FOR RELEASE
September 29, 2008

CONTACT
Beau Ballinger
303.850.3080

Investment Management Consultants Association Seeks Third-Party Accreditation for Certified Investment Management Analyst^SM Designation

DENVER—September 29, 2008—Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) announced today that it will seek third-party accreditation for the Certified Investment Management Analyst^SM, or CIMA^®, designation. Accreditation of the CIMA marks by an outside organization ensures that certification requirements meet industry standards for certifiers. IMCA will take the action to further demonstrate that it intends to maintain experience, education, examination, and ethical requirements that are at the forefront of professional development for investment management consultants.

“The CIMA educational program is delivered only through The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley,” said Garry Bridgeman, CIMA^®, IMCA’s president, during remarks at last week’s IMCA Fall Professional Development Conference in Denver. “These are two of the top business schools in the country, and of course are accredited universities. But third-party accreditation of the CIMA designation is separate from accreditation of the education providers. Recognition by a third-party is the defining distinction for designations, and it will strengthen the CIMA marks by building on its 20-year history and preparing for the demands of the future.”

Accreditation from an outside organization with no connection to the credential, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), ensures the public that specific standards have been met in delivering a quality designation. The multi-year process for seeking third-party accreditation is extensive, and includes meeting conditions such as governance by an independent and impartial organization, using procedures for complaints and appeals, and having a continuing competency requirement. In addition, IMCA itself will be reviewed for sound operating procedures and governance policies, as well as financial stability.

“Taken together, these requirements represent best practices in the certification world,” said Gary Diffendaffer, IMCA’s director of certification. “Third-party accreditation provides assurance to consumers, regulators, and those seeking the designation that we have taken extra steps to prove that we have a solid certification.”

The financial services industry took notice in March 2008 when the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) approved a model rule prohibiting the misleading use of senior-specific designations. While the model rule does not directly impact IMCA’s designations, it could influence key stakeholders in the industry and therefore have an indirect effect.

“Compliance departments of financial services firms may very well look at the model rule and apply its criteria to every designation that their employees use,” said Dede Pahl, IMCA’s executive director. “As we have seen in Nebraska, a state that reviews all financial designations used by licensees there, individual states could decide to go beyond senior-specific designations.”

IMCA began preparing for accreditation more than two years ago when its certification committee realized that third-party accreditation would increase the value of the CIMA mark and provide consumers a benchmark against which to judge the validity of the designation. IMCA conducted a job-analysis study in October 2007 as part of the process, to update and document activities, knowledge, and skills necessary for an investment management consultant. The results from that study are currently assisting the certification committee in evaluating examination questions for the program.

“This journey has shown us that IMCA already meets many of the third-party accreditation standards,” said Ms. Pahl. “We will continue to identify steps that we believe are necessary for accreditation and plan to submit our application in 2010.”

More details about the importance of third-party accreditation can be found in an article featured in the September/October 2008 Investments & Wealth Monitor, “Pursuit of Third-Party Accreditation on the Horizon for More Financial Services Designations.” The article is available on IMCA’s Web site. For more information on IMCA’s job analysis, including an executive summary of the study, click here. The NASAA model rule can be reviewed online by clicking here.

###