CIMA mark from IMCA is approved

The Investment Management Consultants Association got a thumbs-up last week from the American National Standards Institute for its CIMA designation. The certified investment management analyst program was launched in 1988 and will become the first financial services credential to get the seal of approval from the ANSI. “This sets the CIMA apart from other designations and brings it to a higher standard,” said Jamie Parrish, marketing manager for IMCA. The CIMA designation is intended for “advanced investment consultants,” she said. Applicants have two years to complete the program, which includes a qualifying exam, five days of classes at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a final certification exam. The curriculum covers subjects such as asset allocation, investment policy, manager search and selection, performance measurement and attribution, behavioral finance, risk management, derivatives, the legal and regulatory environment, and ethics. CIMA applicants must also have three years of experience in the financial services field. According to IMCA's website, the cost of getting the designation is between $7,000 and $11,000. IMCA had to do several things to earn the ANSI accreditation. For one, it had to separate IMCA's board from the certification commission that sets policy for the designation. IMCA also had to separate the education element of the program — which is conducted only by Wharton, from the testing function, which the organization outsources to a testing firm. There are about 6,100 individuals who hold the CIMA designation, the smallest number of holders of the three major credentials for financial advisers. About 62,600 individuals hold the certified financial planner designation, and there are more than 100,000 chartered financial analysts around the world. E-mail Andrew Osterland at aosterland@investmentnews.com.