IMCA designation to focus on behavioral finance and communicating with clients

Wealth managers studying for the chartered-private-wealth-adviser designation will be learning more about behavioral finance, risk management and communicating with clients next month.
“These have all become hotter topics over the past two years, and we wanted to boost our courses accordingly,” said Edythe “Dede” Pahl, executive director of the Investment Management Consultants Association, which offers the designation.
Classroom time for risk management and asset protection will increase from two hours to four hours, and classroom time for behavioral finance and client communications will increase from about one and a half hours to three hours, Ms. Pahl said.
The six-month CPWA program starts in October, and the registration deadline ends Sept. 10. Tuition for the program is $7,475 for IMCA members and $7,975 for non-members.
Courses for the designation were augmented after input from advisers on the wealth management committee and clients, Ms. Pahl said.
IMCA practitioners are now dealing with behavioral finance and risk management “on a daily basis with their clients, so we know that those in the program need to deal with it as well,” said Jim Dobbs, president of Dobbs Wealth LLC in Golden, Colo.
And client communication has become a critical “second-generation-client issue,” said Mr. Dobbs, who is also IMCA’s curriculum consultant.
The CPWA program is taught online and culminates in March with a week of classes at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a written exam.
The program currently has 258 designees. Thirty advisers have signed up for the fall courses to date.

Related Topics: Wealth Management