statistics areas. It then extends to more advanced topics such as the analysis of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and business and financial risk. Security analysis The curriculum includes coverage of global markets, as well as analysis and valuation of the various asset types: equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds), derivatives (futures, forwards, options and swaps), and alternative investments (real estate, private equity, hedge funds and commodities). The Level I exam requires familiarity with these instruments. Level II focuses on valuation, employing the "tools" studied under quantitative methods, financial statement analysis, corporate finance and economics. Level III centers on incorporating these instruments into portfolios. Equity and fixed income The curriculum for equity investments includes the functioning of the stock market, indices, stock valuation, and industry analysis. Fixed income topics similarly include the various debt securities, the risk associated with these, and valuations and yield spreads. Derivatives The curriculum includes coverage of the fundamental framework of derivatives markets, derivatives valuations, hedging and trading strategies involving derivatives, including futures, forwards, swaps, and options. The curriculum incorporates various of the pricing models and frameworks, such as Black–Scholes and binomial option pricing (extending to coverage of interest rate trees), while coverage of the underlying mathematics is conceptual as opposed to technical. Alternative investments The curriculum includes coverage of a range topics in the alternative investment category. Topics include hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, infrastructure, and other alternative investments, including, as applicable, strategies, sub-categories, potential benefits and risks, fee structures, and due diligence. Portfolio management and wealth planning This section increases in importance with each of the three levels—it integrates and draws from the other topics, including ethics. It includes: (i) modern portfolio theory (efficient frontier, capital asset pricing model, etc.); (ii) investment practice (defining the investment policy for individual and institutional investors, resultant asset allocation, order execution, and hedging using derivatives); and (iii) measurement of investment performance. Global regulatory and legal recognition Legal recognition by country Source: Australia The Australia Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has ranked the RG 146 Gap Training program for CFA charterholders and CFA Program candidates at Tier 1. The RG 146 Gap Training Program is intended for candidates who have passed the CFA Level I exam or charterholders who wish to fulfill the requirements necessary to provide both financial product advice to retail clients and personal advice. The Australian government recognizes CFA Charter-holders to have automatically satisfied the