A CIMA® Certification Registered Education Course (online)
Upcoming Webinar
Intro to Yale’s Online CIMA Course (May 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET): Register
Build your business with Yale’s comprehensive and convenient path to CIMA certification.
The prestigious Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA) certification can be a key advantage for investment professionals. Yale School of Management’s fully online Investment Management Theory and Practice program can help you ensure you’ve positioned yourself for success.
Key Benefits
- Learn from leading Yale faculty and industry experts.
- Complete the certification process faster and more conveniently with our unique, start-to-finish online program.
- Study materials specifically designed to help you prepare for and pass the CIMA certification exam delivered in a variety of tools suited for various learning styles.
- Earn a certificate of completion from Yale School of Management.
Who should enroll?
Ideal candidates for CIMA Certification include investment advisors, investment consultants, financial advisors, financial planners, asset and wealth managers, and financial services, professionals. Note – this program should be considered intermediate to advanced. Program participants are expected to have an elementary understanding of statistics, economics, time-value-of-money, and investment principles prior to enrolling.
Why Choose Yale?
- CIMA candidates from Yale have demonstrated higher pass rates on the certification exam.
- Ongoing enrollment allows you to begin whenever you are ready.
- The asynchronous nature of this program allows you to study and complete certification at your own pace. Fast or slow, it’s completely up to you.
- Join the market leader. Most CIMA candidates chose the Yale online program.
- According to third-party student survey results, program participants give the program an overall rating of 4.82/5.00 for efficacy, 4.78/5.00 for helping them prepare for the certification exam, and a participant support rating of 4.84/5.00.
CIMA candidates who have already completed a CIMA-registered education course but have not yet passed the CIMA certification exam may enroll in the Yale CIMA program for $4,500. All candidates must complete the education course requirements before being allowed access to the test-prep material, even if they have already completed the course at another university. Interested parties should reach out to Yale Executive Education's registrar, Jaime Willadsen (somexeced.registrar@yale.edu), to receive the appropriate enrollment form.
About the Program
Overview
Crafted for investment professionals pursuing the CIMA certification, the Investment Management Theory and Practice is an online course for those who value the high-caliber education of Yale and the convenience of digital learning.
The comprehensive Yale CIMA online program includes: a CIMA registered education course and exam and study materials to help candidates prepare for and pass the certification exam.
Built around the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA) certification curriculum and approved by the Investments & Wealth Institute® as a registered education program, this course fulfills the education requirement for CIMA certification. This course includes comprehensive coverage of the topics and learning objectives found in the CIMA Certification Detailed Content Outline (core topics list).
What You Can Expect
- Participants gain a better understanding of the CIMA curriculum core topics and learning objectives by mastering concepts, calculations, and applications.
- Participants develop tools and resources to help them improve their businesses by immediately applying new strategies and solutions in practice.
- Participants prepare for the Yale SOM course tests and the CIMA certification exam by learning from multiple resources, including videos, exercises, and practice questions.
Not only will the Yale CIMA program help you gain your certification, it will help drive your business and build your career.
- Perform client discovery more efficiently
- Develop investment policy statements for individual and institutional clients
- Identify and measure performance and risk more accurately
- Analyze and recommend appropriate traditional and alternative investments
- Perform successful manager search and selection
- Manage investment portfolios more effectively
- Use research in behavioral finance to better manage client expectations, decisions, and relationships
- Develop a formal review and revisions process
Topics Covered
Investment Management Theory and Practice is an online course for investment professionals pursuing the prestigious CIMA certification.
This program, led by Yale Professor Tobias J. Moskowitz and financial certification specialist and Program Director Jim Dobbs, includes comprehensive coverage of the topics and learning objectives found in the CIMA Certification Detailed Content Outline.
It has been developed to help you better understand the concepts, calculations, and applications found in the CIMA core topics list; help you prepare for and pass the Yale School of Management course tests and CIMA certification exam; and help you take your practice to the next level.
