The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Executive Education’s OCP Certificate is an intermediate and examined qualification that places strong emphasis on developing practical skills based on a thorough understanding of the main operational processes for cash markets securities (equities, bonds and hybrid securities). It is very valuable for persons who manage operational departments and need to have a broad and in-depth understanding of the operations area as a whole.

The syllabus is built around the more advanced topics in the text (provided to all candidates in advance of the course): “Securities Operations: A Guide to Trade and Position Management” published by Wiley Finance in 2002 and written by Michael Simmons, one of the course instructors.  Particular emphasis is placed on:
 

1. Products & Participation
2. Market Infrastructure - The Clearing Houses
3. Trade Life Cycle
4. Securities Lending & Borrowing
5. Custody
6. Corporate Actions
7. Cash Funding
8. Technology in Operations
9. New Industry Initiatives
10. Effective Operations Management

As an intermediate qualification, the OCP requires that the candidate should have familiarity with the key topics listed below (note that Background Reading is provided on these topics for those who require reading on any of the topics):

• The Securities Marketplace
• Definitions and Feature of the Main Types of Corporate Actions
• Forms and Types of Securities

The OCP is a “Recommended Exam” on the Wholesale Banking/Operations list, compiled by the FSSC (Financial Services Skills Council) in the United Kingdom.
 

Target Audience

The OCP Certificate is intended primarily for two types of candidate.  Firstly, operations practitioners within their first ten years in the industry and secondly, operations managers who would benefit from a broader knowledge of the various operational functions in the industry.

Candidates will come from organisations involved in both the sell-side and buy-side of the industry plus Central Banks, Central Securities Depositories, International Central Securities Depositories, Global Custodians, Stock Exchanges and Regulators.

The training course is open to ICMA members and non-members.
      

Programme Faculty

The OCP is a professionally-taught programme using trainers with both practitioner experience and training expertise both gained over many years in the securities industry. The members of the faculty are:

• Keith Dickinson
Keith Dickinson is Programme Director for the Operations Certificate Programme (OCP) and Visiting Fellow at the ICMA Centre, The University of Reading. His career spans almost 40 years, formerly in operations management, both in securities and banking as well as fund management, and latterly the training business. His training covers a wide variety of operational topics and has delivered courses internationally.

• Peter Hughes
Peter Hughes is the Managing Director of FIG’s UK based operation, Financial Intergroup (UK) Ltd.  He is a former country / regional executive with JP Morgan Chase, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a Visiting Research Fellow at the York Management School, University of York.

• Gail Rolland
Gail Rolland has ten years of fixed income experience in London and New York in the areas of sales and trading and new product structuring.  Since the mid-1990s she has worked with ICMA Executive Education in addition to running her own financial markets training firm and has particular expertise in advising the insurance industry on capital market investment strategies.  Gail is also the online tutor for the IFID Certificate Programme.

• Mike Simmons
Mike Simmons is an independent training consultant and has been involved with the capital markets and operations throughout his career, focusing originally upon securities settlement and more recently on the broader aspects of operations (e.g. derivatives, trade finance, payments, corporate finance and corporate lending). Mike is also the author of two books on the subject published by Wiley Finance, including the book “Securities Operations: A Guide to Trade and Position Management”, published in 2002, which all candidates are provided with for the OCP.


Accreditation

ICMA, in association with the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) of Hong Kong, has announced that any holders of either the International Fixed Income and Derivatives (IFID) Certificate Programme or the Operations Certificate Programme (OCP) can apply to be a TMA Associate Member, provided that they have passed the examination on the Code of Conduct and Practice of the TMA (Elementary Level). The TMA ‘Associate Member’ status is part of the new Primary Qualification Framework (PQF), which was recently put in place in Hong Kong.