Enrollment has begun for the College for Financial Planning's newest designation: The Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA), an idea whose time has come according to John Sears, the college's president.

"This new program is for those who have high-net-worth clients and wish to better serve them or financial professionals seeking to add high-net-worth clients."

While the financial planning profession is becoming crowded with designations, initial reaction from the field to the new title has been positive.

"The new designation will be looked upon favorably," says Shaun Golden, an A.G. Edwards & Sons adviser in Water Mill, NY. "Especially by those who have a need for more advanced planning and require greater services to meet these needs and concerns. The AWMA is another way to show current and future clients you're a serious student of your craft."

Mark Snyder, an independent financial planner in Medford, N.Y., with no fewer than eight designations on his business card, likes the potential behind the new title.

"It has good connotations. It communicates feelings of strength and knowledge. Designations add credibility to a practice. Clients translate them as an indication of your education and training level, as well as your dedication."

Enrollees on track to receive the Accredited Wealth Management Designation will receive instruction in15 topics, such as asset management, allocation and selection; investment performance and strategies; and taxation of investment products. The course also includes training in investment for retirement, strategies for small business owners, management of deferred-compensation plans, insurance, estate planning, asset protection, and tax-reduction issues.

Currently, there are no continuing-education requirements for the AWMA designation and no prerequisites. Courses are available in print, on-line and through classroom instruction. The complete program is $895.

Students are eligible to take the final exam 35 days after enrollment. The exam is multiple-choice and offered in electronic format.Passing students must also sign a code of ethics commitment and declaration form. They then receive a certificate and are granted the right to use the designation on correspondence and business cards.

Similarly, the American Academy of Financial Management (www.financialcertified.com) offers aChartered Wealth Manager designation and certification, as well as 10 other individual financial designations, such as Certified Risk Analyst and Chartered Trust and Estate Planner.

The Chartered Wealth Manager designation is for those who have completed graduate financial and wealth-management education and have substantial experience in relationship management with high-net-worth customers. Applicants need at least three years of wealth-management experience as well as educational prerequisites to qualify and complete 15 flexible hours of continued education per year.

The high-net-worth market continues to be the Holy Grail for financial planners and should stay that way for the foreseeable future, creating a perceived need for the new designation. "Advisers feel it offers unique information targeted at high-net-worth individuals, allowing them to understand and make recommendations that address the challenges faced by these clients," according to a College for Financial Planning spokesperson. "By specifically focusing on high-net-worth client issues advisers can provide a new level of service to them." 

And while the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, remains the most basic and broadly marketable designation, to be sure, the more narrow subsets each promise much-needed expertise in specific planning areas and in a scandal-ridden investment climate, aim to offer clients an assurance that the representative presenting these credentials is thoroughly qualified from both an educational, as well as ethical standpoint. Promoting these various designations when marketing one's practice can subtly build integrity by positioning the planner as a professional dedicated to mastering advanced knowledge in a certain subject areas and by doing so, help put the client at ease.

Among other things, clients want to see a demonstrable level of knowledge when they engage the services of a professional. Designations from recognized organizations help provide this. Other designations offered by the College for Financial Planning include Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS), Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC) and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC).

"Multiple designations are rare," says Snyder. "Very few planners have them and they frequently make a favorable impact on clients and prospects. It helps elicit an encouraging client reaction." Along with courteous customer service, a commitment to technology and a responsible marketing program, designations are one of many tools that can help planners to grow their practices.

"I sense clients are comforted when they see positions we've attained," says Golden. "This helps their confidence when they make decisions about their assets."

For more information on the Accredited Wealth Management Designation, contact the College for Financial Planning at: www.fp.edu or 800-237-9990.