Topic coverage includes:
- Ethics and regulation
- A review of financial fundamentals (including statistics, time value of money, and economic analysis)
- Risk management
- Performance measurement and analysis
- Traditional and alternative investments
- Portfolio theory and models
- Behavioral finance
- Investment consulting process (including client discovery, investment policy, portfolio construction and management, manager search and selection, and portfolio review)
Learning Tools & Resources
In addition to the guidance provided by faculty, the Yale CIMA online program includes materials specifically designed to help candidates prepare for and pass the CIMA certification exam – materials, unlike any other program. Candidates learn by leveraging proprietary tools and resources that fit their own, unique learning styles and preferences, including:
- Orientation videos and notes
- Lecture videos
- Yale CIMA program readings library
- Test-prep overview videos and study recommendations
- Test-prep summary slides
- Over 1,000 practice questions
- Discussion board
Additional Program Information
- Program enrollment is offered on an ongoing basis. Once approved for candidacy by Investments & Wealth Institute you may enroll whenever you choose.
- All program content is available on demand. Participants can download, copy, save and print whatever they choose. Participants are not allowed to share program materials with anyone.
- This program is not offered for academic credit and should be considered a "self-study" course.
- Participants have access to Yale and Dobbs Education staff during traditional office hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) for administrative and technology questions.
- This program is designed to be self-guided, but we know that sometimes a little help is needed. Participants use the discussion board to discuss topics and questions among themselves, and participants can reach out directly for help with a handful of content-related questions as they move through the program. If however, one believes he or she will need help akin to that received in an in-person program, like daily or weekly interaction with faculty and teaching assistants, then this program would not be a good fit.
- Program fees are due in full upon enrollment. No cancellations or refunds are permitted once you have enrolled, therefore you want to be 100% committed prior to enrolling.
Agenda
Investment Management Theory and Practice walks you through the core topics and learning objectives found in the CIMA certification curriculum line-by-line. The faculty team helps participants navigate the complex and sometimes confusing world of investment thought and application.
Curriculum
(Source: CIMA Core Topics)
- Fundamentals
- Investments
- Portfolio Theory and Behavioral Finance
- Risk and Return
- Portfolio Construction and Consulting Process
- Statistics and Methods
- Applied Finance and Economics
- Global Capital Markets History and Valuation
- Investment Vehicles
- Equity
- Fixed Income
- Alternative Investments
- Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives
- Real Assets
- Portfolio Theories and Models
- Behavioral Finance Theory
- Investment Philosophies and Styles
- Tools and Strategies
- Risk
- Risk Measures
- Performance Measurement and Attribution
- Investments & Wealth Institute Code of Professional Responsibility
- Client Discovery
- Investment Policy
- Portfolio Construction
- Manager Search, Selection, and Monitoring
- Portfolio Review and Revisions
Faculty & Practitioners
Please note that faculty and lecturers are subject to change.
Jim Dobbs, CIMA®, CFP®, CPWA®
Program Director, President, Dobbs Education, LLC
Read the full bio
Jim Dobbs has worked with certification education providers on programs including CIMA®, CPWA®, CFP®, and others for the last 20 years. He brings to the Yale School of Management his unique history and experience in helping thousands of candidates through the certification process. Jim Dobbs specializes in designing, developing, and managing financial training and certification programs. Mr. Dobbs served the Investments & Wealth Institute® as director of education where he helped create the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® certification program.
Mr. Dobbs helped develop the Advanced Investment Strategist program in portfolio risk management; led a project to help update and revise the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA) certification program curriculum; and served as chair of IMCA’s Technical Advisory Board.
Prior, Mr. Dobbs founded and managed the CFP Board registered financial planning certificate programs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and The University of Texas at Austin where he was program director. Later he served Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. as director of education.
Mr. Dobbs was a financial advisor for 27 years and created Dobbs Wealth Management Group, LLC, a registered investment advisory company that offered financial planning and investment management services from 1998 through 2017. Before founding Dobbs Wealth, he worked for several financial services firms, including Mercer; IDS (now Ameriprise); Harris, Webb & Garrison (now SMH Group); and Citigroup.
He earned an Executive MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business (with a specialization in asset and wealth management) and holds a master’s degree from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) in partnership with Swiss Finance Institute. He earned a Post-Baccalaureate Award in Taxation from UCLA Extension and is a graduate of the Management Development for Entrepreneurs (MDE) Program offered through UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (majoring in financial services and planning) from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.
