What Is a Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA)?

As you accumulate wealth and grow your net worth, you’ll likely encounter various hurdles as your portfolio becomes more complex and diverse. In this case, it’s wise to consider hiring a professional to help you manage your investments and assets so you can develop effective plans and stay on track. One type of professional you’ll see to fill this role is those with the Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA) designation.

In this article, we’ll explain what a CPWA professional does and how they help ultra- and high-net-worth clients, as well as provide insight into the process, including the required professional experience, education, and ethics agreements, someone must complete to earn the title. We’ll also cover how you can find an expert with the designation.

CPWA Definition

Certified private wealth advisors (CPWAs) are experienced financial experts who assist high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and their families with managing and planning various aspects of their portfolios. Specifically, CPWAs carry expertise in wealth and investment management, comprehensive planning, and dealing with the tax and estate intricacies of HNWIs. The title is available through the Investments & Wealth Institute (IWI).

To earn the designation, prospective CPWAs must complete a course of study at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business or the Yale School of Management. During the program, students learn about topics such as ethics, holistic wealth management planning strategies, and estate planning.

Gaining the CPWA title is a way for individuals to distinguish themselves in the financial advice and wealth management fields. The title holds a high level of prestige because it requires a significant time commitment, several years of experience, and strong ethics. This signals to clients that the professional carrying the marks is up to the job and can help them with their complex high-net-worth needs.

Becoming a CPWA

As noted, the CPWA title is a way for individuals to sharpen their abilities in the wealth management industry, as well as signal to clients and employers their enhanced skill sets. As such, earning the designation involves one spending time collecting both educational and professional experience at a high level.

To enter the program and eventually be able to get the certification, one must meet the following prerequisites:

• Have either:
  • A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
  • One of these professional certifications or designations: CIMA, CIMC, CFA, CFP, ChFC, or CPA.
• Have collected five years of experience in the financial services field upon completion of the program.
• Complete a program application, which includes a background check and fee.

To become a CPWA, individuals must complete all requirements and pay varying tuition — between $6,295 and $7,295 depending on the institution — as well as a certification fee of $395. Here is a breakdown of the requirements:

Education

Prospective CPWA certificants must pass an educational course of study, which they may opt to receive from one of three providers. Each varies in cost and mode of course delivery, as illustrated in the following table:

Provider	Tuition Cost	Course Mode
Yale School of Management	$7,295	Online (self-study)
Chicago Booth School of Business	$6,995	Hybrid, with mandatory five-day in-person program
Investments & Wealth Institute	$6,295	Online (self-study and synchronous learning)

While in the educational program, students expand their knowledge about multiple areas of wealth planning and work as advisors with various types of clients. According to the issuing organization’s handbook on the program, this includes four primary top-level subjects, or domains, and sub-topics:

1. Human Dynamics: ethics, behavioral finance, and family dynamics.
2. Wealth Management — Technical Design: tax planning, portfolio management, risk management, and asset protection.
3. Legacy issues: charitable giving and endowments, estate issues, and wealth transfer.
4. Specialty client services: planning for executives, planning for closely held business owners, and retirement management.

It’s important to note, per the Yale School of Management, that the program isn’t an introduction to wealth topics, but rather, it assumes a baseline of familiarity and knowledge. The program intends to magnify a professional’s skill level in working with and finding solutions for high-net-worth clients.

Exam

After completing the educational program, students must take and pass the CPWA exam. It includes material from each of the four domains the course covers and must be taken on a computer either in-person or remotely, both under supervision by a proctor.

Students have four hours to complete the exam once they begin. It includes 125 multiple-choice questions that test the student’s ability to recall information, apply their knowledge, and perform analysis.

Ethical Standards

Finally, aspiring CPWAs must complete an ethics requirement by signing the IWI’s Code of Professional Responsibility. This includes compliance with nine principles consistent with the fiduciary standard, which ensure the professional agrees to keep their clients’ best interests in mind, act with transparency, and disclose conflicts of interest, among others.

Individuals must also agree to follow guidelines surrounding the usage of the IWI’s marks. This dictates ways in which they must represent themselves professionally, in marketing materials, on websites, and when dealing with clients.

Who Should Hire a CPWA Professional?

Because of the demanding program they must complete to earn the designation, CPWA professionals wield an advanced aptitude for implementing wealth management strategies for clients. They primarily, however, work with high-net-worth clients with nuanced goals and needs. According to the IWI, the average asset value per client for a CPWA titleholder is $7.3 million.

In that way, hiring a CPWA certificant might be the right move if you have a substantial net worth and need help developing a plan to manage it. For instance, you might want to put together an estate plan to smoothly transfer your wealth. You might also want to assemble a strong and diverse investment portfolio. In either case, an advisor carrying the CPWA title can help.

Cost to Hire One

The cost to hire a CPWA professional could vary, especially depending on the type of relationship you intend to have with the advisor. For instance, you’ll likely pay a different structure if you intend to receive continuous wealth or investment management than you would for a one-off consultation once every one or two years.

In the wealth advisory field, where an expert may manage your portfolio on an ongoing basis, you’ll often see a fee structure based on a percentage of the dollar amount of assets under management (AUM) you have. This is often around 1% but can be lower if the firm or professional uses a tiered structure for clients with more assets.

If you’re visiting an advisor on an appointment basis, you’ll likely see either a flat fee or retainer payment schedule. For example, if you just need help drafting a plan or are going for a check-in on a plan you largely manage yourself, you may use this structure with a wealth management professional.

How to Find a CPWA

You’ll typically find CPWA professionals working in roles that serve the needs of wealthy clients and their families. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see them working at or owning registered investment advisor (RIA) firms that offer wealth solutions, such as investment management, estate planning, or retirement planning. They may also work in family offices, which are full-service companies that work exclusively with ultra- and high-net-worth families.

You can use various methods and tools to find and verify the reputation of an individual with the CPWA title, including:

• The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). You can use this to look up firms around your ZIP code, which may include CPWA professionals.
• Matching tools. Another way to find a professional is to use a matching tool, like this one, that connects you with advisors that fit your needs and asset level.
• Friends or family. Consider asking people in your network if they know of advisors who carry the CPWA certification or work with wealthy people.
• FINRA BrokerCheck. This lets you search for an expert and verify their credentials, as well as whether they have any disclosures.
• Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD). Like BrokerCheck, this is a search tool offered by the SEC that allows you to check an expert’s credentials, previous firms, and reputation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should regular investors hire a CPWA titleholder?

As experts who work in the wealth management industry, CPWA professionals may have high account minimums (i.e., $1 million or more). Therefore, while people with lower net worth could potentially hire them, they may not be eligible to meet often high AUM account requirements wealth managers set.

Is a CPWA professional a fiduciary?

Yes, individuals with the CPWA title must uphold a fiduciary standard. This is because they agree to adhere to an ethical standard set forth by the IWI, which includes principles that require putting clients’ interests first and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Is a CPWA better than a CFP?

Both the CPWA and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) titles are high-quality achievements in the financial advice field. They each enable professionals to enhance their learning and exhibit their expertise to clients. The former, however, includes more of a focus on wealth management for HNWI clients, whereas the latter is a well-rounded program that prepares experts to deal with the holistic planning needs of clients.