Certifications help you build trust with clients, elevate your practice, and advance your career.
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The constantly-evolving nature of wealth management requires ongoing education to stay current. But if you’re looking to do more than just keep up, a financial advisor certification can advance your career further.
How do you categorize and compare the best designations for financial advisors? CIMA versus CFP? CPWA versus CFA? RMA versus CRPC versus RICP?
Just keeping the acronyms straight is a project.
Many certification programs offer some value. A handful offer significant value—especially when you have a clear idea of what you want to get out of them.
Let’s take a look at some better-known financial advisor designations and explore how advanced certifications from Investments & Wealth Institute can help you advance your knowledge and skills.
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Most well-respected industry credentials aim for comprehensive education. But their curricula will naturally elevate different areas of specialization and emphasize different capabilities.
Certifications that focus on investment management and consulting enable you to integrate a complex body of knowledge to provide custom portfolio construction and objective guidance to sophisticated individual and institutional investors.
Wealth management certifications enable you to specialize in serving the complex financial planning needs of high-net-worth individuals and families, applying sophisticated multi-disciplinary competencies.
Retirement management and planning certifications enable you to build effective retirement plans that optimize income, mitigate risks, and guide clients throughout a secure retirement.
Two well-respected financial advisor designations—CFA ® and CFP ® —are often compared to IWI’s advanced certifications . Explore how these educational programs dovetail with IWI’s advanced specializations to support career growth.
This program is suited to analytically-oriented professionals in research, analyst, and investing roles. Charter holders acquire a broad base of fundamental skills across banking, economics, accounting, corporate finance, and portfolio management.
This program requires a significant time investment—typically about 4 years to complete the 3-part program. However, there is no requirement for continuing education. So , complementing a CFA ® with ongoing education, certificate programs or advanced certifications can enable you to make the most of this designation while staying on top of evolving regulations, technology and client needs.
This widely recognized designation is open to experienced financial planning professionals, students, and career changers who work with - or want to work with - clients, helping them plan and manage investments, insurance, taxes, and estate plans. Curriculum delivery varies across more than 300 education providers who offer certificate-only, bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs. The program is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
The CFP ® certification coursework is usually completed in 18-24 months, either as a standalone program or as part of the required bachelor's degree. Certification also requires documented work experience and continuing education, which can be done through IWI (a CFP ® Board CE Quality Partner) and applied across multiple certifications.
This multi-disciplinary certification provides a useful and relevant balance of advanced theory and practical knowledge for advisors, consultants and analysts. It goes well beyond the fundamentals, with deep dives into advanced portfolio construction and management, and sophisticated risk management techniques. It delivers the tools, knowledge and capabilities needed to preserve and grow wealth for U/HN investors.
The focused curriculum is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and offered through online and hybrid formats by select Top 10 business schools.
This advanced wealth management certification is designed specifically for seasoned advisors and wealth managers who work with - or who want to work with - U/HNW clients. It combines a holistic and multidisciplinary approach with deep dives into critical areas of wealth planning and preservation - including wealth transfer, behavioral finance, family dynamics, tax management, and legacy planning.
Over 6-9 months, you complete the technical, multi-disciplinary, ANAB-accredited coursework through online or hybrid interactions with select Ivy League education providers . Because of the advanced subject matter, prerequisites for the program are higher than other IWI certifications; however, prior CFA ® , CFP ® , or CIMA ® certification will meet the requirement.
This specialized retirement advisor certification differentiates your retirement advising practice with elevated capabilities and specialized knowledge. It enhances expertise by providing retirement specific capabilities with an emphasis on addressing client needs, risks and readiness.
A key differentiator of the RMA ® program is its emphasis on managing the full retirement lifecycle. Many retirement planning designations focus heavily on accumulation. The RMA ® curriculum enables you to demonstrate proficiency in retirement planning and the need to balance current income with lifetime security—an important and growing issue with retirees and those planning for retirement.
A self-paced curriculum—delivered directly by IWI industry-leading educators and practitioners—enables you to complete the online course study, case studies, and capstone in 4-6 months. You’ll learn to use RMA ® program to gather more assets and build comprehensive retirement plans for your clients. And with the program’s holistic approach, you can confidently guide clients throughout their retirement.
Whether you’re in the early stages of your career or a seasoned professional, the best financial advisor certifications elevate your capabilities and your credibility.
