Family office professionals do more than manage assets; they safeguard legacies, navigate complex national and international regulations, and foster trust across generations by providing timely and innovative advice. In a world where wealth management is increasingly intricate, having a multi-skilled family office team is essential.
For those who are trying to build a career in the growing family office industry, pursuing a professional designation (or designations) is one path to honing your skills and making them stand out. But how do the many different designations apply in the context of a family office, and why do they matter?
The following guide breaks down eight of the most common designations you’ll encounter in the family office space. Many family office professionals hold more than one, contributing to a family office’s holistic approach to managing generational wealth.
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
The CFA is one of the most common designations for investment professionals at family offices. It is essential for anyone providing high-level investment management, and it’s a powerful credential widely regarded as a gold standard in the industry.
What it is: CFA charterholders are valued for their deep expertise in investment management and ability to make complex investment decisions. Some of these decisions can include portfolio construction, asset allocation and risk management.
Time to earn: Completing the CFA program requires passing three exams and gaining at least 4,000 hours of relevant work experience over a period of 36 months. Each exam typically takes a year to prepare for, with a recommended study time of at least 300 hours per level. The overall pass rate is typically only 40 per cent.
Why it’s valuable: A CFA charterholder can take many career paths, and it is recognized globally in more than than 165 countries and regions.
Key skills: Financial analysis, investment opportunity evaluation, assessment of stock and bond performance and other types of investments.
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
The CPA designation is another common designation held by professionals working at an integrated family office. The designation covers various financial expertise, from tax planning to estate planning.
What it is: The CPA designation equips professionals with the ability to handle account operations, manage clients’ financial activities, and advise on things like tax minimization, savings, and other financial operations.
Time to earn: Earning a CPA designation typically takes two to three years, although prospects can stretch it out to five years if they choose to gain practical experience as they study. The designation requires a combination of coursework, exams and work experience. Some post-secondary institutions in Canada offer CPA accredited-programs that count towards your designation.
Why it’s valuable: CPAs handle many tasks in the family office setting, from tax compliance and financial reporting to estate planning. They play a critical role in preserving and efficiently managing a family’s wealth through customized accounting services. CPA Canada has relationships with international accounting bodies for Canadians wishing to practise elsewhere.
Key skills: Tax planning, financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and strategic financial advice.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
The CFP designation is held by professionals who help with personal financial planning. Think of a CFP as a sophisticated money coach.
What a CFP does: They focus on helping individuals and families hit their financial targets through comprehensive planning. CFPs deeply understand tax law from a personal perspective and how it impacts a client’s finances.
Time to earn: Depending on how much relevant experience a prospect has, a CFP certification program typically takes 18 to 24 months to complete. It includes coursework and exams through a CFP Board Registered Program and 4,000 to 6,000 hours of work experience.
Why it’s valuable: The CFP designation is ideal for family offices focused on personal financial advice, including retirement planning, tax optimization and estate planning. Sometimes, professionals will combine a CFP designation with another designation, like a CFA, to offer a deeper level of expertise. It’s not as global as some of the other designations, but it is still recognized in 27 countries.
Key skills: Financial planning, tax strategy, retirement planning.
Chartered Investment Manager (CIM)
A CIM designation can stand by itself, or professionals with other designations like a CFA will get the designation so they can manage and make client investment decisions. As a globally recognized designation, CIMs can work anywhere in the world.
Time to earn: It typically takes one to two years to earn, requiring coursework and relevant work experience of at least two years. The program is offered only through the Canadian Securities Institute, and the licence must be renewed annually.
Why it’s valuable: The CIM is crucial for professionals who manage large investment portfolios for high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs and professionals. The designation ensures professionals are qualified to access and handle all aspects of a client’s investment portfolio. CIM is recognized in 170 countries.
Key skills: Portfolio management, securities analysis, risk management, investment strategy.
Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA)
The FEA designation is tailored specifically to professionals working in the family office space.
What it is: The FEA designation is Canada’s gold standard in family business advising and family office succession planning. Holding an FEA designation ensures you have specialized knowledge in helping clients build their legacy and construct wealth security strategies that can be passed on through generations.
Mike Jaczko, partner and portfolio manager at KJ Harrison Investors in Toronto, earned his FEA designation to validate what he’d already been doing in his role as a CIM: handling the soft skills of the job.
“With family enterprise advisors, the most important skill to apply is listening and not becoming prescriptive,” says Jaczko. “Because you’re dealing with siblings, parents and even employees, this work can be challenging at times and emotionally charged.”
A good advisor can take the family through a process of reflection, individually or collectively, by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions. It’s work that can sometimes take years.
“Family members may not always realize it, but they often have all the answers,” says Jaczko.
Time to earn: The FEA program is offered by partner universities and consists of six modules that typically take 12 months to complete, including coursework and a final assessment.
Why it’s valuable: An FEA designation addresses the non-technical side of multi-generational family businesses.
“A family office should complete many different functions for a family, “ says Jaczko, “whether it’s asset allocation, whether it’s investment work, whether it’s risk management. But sometimes, those risks, for example, are not associated with a bank statement or the profit-and-loss statement of a business. They’re invisible.
“If you engage the family in the right way, develop some skills to actively listen and start to pull back the layers like an onion, you’ll find the center of the onion is there.”
FEAs are equipped to develop an integrated and holistic financial plan for families, advising on everything from governance to succession planning and wealth transition. The FEA often helps navigate complex family dynamics.
Key skills: Succession planning, conflict resolution, wealth preservation.
Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
The CAIA designation equips professionals with the skills to advise on alternative investments.
What it is: When clients want to diversify their investments and look elsewhere besides stocks and bonds, a CAIA charterholder can guide them in alternative investing.
Time to earn: The program takes one to two years to complete and requires two exams and relevant work experience.
Why it’s valuable: Family offices that invest in alternative assets, such as real estate, private equity and venture capital, may benefit from having CAIA-certified professionals on staff. The CAIA designation is globally recognized.
Key skills: Alternative investments, risk management, portfolio construction.
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
The CLU designation is Canada’s most advanced credential for insurance professionals.
What it is: Financial planners in the family office space may earn this designation so they can provide comprehensive insurance and estate planning advice to clients.
Time to earn: The program takes 18 to 24 months to complete, including coursework and exams.
Why it’s valuable: Family offices that manage insurance needs and estate planning can benefit from CLU-certified professionals who are able to advise on complex insurance products and strategies.
Key skills: Insurance planning, estate planning, wealth transfer, risk management.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
The STEP designation is globally recognized for professionals working in the trust and estate industry. Based in the UK, it is more of an international designation, and generally less recognized in the U.S.
What it is: STEP members specialize in estate planning, trust administration and wealth preservation.
Time to earn: The STEP designation is earned through a diploma program. The program consists of four courses comprising the STEP Canada Diploma in Trusts and Estates.
Why it’s valuable: STEP-certified professionals bring essential expertise in legal and financial planning for family offices managing trusts and estates (which most of them do).
Key skills: Trust law, estate planning, cross-border taxation.
All designations play a role
Family offices are complex, multi-faceted organizations that require a range of professional expertise. The designations outlined above help ensure that the professionals managing family wealth have the skills, knowledge and credibility needed to preserve and grow clients’ wealth across generations.
Each designation offers unique value and contributes to the overall success and sustainability of a strong family office team.
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