Certification
Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA)
American Bankers Association
Median earnings
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Cost
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Duration
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Completion
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The CTFA certification demonstrates your expertise in the trust and financial advisor field while recognizing the growing client relationship skills necessary to be a successful wealth manager.
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Skills taught
Knowledge of fiduciary principles, standards and responsibilities including the prudent investor ruleIdentify and interpret duties related to legal entity structures used to hold assetsDevelop financial plans including goals, risk tolerance, cash flow analysis and insurance needsIdentify and interpret types of ownership interests including joint tenancy, community property and beneficiary designationsEducate clients on estate planning including gifting techniques, transfer tax planning and business successionConsult and implement retirement strategies including IRAs, qualified plans and Social SecurityEducate clients on the use of insurance to mitigate personal and financial riskAnalyse and interpret income tax reporting for individuals, fiduciaries and business entitiesIdentify and apply generation-skipping transfer tax planning strategiesKnowledge of fiduciary income tax including grantor trusts, distributable net income and capital gains treatmentApply knowledge of federal estate and gift tax including marital deductions, portability and payment of taxesCoordinate distributions from retirement vehicles including required minimum distributions and rolloversProfile client risk appetite across multiple risk dimensionsRecommend investment strategies based on client goals, objectives and trust provisionsMeasure, compare and communicate investment performance against benchmarksIdentify economic and market outlook concepts including monetary policy, inflation and interest ratesImplement multi-asset class investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative investmentsCreate and manage portfolios using modern portfolio theory and tax-efficient managementReview and interpret trust provisions including mandatory and discretionary distributionsClassify trust transactions using principal and income accountingDetermine trustee roles and fiduciary responsibilities including powers to decant and reformApply and administer common types of trusts including revocable, irrevocable, charitable and special needs trustsMaintain BSA/AML compliance including source of funds identification and suspicious activity reportingExecute pre-acceptance due diligence including KYC, OFAC screening and environmental assessmentPerform administrative reviews of fiduciary accounts in accordance with Regulation 9 and internal policiesApply fiduciary duties of loyalty, impartiality, confidentiality and accountabilityRecognise and report signs of financial and elder abuseIdentify, disclose and avoid conflicts of interest in fiduciary relationshipsSummarise and document client relationships including family dynamics and related partiesManage client expectations regarding deliverables, communication preferences and behavioural finance