The Index Industry Association (IIA), serving as the global voice of independent index providers, today announced the introduction of a Continuing Education (CE) program with the launch of “The Important Role of Indexes to Financial Markets and Investing.” While the course offers CE credit to financial professionals, the content is designed to be accessible for all audiences.

“Indexes play an important role in the global financial ecosystem, and yet we find that many audiences – including investors – would benefit from a richer understanding of how indexes are created and used across global financial markets,” said Kirsten Wegner, IIA CEO. “The IIA’s CE program is designed not only with financial professionals in mind, but for investors, consumers and policymakers alike, reflecting our ongoing commitment to transparency, education and informed dialogue across the financial ecosystem.”

This free, 40-minute on-demand webinar is approved by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board), and will enable CFPs to earn CE credit, receiving a certificate upon completion of a brief self-test following the webinar.

The first in an upcoming series, this course walks participants through an overview of indexes, their construction methodology and how an understanding of indexing can be used to improve investor outcomes. The course is organized in three segments, led by industry experts from leading index firms and members of the IIA:

• An Introduction to Financial Indexes: Anu Ganti, US Head of Index Investment Strategy, S&P Dow Jones Indices
• Index Methodology: Lauren Young, Senior Director, Index Governance, Cboe Global Markets
• How Financial Planners Can Apply a Knowledge of Indexing to Improve Investor Outcomes: Rolf Agather, Head of Product & Research, Morningstar Indexes

“Indexes are vital to the financial system enabling investors to measure performance, identify investment trends, define markets, and provide the basis for many investment products,” said Fiona Bassett, CEO of FTSE Russell and Chair of the IIA. “This course – a collaboration among IIA members – provides a strong foundation for understanding the different ways investors can utilize indexes and index data to make informed investment decisions, understand markets, improve portfolio construction and ultimately drive investment outcomes.”

“On the surface, indexes are a simple concept, but in reality, the development, construction and management of indexes is a highly complex endeavor,” said Jamie Farmer, Chief Operating Officer, Morningstar Indexes. “We look forward to using this course as part of our team training to accelerate our employee’s movement up the learning curve.”

To learn more or if interested in taking the course, The Important Role of Indexes to Financial Markets and Investing, visit the IIA’s website.

About the IIA

Many of the leading independent index providers in the world are members of the IIA, including Bloomberg Indices, CBOE Global Indices, the Chicago Booth Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), China Bond Pricing Co. Ltd., China Securities Index Co. Ltd., FTSE Russell, Hang Seng Indexes, ISS-STOXX, JPX Market Innovation and Research (Tokyo Stock Exchange), Korea Exchange, Morningstar, MSCI Inc., NASDAQ OMX, Parameta Solutions, Shenzhen Securities Information Co. Ltd., and S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.

IIA members administer over three million indices for their clients, covering many asset classes, including equities, fixed income, and commodities. Part of the IIA’s mission is to consider ways to promote best practices for index providers, which makes it a natural supporter of appropriate and proportionate industry standards. Our members are dedicated to promoting transparency, competition, sound operational practices, intellectual property rights, education, and effective index management practices. IIA members are independent index administrators who neither trade the underlying component securities of their indices nor directly create products for investors. Moreover, our members publicly make available their methodologies and explain how their indices are created, calculated, or maintained.

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