What to Decide Before You Ask an Advisor to Get Certified

Key Takeaways

• Settle three things before the meeting: which discipline the advisor will own, what the firm will pay, and whether certification ties to advancement.
• Start with a client need. Tell the advisor which clients you have in mind and how their role would change
• Advisors ask five predictable questions. The one that matters is whether certification counts for anything at your firm.
• Within a week, put it in writing: which certification, which discipline, what the firm pays, how capacity is protected, and what changes when they finish.

When a team leader asks an advisor to pursue advanced certification, the conversation often goes wrong the same way. You present it as a chance for the advisor to grow. What the advisor hears is extra work they won't be paid for, done on their own time, and mostly for the firm's benefit.

The best approach to this discussion happens before you sit down with the advisor. If you want the short version to bring into the room, download the one-page "How to Raise Certification With Your Team" checklist.

What to Decide Before the Certification Conversation

Which discipline the firm needs covered, and why this advisor

If you pitch certification in general terms, the advisor hears a company program they can put off. If you discuss the specific gap the firm needs to fill, and why they're the right person to fill it, they hear a plan with a role attached.

If you haven't mapped which disciplines your team already covers and where it runs thin, start with our guide to building depth across your team's disciplines.

What the firm pays, and what the advisor puts in

Before the meeting, decide exactly what the firm will pay for, including tuition, fees, and dues, and how much study time the advisor gets. Also decide whether time spent studying will count against their production goals. If you ask the advisor to look up the costs on their own, it sounds like the firm hasn't decided to support them.

Whether certification connects to advancement

If certification helps the advisor move up at the firm, explain exactly how. If it won't, tell them that directly. A vague answer can lead the advisor to assume a promotion is coming, and that's a promise you haven't made.

If you haven't settled how certification fits your roles and promotion criteria, our article on building the development path before you lose your best people covers how to set that up.

How to Open the Certification Conversation with an Advisor

Start by describing a client need the firm has. Tell the advisor which clients you have in mind and how their role with those clients would change.

Weak Opening: “I’d like you to think about getting certified. It would be good for your development.”

Better Opening: “Half of our top twenty households have concentrated stock or a business exit coming. Right now, that work routes to me. I want it to route to you, with the depth to own it without checking with me first.”

The second version identifies the clients, the problem, and the role the advisor would step into. The certification is how they get there.

How to Answer the Five Questions Advisors Ask About Certification

Behind each question is a concern the advisor may not say out loud. Your answer needs to respond to both the question and the concern.

1. "Isn't this duplicative of the training we already do?"

The worry: They've sat through platform training that didn't change their work.

How to answer: Internal programs teach your process and your platform. A certification is an independent technical benchmark, and the same standard applies across the profession. That's what gives it weight with a client's attorney or CPA.

2. "How much time is this going to take?"

The worry: They're at capacity, and they don't want to sign up for something with no end date.

How to answer: Give real numbers. For instance, the Retirement Management Advisor^® (RMA^®) certification program from the Investments & Wealth Institute runs about three months, with four to six hours of study a week recommended. The Certified Private Wealth Advisor^® (CPWA^®) certification program takes about six months, and the Certified Investment Management Analyst^® (CIMA^®) certification runs three to six months, each with roughly 150 recommended hours of preparation. All three are delivered online or in a hybrid format, depending on the education provider. Then be honest that it's real work and tell them what you'll do about their capacity while they study.

3. "Is this only for senior advisors?"

The worry: They think they are too junior, or suspect it’s a box to check before they can make partner.

How to answer: No. The only gate is professional tenure. For Institute certifications it's three years of verified financial services experience for the CIMA® and RMA® certifications, and five years for the CPWA® certification. Past that, the right certification depends on the role someone plays on the team.

4. "Is it technical, or does it cover the client-facing side too?"

The worry: They may be strongest at relationships, and they want to know whether this fits the work they do best.

How to answer: It is technical: investment strategy, tax and estate structures, concentrated positions, retirement income. That’s by design. Technical depth is what gives an advisor something substantive to bring to client conversations.

5. "Does this actually count for anything here?"

The worry: This is what they most want to know. The first four questions often lead up to it.

How to answer: Answer honestly, with an answer you decided before the meeting. If certification aligns with your advancement criteria, say exactly how. Advisors can work with a straight answer, even one they don’t love. If they leave believing a promotion was promised and it doesn’t happen, you risk losing that advisor a year later.

What to Put in Writing After the Certification Conversation

Within a week, send the advisor a short note that covers five things:

1. Which certification
2. Which discipline it covers for the firm
3. What the firm pays
4. How their capacity is protected
5. What changes when they finish

The note puts both sides' commitments on record, and it gives you something to check against at review time.

How to Bring Institute Certifications to Your Advisory Team

Raising certification with one advisor is part of a larger question: how your team should be structured as the firm grows. Our eBook, How Top Leaders Develop Firms That Scale, covers three team structures that firms managing $500 million and above use to coordinate specialized advisors. It also shows how to map the CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA® certifications to specific roles, so investment management, private wealth strategy, and retirement planning each have a formal owner on the team.