AIFA® DESIGNATION
- » Training programs that lead to the AIFA professional designation
- » Assessments and CEFEX Certifications for Investment Stewards, Advisors, and Managers
- » Prerequisites for the AIFA Designation
- » AIFA Renewal Guidelines (PDF)
- » Code of Ethics (PDF)
- » AIFA Trademark Guidelines (PDF)
- » Find an AIFA designee near you
- » File a complaint against an AIF or AIFA designee.
Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ designees are the few people in the country with knowledge in both a prudent investment process and assessment principles, qualifications that are becoming increasingly desired and demanded by both the industry and regulators.
AIFA designees' primary function is to perform, or assist in, assessments of an Investment Steward's, Advisor's, or Manager's conformance to a Global Fiduciary Standard of Excellence using fi360's ISO-like procedure of assessment. AIFA designees possess the ability and knowledge to advise clients of deficiencies in investment processes. It is also the required mark to perform a CEFEX Fiduciary Certification, the independent recognition of a fiduciary's conformity to all fiduciary Practices and Criteria.
Benefits of the AIFA® designation
In addition to the knowledge and business opportunities the AIFA designation represents, all active designees are entitled to the following services and benefits (more details are provided in the Designee Portal):
- A suite of professionally-designed marketing and educational materials to help you articulate your unique value as a Designee
- Access to a CE library containing over 100 hours of relevant, high-quality content
- A quarterly legal bulletin from the law offices of Drinker, Biddle, & Reath, with customized commentary for Designees
- Service and one-on-one support from fi360's staff, including the executive team and instructors
- Compliance template documents and educational materials, such as:
- Sample advisory agreement - 408(b)(2) Memorandum
- Client-ready presentation - Understanding and Benefiting from DOL's 408(b)(2) Rule
- Preferred-pricing on:
- The fi360 Conference
- Professional liability insurance
- Benchmarking services
- Fi360 products, such as a subscription to the fi360 toolkit
- Listing on our online Designee Search directory, accessible to prospective clients, potential employers, media and referrals
Prerequisites:
Updated prerequisites for the AIFA® Designation are effective as of June 1, 2012. In addition to holding the AIF Designation, one must accrue a minimum of six points as defined by the prerequisites valuation framework in order to be eligible for candidacy.
AIFA designees must:
- Accrue ten hours of continuing professional education with at least six coming from fi360-produced sources (outlined in the section below)
- Attest to a code of ethics
- Maintain current contact information in fi360's designee database
- Remit $325 in annual dues
Continuing Education Requirements:
AIFA designees must obtain ten combined hours of continuing professional education each renewal year from the sources listed below (at least six hours must be accumulated from the listed fi360-produced sources):
- The fi360 annual conference (live event)
- Archived recordings from past fi360 conferences (from the on-demand fi360 CE directory)
- fi360 Resources webinars (live)
- Archived recordings of Resources webinars (from the on-demand fi360 CE directory)
- Relevant events produced by sources outside of fi360 (max of four hours per year allowed)
- Web-based AIF Training (course audit)
- Participation in a CEFEX Certification team or as a liaison officer at a firm being Certified (max of five hours/year)
Designee Search
Find the professionals who have already earned the AIF and AIFA designations