Gary Diffendaffer Joins IMCA
New Director of Certification will Manage Growth and Advancement of IMCA Designations

Gary L. Diffendaffer, CFP^®, joined IMCA’s staff in April as director of certification. In this role, Diffendaffer will assume responsibility for the growth and continued development of the Certified Investment Management Analyst^SM, or CIMA^®, and Chartered Private Wealth Advisor^SM, or CPWA^SM, designation programs.

Diffendaffer previously served as executive vice president of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board). From July 2003 to November of 2004 he assumed CEO responsibilities on an interim basis and retired in 2005 after ten years at CFP Board. Since retiring, Diffendaffer has consulted for Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) conducting assessments of global CFP^® certification programs and has served as one of American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) accredited assessors. In the ANSI role, he evaluates certification boards against international standards for personnel certification bodies. While still at CFP Board, Diffendaffer served as the ANSI Technical Advisory Group (TAG) administrator for U.S. TAG 222, which develops U.S. positions on international financial planning standards.

“IMCA delivers the premier investment consulting and wealth management credentials, and is a leader in providing certification to the financial services arena,” said Dede Pahl, IMCA’s executive director. “There is a new regulatory environment on the horizon, with potential far-reaching changes in store for certification processes in this country and across the globe, and Gary’s vast experience and knowledge will be invaluable to IMCA as we move forward.”

Prior to working for CFP Board, Diffendaffer was a financial planning practitioner and earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM designation in 1986. He volunteers for a variety of causes, including the National Brain Tumor Foundation and 9Health Fairs in the Denver-metro area. He holds B.S. and M.A. degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

NASAA Model Rule Offers Core Principles for Quality Designations
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) recently approved a model rule prohibiting the misleading use of senior and retiree designations following widespread sales of unsuitable annuity products to the elderly in recent years. Several states have already adopted a roughly similar rule, including Washington state, Massachusetts, and most recently, Virginia.

IMCA’s designations do not contain the words “retired,” “senior,” or any other similar term, so they are not subject to the model rule, or the rules adopted by the aforementioned states. However, IMCA supports the model rule because it outlines some key ”best practices” that can be used to assess ALL financial services designations.

Most not-for-profit credentialing organizations like IMCA build designations around the “four E’s”—meaning they contain an experience requirement, an education requirement (including continuing education), an examination requirement, and an ethics requirement (that includes procedures for disciplining designees). It was affirming for IMCA that the CIMA and CPWA designations match up well against some of the key principles in the model rule:

1. …reasonable standards or procedures for assuring the competency of its designees—CIMA designees must successfully pass a level one examination and a three-hour examination administered on the final day of their level two education program; CPWA designees must successfully pass a four-hour examination.
2. …reasonable standards or procedures for monitoring and disciplining its designees for improper or unethical conduct—IMCA has a clear way for the public to report a complaint against a CIMA or CPWA professional. An independent peer-review group is charged with determining whether allegations are justified and whether the unethical conduct warrants disciplinary action.
3. …reasonable continuing education requirements for its designees to maintain the designation—CIMA and CPWA designees are required to earn a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education every two years.

In addition to the above, applicants for both of IMCA’s designation programs are screened for previous regulatory issues. CIMA applicants must have at least three years applicable experience, and CPWA applicants must have at least five years applicable experience. All designees must abide by IMCA’s Code of Professional Responsibility. IMCA’s educational requirements are delivered only through the top business schools in the country: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.

Review NASAA’s model rule online, or learn more about IMCA’s steps to ensure the recognition of the CIMA designation.

Enrollment Deadline Looms for Third CPWA Class at University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
The Chartered Private Wealth Advisor^SM program is an advanced designation created specifically for financial advisors and consultants who work with high-net-worth clients on the life cycle of wealth.

The topics that are covered in this advanced designation help advisors address the issues and challenges that high-net-worth individuals and families face: tax issues, tax-aware portfolio management, estate and trust issues, planning for the closely held business owner, executive compensation strategies, asset protection, concentrated stock, and many other topics. The in-class portion of the next available CPWA program will be March 9–13, 2009 at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, consistently ranked among the top three business schools in the U.S. The enrollment period for this session ends August 10, 2008.

Prior to the class, attendees are required to complete a seven-month, managed self-study program, and each group of students finishes the in-class week with a four-hour comprehensive examination.

“The CPWA program presents an advanced curriculum intended for experienced wealth advisors,” said IMCA president, Garry Bridgeman, CIMA^®. “The challenging nature of the program, combined with the unique array of complex topics and the unparalleled knowledge of professional and academic instructors, position the CPWA marks as the standard for the wealth management industry.”

Graduates of the March 2008 program were an advanced lot, but only seventy-two percent of initial candidates completed all aspects of the multifaceted CPWA program. Twenty-nine percent of those candidates manage $51–$150 million. Twenty-one percent manage $251–$500 million, and 18 percent manage greater than $1 billion. Fifty-two percent of CPWA candidates are employed by a “traditional” full-service investment brokerage company. Sixteen percent are employed by a trust company, and 25 percent come from either an independent registered investment advisory firm (14 percent) or an independent investment brokerage company (11 percent). The minimum experience requirement for CPWA participants is five years, but 82 percent have 11 or more years of experience, and a full third have been in the business for more than 20 years.

The second CPWA program sold out, despite IMCA increasing the enrollment limit. Pre-study for the program began in February 2008 and the in-class session is slated for late September.

For more information on the next available CPWA program, click here.

Education and Training Resources—Intranet Links and Descriptions
We have created a Web page for corporate training departments to be able to access quick links and short descriptions of IMCA's education programs, designations, and other investment consulting and wealth management offerings. To access the page, click here.

IMCA by the Numbers

• From 9% to 18%...according to the 2008 membership satisfaction survey, the percentage of IMCA members who are “extremely satisfied” with their membership doubled over the past two years.
• 1,000…the net increase in IMCA members over 2007. IMCA membership has grown 16% in one year and more than 25% over the past 3 years.
• 4,500…after another year of 20% growth in IMCA conference attendance, and several back-to-back, sold-out conferences in 2008, IMCA projects total conference attendance in 2008 to top 4,500.
• 9.8%...the increase in CIMA applications received during the first months of the economic downturn (November 2007–March 2008).

IMCA in the News

IMCA’s CPWA is a Hit with Experienced Wealth Managers—Wealth Manager (July 3, 2008)

IMCA to Expand New Designation—InvestmentNews (June 2, 2008)

States to Crack Down on ‘Senior’ Designations—InvestmentNews (May 26, 2008)

Amid Downturn, Some Financial Firms Bolster Sales Staff—InvestmentNews (April 21, 2008)

IMCA Attracting More Independent Planners, Advisers—InvestmentNews (Feb 18, 2008)

The ‘Schmeek’ Shall Inherit the Wholesaling World—InvestmentNews (Feb 4, 2008)