NAOI Certification is a designation conferred on individuals who complete all lesson tests presented in the "NAOI Individual Investor Certification Program" as described in the Study Courses section of this site. 

NAOI certification requires that you demonstrate the following:

• An in-depth knowledge of the basic principles of investing
  
  
• A knowledge of how to create feasible investing goals for your unique needs and circumstances

• A knowledge of how to translate goals into a detailed Investing Plan and develop a related portfolio of specific investments
  
  
• A knowledge of how to find, evaluate and select specific investments for your portfolio
  
  
• A knowledge of how to monitor and manage your portfolio to maximize its potential and how to modify it in response to changes in the economy, in the world and in your personal life
  
  
• An understanding of how to use a wide range of Web-based resources to enhance all areas of your investing activities
  
  
• An understanding of how to identify, evaluate and select individuals and resources for your personal investing support team
  
  
• A knowledge of what stock options are and how they can enhance your portfolio performance in all market conditions

Your knowledge in all of these areas will be measured by the NAOI online testing module as discussed below.

In the "Study Courses" section of this site you will find a detailed description of the Individual Investor Certification Program. In this discussion you learned that after each lesson in the course you are prompted to take a corresponding online test. The test for each lesson consists of from 15 to 30 questions. Questions are designed to highlight the key points presented in the lesson and to ensure your learning retention. To pass a test you must answer all questions correctly. To obtain NAOI Certification you must pass all 16 course lessons. NAOI Certification, like real-life investing, does not allow for mistakes.

As mentioned above, each question in a lesson test is designed to ensure that you have grasped the main points presented in the corresponding lesson material. All questions are presented in multiple choice format as illustrated below.

You click the radio button beside the answer you believe to be correct. After answering all questions in the lesson test you will click a "Submit" button. This action sends your answers to the NAOI Grading Servers. After several seconds your results will be displayed.

For questions that you have answered correctly, you will be shown the question, your answer and a green checkmark. You will also be shown a short explanation that expands on your answer and why it is correct. In doing so your learning retention is further reinforced.

For questions that you have answered incorrectly, you will be shown the question, your answer and a red "X". Then you will be told where in the lesson the subject of the question is discussed. You are not simply given the correct answer. You must restudy the subject and retake the test.

When you have correctly answered all questions for a test the NAOI system will recognize this fact and modify your progress Scorecard as illustrated below. After successfully completing a test the system will change the corresponding lesson's Passed indicator to green. Your Scorecard enables you to track your progress through the course material.

Course Completion and Your Certification Number

The NAOI Assessment Module will automatically recognize when you have completed the final test of the course. At that point a pop-up window will display your unique "Certification Number". You will use this number to order your graduation rewards as described in the Rewards page of this section. You will also be instantly allowed to access the "Certified Investors Only" area of the Members Only site.

The Requirements Are Strict

Earning NAOI Individual Investor Certification is not easy. Depending on your current level of experience it can take between 30 and 40 hours to complete. The Certification designation is only a symbol of your achievement. The real reward is your understanding of investing and being able to make investing decisions with confidence. The Certification process is designed to give you the motivation to meet this goal.