Roger Ibbotson
Professor in the Practice Emeritus of Finance
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Roger G. Ibbotson is Professor in the Practice Emeritus of Finance at the Yale School of Management. He is also chairman of Zebra Capital Management, LLC, an equity investment and hedge fund manager. He is founder and former chairman of Ibbotson Associates, now a Morningstar Company. He has written numerous books and articles including Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation with Rex Sinquefield (updated annually) which serves as a standard reference for information on capital market returns.
Professor Ibbotson conducts research on a broad range of financial topics, including popularity, liquidity, investment returns, mutual funds, international markets, portfolio management, and valuation. He has recently co-authored Popularity: A Bridge between Classical and Behavioral Finance and Lifetime Financial Advice. He has also written two books with Gary Brinson, Global Investing and Investment Markets. He is a regular contributor and editorial board member to both trade and academic journals.
Professor Ibbotson serves on numerous boards including Dimensional Fund Advisors’ funds. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Purdue University, his MBA from Indiana University, and his PhD from the University of Chicago where he taught for more than ten years and served as executive director of the Center for Research in Security Prices.
Tobias J. Moskowitz
Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Professor of Finance
Read the full bio
Tobias “Toby” Moskowitz was named the inaugural Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management in 2016.
He was previously the Fama Family Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he had taught since 1998. Professor Moskowitz was recognized by the American Finance Association with its 2007 Fischer Black Prize, which is awarded biennially to the top finance scholar in the world under the age of 40 in years when one is deemed deserving. The award cited his “ingenious and careful use of newly available data to address fundamental questions in finance.”
His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, Money magazine, and a 2005 speech by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He has also appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell and Squawk Box, CNN, FOX, and Bloomberg.
John Nersesian, CIMA®, CFP®, CPWA®
Founder, Nersesian Wealth Education, LLC
Head of Advisor Education, PIMCO
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John Nersesian currently serves PIMCO as head of advisor education and was formerly managing director of wealth management services at Nuveen Investments, where his group provided wealth management and practice development education and consulting support to advisors. His experience includes working as a financial advisor to corporate executives, affluent families, and nonprofit organizations. Nersesian previously was a first vice president at Merrill Lynch Private Client Group, where he was a leader in comprehensive wealth management strategies and business development practices training. He earned a BS in business and economics from Lehigh University. Nersesian has authored numerous articles on a variety of financial matters, speaks regularly at industry conferences, and has contributed to various media outlets. Nersesian is former chair of IWI’s Board of Directors for the 2014–2015 term. He joined the Board of Directors in 2006 and has served on several IWI committees.
Gal Zauberman
Joseph F. Cullman, 3rd Professor of Marketing
Areas of Expertise: Behavioral Economics, Consumer Behavior, Creativity, Decision-making Methodology, Online Marketing
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Professor Gal Zauberman studies judgment and decision making, and behavioral economics. He has researched the factors that affect individuals' evaluations, preferences, and choice, with specific interest in the role of time in decisions and experiences. He has published articles in leading marketing and psychology journals and received international media coverage, including the New York Times, Scientific American, and others. He won numerous awards, including the William O’Dell and the Paul Green best paper awards, and the Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Consumer Psychology.
Per the Investments & Wealth Institute® policy, all faculty who teach in the Yale CIMA program have not been involved in recent development, review, or approval of the CIMA certification examinations.
Registration Information
IMPORTANT: This program is open to CIMA candidates in good standing. If you are not yet a CIMA candidate in good standing, please start the process here.
Program Details
Program fee: $5,995 – Includes institute application and testing fees.
Location: Online program [Note: It typically takes about a week from the time one submits the application (linked below) to the time that one is enrolled and has access to the course.]
Format: Video lectures supplemented by proprietary study materials to enrich learning.
Participants are given access for 365 days or whenever they complete the certification process (whichever comes first), but most should complete the entire process within 4-6 months.
Time Commitment & Expectations
Most Yale program participants report spending 150-200 hours of total study time to complete the Yale course and prepare adequately for the certification exam. Study time depends on many factors including industry experience, current knowledge of the topics, study habits, test-taking skills, etc. This program is not offered for academic credit hours and is not built or priced to offer the same level of interaction with faculty as courses that are offered for academic credit. While this program should be considered “self-study,” participants are able to reach out for content-related help a few times when needed. If one believes he or she will need more help than that, then this program would not be a good fit. Yale has a strict no-refunds policy for this program, so you’ll want to be 100% committed before enrolling.
