Wealth Managers - Is Yours Certifiable?

The Wall Street Journal reports today that the growth, and increased competition in the high-net-worth marketplace has spawned a number of programs to train and certify advisors in the field of wealth managment.

According to the article the programs seem to fall into two camps: "certificate courses that run for a matter of hours or days, and graduate programs that last a semester or two." The article opines that "While many of the courses offer rigorous training, others are little more than marketing ploys, making the task of finding qualified advisers even more confusing," or as one industry expert said "It's a little bit of a Wild West out there."

Among the new programs being established include New York University, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, joining programs started by The College for Financial Planning, Investment Management Consultants Association, and the American Academy of Financial Management.