IDEAS
The first group of CPWA designees will be announced in April 2008.
Once licensed by IMCA to use the CPWA designation, each certificant must continue to maintain competency through accumulating continuing education credits, paying renewal fees and continuing to adhere to the IMCA Code of Professional Responsibility. This is IMCA’s pledge to your clients that you have agreed to stay current with state-of-the-art investment consulting knowledge and skills.
Continuing Education Requirements
There is a continuing education requirement of 40 hours every two years to maintain your CPWA designation. IMCA conferences and education can offer you great opportunities to earn and track your continuing education for the CPWA designation. However, there is no minimum CE requirement that must come from IMCA-sponsored programs. There is, however, a minimum requirement that half of your CE credits must come from non-investment related topics, and two hours must be ethics CE.
Approved Non-investment CE Topics
| Asset Protection |
| Charitable Planning |
| Concentrated Stock |
| Estate Planning |
| Executive Compensation |
| Insurance |
| Planning for the Closely Held Business |
| Retirement Planning |
| Risk Management |
| Tax |
If planned appropriately, CIMA designees could be able to maintain both designations without having to incur significant additional expense. The My IMCA section of IMCA’s Web site is a valuable tool in helping designees review and track their CE activity.
IMCA-Sponsored Educational Programs
- National conferences: two per year (approximately 20 CE hours each)
- Specialty conferences: four to five per year (estimated between 12–14 CE hours each)
- Canadian conference: one per year (estimated between 11–13 CE hours)
- Audio broadcasts (live and archived): six to seven per year (worth 1 CE hour each)**
- Publishing Monitor or Journal articles (CE determined by IMCA, see below*)
- IMCA-sponsored Certificate Programs (up to 40 hours of CE)
- Teaching/speaking relevant education (2 CE hours for each speaking hour)
- IMCA Chapter-sponsored education programs (maximum of 2 IMCA-sponsored CE hours per year)
Each IMCA program provides continuing education forms, copies of which must be submitted to the IMCA office for credit. (IMCA encourages designees to keep the original for your records.) IMCA will make every effort to include ethics subject matter at conferences.
*The following IMCA-sponsored CE hours apply for contributions to IMCA’s Investments & Wealth Monitor and Journal of Investment Consulting:
- One CE hour for published book reviews
- Five CE hours for published Monitor articles
- 15 CE hours for published Journal articles
- Co-authors will each receive the appropriate pre-approved CE hours
- Published articles that are deemed to be extraordinary will be submitted to IMCA for review
** Note: CE associated with audio broadcasts will be recorded in your record with the actual date the event was attended or accessed by listening to an archived broadcast.
Please allow at least two weeks from CE submission for your CPWA record to be updated.
Acceptable Non-IMCA Continuing Education Programs
- Relevant education sessions from programs outside IMCA
- Completion of CFA (20 hours each Level – including 2 ethics hours)
- Teaching courses or seminars relating to wealth management
- Professional speaking engagements at programs outside IMCA
- Publishing an article or book relating to wealth management
- IMCA chapter-sponsored education programs (beyond two IMCA CE hour maximum)
- College graduate courses
- All hours must be associated with subjects that are relevant to wealth management topics and not product or firm specific
- Internet classes with "live" instructor-to-student interaction only
- Pre-approved online education relating to wealth management topics
CE Hours That Will Not Be Accepted
- NASD Series exams
- Firm meetings or conferences pertaining to proprietary information or products
- Normal business procedures
- Tapes/home study
- Internet classes including "live" instruction that is student-to-student or student-to-material (except pre-approved online education)
- Client presentations/seminars
CPWA designees are individually responsible for keeping track of their own continuing education hours. You can view your continuing education status at My IMCA.
Designees must submit documentation to the IMCA office for update of IMCA records. CE forms to confirm attendance at IMCA programs are provided at the program. Non-IMCA-sponsored CE requests must be made with the CPWA Continuing Education Hours Submittal Form.