*INVESTMENTS & WEALTH INSTITUTE® is a registered mark of Investment Management Consultants Association Inc. (“IMCA”) doing business as The Investments & Wealth Institute (“The Institute”). CIMA® and CERTIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYST® are registered certification marks of IMCA d/b/a The Institute. As described in the CIMA Candidate Handbook, completion of an executive education program offered through a Registered Education Provider does not result in attainment of the CIMA certification nor does it award use of the certification marks. Completion of an executive education program results in a candidate becoming eligible to sit for the CIMA Certification Exam and thereafter to complete the remaining steps for certification.
Testimonials
"Thank you for the congratulations! I did utilize Wiley materials along with an exam prep class through Chicago Booth, but after comparing all three, the Yale materials were by far the strongest. Your CIMA Cert Exam test prep slides and videos were pretty much spot on with what I was likely to see on the exam. I trusted your process and it paid off. So thank you! I can already tell I have an added level of confidence after completing the course and the exam. I couldn’t have done it without your program and all of the great tips and techniques provided. Thanks again – it’s a great feeling!" - Cassidy C.
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"I passed the exam on my first attempt. Thank you all for your help! I have spoken with a handful of friends at various firms that used different study courses and they struggled on multiple attempts to pass the CIMA certification exam. The Yale course was straightforward and the “test prep” section was some of the best test prep I’ve used for any exam/certification. Again, thank you all for your help and for really creating a strong outline for success!" - John C.
"I am happy to announce I was able to pass my exam and make it through the CIMA® certification process. I would like to thank Jim Dobbs and the Yale School of Management team for efficiently overpreparing me. If anybody is considering taking the plunge, I cannot imagine there is a team who makes the education component more fascinating, and adds more value to the preparation phase. A big thank you to Jim, Kevin, and Professors Moskowitz, Ibbotson, Zauberman, and Neresian! You have a passionate advocate for life." - Ryan D.
"I completed the Yale coursework and took the CIMA certification exam the following Monday. I passed and it was a great feeling. I wanted to personally thank you for everything. The course did a tremendous job of helping me prepare for the exam and apply my new skills in practice as well. I can honestly say I enjoyed every step of the way. Thank you for making everything easy to comprehend and guiding me through the course." - Brandon H.
"Thank you! The course and exam prep materials were great given the breadth of the topics the test covers. I have already recommended it to a couple other people contemplating the exam! We have generally pushed employees toward the CFA. After going through the course, I think CIMA will be a good fit (if not better!) alternative for our client facing teams." - Richard P.
"I wanted to let you know that I PASSED today...THANK YOU so much for all your support and guidance throughout the entire program!! I will never forget it." - Rodrigo G.
"I took the Certification Exam on Friday and passed. I found the Yale exams to be more difficult than the certification exam, which helped me to be much more prepared. And more importantly, I got a lot from the material and lectures that I can apply in my career. You have a great program; I won't hesitate to recommend it if I have a colleague ask about doing the CIMA." - Kevin C.
"Wanted to let you know that I passed the CIMA certification exam today! Cannot thank you enough for being such a great resource throughout this process. The practice questions on the quizzes and tests in your program were BY FAR the most helpful tool for studying and preparing. Yale School of Management was an excellent experience and I appreciate all your help!" - Kyle Z.
"I probably didn't, but I felt that I scored 95+% on the certification exam. I know without a doubt, it was the Yale program that put me in that position of confidence. The way the Yale course and curriculum makes you think about the information completely prepares you for answering the cert-exam questions. One just truly has to commit to studying the concepts, but also interpret what is being asked. I am so glad I chose Yale's offering over the others!" - Ian F.
"I passed my CIMA® certification exam yesterday and wanted to thank the entire group for the help. Yale was difficult in the material studied but easy in the method to study at my pace and schedule, which made it the perfect combination to pass the three levels quickly. When I started studying in early January my timetable was to pass by May for the birth of my child in July. Yale allowed me to focus my study efforts and pass all three levels in less than 3 months through focused effort. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity." - Jeff W.