The Investment Management Consultants Association (Imca) has opened a certification prep center designed to help CIMA certification candidates prepare for their exams.
“CIMA certification has become the industry standard for investment advisors and consultants, and we encourage those who recommend or select investments for individual or institutional clients to consider earning the certification,” Sean R. Walters, executive director and CEO at Denver-based IMCA, said in a statement.
Imca officials say certification candidates on average devote 300 hours to self-study. The new prep center provides an array of educatonal resources to help candidates better understand the subject matter upon which they are tested.
Average initial pass rates in 2012 for the CIMA qualification and certification exam have been 60 percent and 53 percent, respectively. Imca’s CIMA certification earned third-party accreditation by the American National Standards Institute in 2011.
In addition to being tested on all aspects of delivering investment advice, CIMA certification candidates must meet a three-year experience requirement, complete the executive education component at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, or The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and adhere to Imca’s Code of Professional Responsibility.
The prep center's resources are complimentary for CIMA certification candidates who are also Imca members. Prep center resources include the following:
• A revised sample question database with more than 400 questions, including practice exams, section quizzes and calculation-only exams.
• Answers from subject matter experts within 48 business hours.
• Candidate study groups: Certification candidates can find other CIMA certification candidates locally to start self-organized study groups.
• Candidate orientation webcasts.
• A PDF library of core readings—proprietary, online manuscripts covering key concepts within the five knowledge domains of the CIMA certification program.
• An enhanced study guide that offers candidates study schedules and recommended textbooks with a proposed map of learning objectives.
Imca is a nonprofit professional association and credentialing organization with more than 8,700 individual members. Imca members collectively manage more than $1.6 trillion on behalf of 1.3 million clients, providing investment consulting and wealth management services to individual and institutional clients.