Investments & Wealth Institute
Investments & Wealth Institute
Investments & Wealth Institute
CFP Board of Standards
Financial advisors and investment consultants
Financial advisors who work with high-net-worth clients
Financial advisors who work with clients nearing retirement
Financial advisors, portfolio managers, and securities analysts
Discretionary investment management: investment policy and plan design, portfolio construction, investment fundamentals and advanced theory, behavioral finance
Advanced wealth management: planning strategies for high-net-worth individuals, asset protection, tax and estate planning, legacy planning, family dynamics
Needs analysis, distribution methods, tax-efficiencies, and healthcare requirements
Financial planning, education, insurance, investment, tax, and estate planning
Investment expertise across all asset classes, economics, accounting, corporate finance, and portfolio management
Typical Time Commitment
Minimum Work Experience Requirement
3 years (financial)
5 years (financial)
3 years (financial)
3 years (financial)
4 years (investment)
Education Requirement with Top 25 Business Schools/Faculty
Adherence to Code of Ethics/Standards
Continuing Education Requirement
When clients pay for financial advising and wealth management services, they expect solutions that demonstrate competence, sophistication—and most importantly, results. A general, technical certification is the minimum expectation. Since basic investment information is available at the click of a mouse, institutional clients , sophisticated investors - and their families - don’t need product pushes or cookie-cutter solutions.
To more effectively guide such clients, earn their loyalty, and grow your practice, you need to go beyond baseline certification requirements to deliver differentiated solutions and personalized, proactive, and impactful advice.
An advanced certification program builds on foundational knowledge and raises the bar. It creates a comprehensive, detailed and actionable understanding of not just a portfolio, but of the person behind it.
Advanced certifications enable you to:
Across the realm of financial advisory certifications and education, various organizations offer programs promoting a range of perspectives, agendas, and products. To choose the best financial advisor, wealth manager, or retirement planning certification, ask questions about the organization that’s providing the education, how the curriculum is developed, reviewed, and delivered, and the value it will provide.
Who provides the certification program?
Look for an authoritative organization with a solid reputation. Ask about the organization’s history and stability: Are they well managed, do they foster active industry connections, and will they be around in the future to help you continue learning?
Is the certifying organization objective?
Some organizations may function within a narrow agenda or promote specific financial products. Look for educational offerings that are supported by continually evolving academic theory, real-world best practices, and informed industry analysis.
Is the program standards-based?
Accreditation by an international or national standards organization such as ANAB or NCCA helps ensure the program meets essential requirements and is guided by accepted best practices.
Are certificants held to an enforced code of ethical and professional responsibility?
A documented Code of Professional Responsibility indicates that the certifying body adheres to a high standard of ethical behavior that’s essential for building and maintaining client trust and loyalty. Understand whether such a code is in place—and whether it’s enforced by revoking certification from those who fail to uphold it.
Is the curriculum rigorous and advanced?
An advanced certification can be a significant investment of your time and effort. It’s not easy—but it’s not meant to be. Demanding courses will require you to move beyond your existing knowledge and genuinely learn something new so that you can deliver positive results for your clients.
How is the curriculum developed, reviewed, and updated?
Look for instruction, research, and resources that are both peer-to-peer and peer reviewed, ensuring the information encompasses the most effective, modern, and best-practices-based approaches in the financial advisory industry.
Is the information current and relevant?
Education and credentials should directly address contemporary investment and wealth management challenges.
How are the courses delivered?
Certification courses may be online, in person, or hybrid (a blend). Courses may be on-demand and self-paced, or you may be required to attend or complete courses on a set schedule. Determine what model will enable you to fit the learning into your professional and personal life.
What is the total cost of the certification?
You should be able to easily find and calculate program costs. Look for upfront costs as well as expected costs for any required continuing education to maintain your certification. In addition, some programs may offer scholarship assistance to qualified applicants.
What comes after CFP? Already have your CIMA?
In the ever-evolving financial industry, advanced and specialized knowledge translates to a distinct business advantage—and helps you maximize your career and business growth.
Additional certifications may be a way to keep your skills fresh and knowledge up to date. Advantages of multiple certifications include:
*When you hold multiple certifications from Investments & Wealth Institute. Other certifying organizations may have different rules.
If you're not ready or able to add a full certification program, look for opportunities to create a custom learning path to advance your education.
Explore the certification requirements for IWI’s premier programs.
Do you want to deliver the sophisticated investment advice, services and solutions today's investors need?
Certified Investment Management Analyst ® (CIMA ® ) certification is the highest level of investment education client-facing advisors can get.
Do you want to provide U/HNW clients with wealth planning that addresses their unique and complex needs?
Certified Private Wealth Advisor ® (CPWA ® ) certification is designed for advisors who work with—or aspire to work with—high-net-worth (HNW) clients.
Do you want to differentiate your retirement advice with elevated capabilities and specialized knowledge?
Retirement Management Advisor ® (RMA ® ) certification gives you tools to build custom retirement income plans, mitigate clients' risks, and master the retirement planning advisory process.
