSV, and issues an enrollment number in the RCI-YYYY-NNNN format.
- Phase 2
ExamOne Saturday · 4 hours
Exam notice and individual Zoom link 48 hours before. 120 items in four hours, online, on a Saturday at 09:00 Mexico City time, proctored with government ID.
- Phase 3
Certification and validityThree years
A CONSAR-recognized certification valid for three years; it is then renewed under the regime in force.
Investment
11Program and exam, priced separately
Candidates enrolling from Mexico pay in pesos; the rest of the world pays in US dollars. An institution may enroll its whole team with a single payment.
EST-CONSAR
12 — FAQFrequently asked questions
Is it mandatory for Afore staff?
The SAR regime requires the Afores to certify the staff involved in investments, risk, compliance and back office, and recognizes independent third parties to grant that certification. RiskMathics Certificate Institute is one of them under Article 70 of the general financial provisions of the Retirement Savings Systems; as of July 2026 it is the only one CONSAR's portal lists for structured instruments.
What is required to sit the exam?
A valid government ID and the role that matches the job: Investments, Risk Management, Compliance (Contraloría Normativa) or Back Office. Enrollment is online, individually or as a team by CSV, and issues an individual enrollment number; the Zoom link arrives 48 hours before the chosen Saturday.
Which role should a candidate choose?
The one that matches the job: the person who decides the investment sits Investments; the one who measures it, Risk Management; the one who stops it when it does not comply, Compliance; the one who books and reconciles it, Back Office. The role determines the exam blueprint.
Does it serve insurers or surety companies?
This certification's recognition comes from CONSAR and applies to Afore staff. The CNSF designation in Annex 8.4.2 of the CUSF covers the derivatives certification, not the structured-instruments one. Insurance staff may sit it to attest the same command, without it replacing any certification required by the CNSF.
What happens when the regime changes?
The item bank is audited against the current regime. When a rule changes, the item is withdrawn or rewritten, whether or not anyone demands it. The credential is valid for three years; it is then renewed under the regime in force.
How does an institution enroll a whole team?
An institution can enroll its entire staff by CSV with a single payment and spread them across dates. Each person receives an enrollment number and an individual Zoom link 48 hours before. Weekday dates are arranged by prior appointment through growth@riskmathics.com.
Structured Products Certification · Afores (CONSAR)
The error never shows in the price. It shows two years later.