FIA Markets Academy
| FIA Markets Academy | |
| |
| Founded | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Products | derivatives market e-learning, compliance training, regulatory courses, practical |
| @FIAconnect | |
| FIAconnect | |
| Profile | |
| Web site | https://fia.org/get-smart |
| Releases | Organization News |
FIA Markets Academy is an educational program created by the Futures Industry Association (FIA) to deliver specialized, interactive training and professional development to participants in the global futures, options, and listed derivatives markets.[1][2]
The academy represents the evolution of FIA's decades-long commitment to market education, following the consolidation of the Institute for Financial Markets (IFM) into a modern, digital-first platform. FIA Markets Academy provides foundational and advanced learning modules, compliance training, and industry-specific certifications to help firms and individuals navigate the complexities of derivatives markets and promote high standards of conduct.[3]
History[edit]
FIA Markets Academy was introduced in 2024 as the new educational arm of the Futures Industry Association, succeeding the Institute for Financial Markets (IFM), which had served as FIA’s nonprofit education foundation since 1989. The IFM played a pioneering role in developing training for U.S. futures market participants, regulators, and policymakers, with a focus on market conduct, compliance, and risk management.[4]
By the early 2020s, the growth of digital learning platforms and the need for more flexible, customizable education prompted the FIA board to modernize its offerings. The transition integrated IFM’s online, virtual live, and in-person content into a single platform—the FIA Markets Academy—while broadening its cooperation with exchanges, the National Futures Association, and industry working groups.[5] The new brand was launched to engage a wider, international audience, featuring interactive e-learning, new course formats, and industry certification standards for firms and individual learners across regulatory jurisdictions.
Products and Services[edit]
FIA Markets Academy provides a suite of educational resources for the derivatives sector:
- Self-guided and instructor-led e-learning modules on market conduct, exchange operations, compliance, anti-money laundering, ethics, and regulatory requirements.
- Practical upskilling programs for derivatives operations, futures commission merchants, clearinghouses, compliance staff, and institutional investors.
- Certificate programs for market structure, trade lifecycle, risk management, and client onboarding in the futures and options markets.
- Custom training partnerships with regulators, central counterparties, and proprietary trading firms for continuing professional development and policy training.
- Modular short courses targeted at emerging market issues such as technological change, electronic trading, cryptocurrencies, and changing global regulations.
Membership[edit]
Key People[edit]
Board of Directors[edit]
The FIA Markets Academy is ultimately overseen by the board of the Futures Industry Association, which includes:
- Walt Lukken (president & CEO, FIA)
- Alicia Crighton, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (board chair)
- Gary Saunders, Barclays (vice chair)
- Eric Aldous, RBC Capital Markets (treasurer)
- Additional members from major global trading firms, exchange operators, and clearinghouses[6]
Executive Management[edit]
- Walt Lukken, President and Chief Executive Officer, FIA
- Jackie Mesa, Chief Operating Officer and SVP of Global Policy, FIA
- Allison Lurton, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, FIA
Risk Management[edit]
Through its curriculum, FIA Markets Academy addresses all major areas of risk management in the derivatives industry. Training modules are created in collaboration with practitioners, regulators, and infrastructure providers to educate on margin policy, operational risk, technology failures, regulatory compliance, and post-trade settlement concerns.
Instructional content addresses industry responses to historic stress events, evolving market threats, changes in clearinghouse practice, and the increasing use of technology and data analytics in compliance and risk oversight. FIA Markets Academy regularly updates its materials to reflect new regulatory initiatives, best practices, and lessons learned from notable incidents.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ Get Smart. FIA.
- ↑ Futures Industry eLearning. TheIFM.
- ↑ The IFM: Futures Industry eLearning. The IFM.
- ↑ Modernizing Markets. FIA.
- ↑ About Us - The IFM. The IFM.
- ↑ Governance. FIA.
- ↑ FIA Markets Academy. GoEShow.com.