There is much talk in the wealth industry about the importance of talent management but what institutions work to develop the skills and aptitudes? Here is a list from organizations around the world.

Editor's note: As the academic year starts, and the summer holidays close, Family Wealth Report issues a list of graduate and postgraduate training courses in wealth management around the world. As ever, we invite readers to suggest updates where necessary, as we appreciate this list may be incomplete or in need of revision. To do so, email tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com or telephone +44 207 148 0178.

If wealth management is to grow successfully and maintain high standards of client service, firms that try to get by through poaching staff from rivals will find this ploy proves to be expensive if the talent pool does not expand with a strong graduate intake. Consequently, graduate and postgraduate training and development in the sector is a vital, long-term process. In terms of Master of Business Administration courses for postgraduates, for example, there are as yet relatively few courses available, but a longer list of other certification programs does exist.

Courses and institutions:

A wealth management program was due to be launched in the fall of 2020, hosted at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies. This is the first time such a course has been developed for an Ivy League university in the US.

Washington University in St Louis has a two-year old Masters of Science in Finance – Wealth and Asset Management track.

The curriculum has been built by both academic researchers as well as retired and current practitioners. One highlight of the program is the research conference the university hosts that brings in leading researchers as well as practitioners.

The program holds a STEM designation for its focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics throughout the curriculum. The program also partners with the Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Finance and Accounting Research; the organization offers guest lectures, mentoring, mock interviews, and more to students. Students have access to notable speakers, Olin alumni, and industry professionals at the annual WFA-CFAR Asset Management Research Conference.

Master of Science in Wealth Management, DePaul University, Charles H Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, DePaul University, Chicago. This MS in wealth management program runs for two years and is a full-time course.

Wealth Management Institute. This organization is supported by Temasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. The very fact that such an institution is investing in this area gives some sense of how seriously Singapore regards the sector as a growth area.

The institute has the following courses:

WMI Continuing Professional Development series;

WMI Master Class in Wealth Management;

WMI Private banking wealth management program;

WMI Advanced wealth management program – affluent;

WMI Wealth management program – affluent;

WMI Advanced Certificate in Trust Services;

WMI Certificate in Trust Services.

Edinburgh Napier University, UK - MSc in Wealth Management.

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business - Executive MBA in Asset and Wealth Management.

University of Lausanne, HEC Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics - Executive MBA in Asset and Wealth Management.

Singapore Management University, which operates an MSc in wealth management alongside University of St Gallen. In 2009, Yale University was added as an academic partner. Singapore Management University works with Yale University and University of Gallen in her Master of Science in Wealth Management degree.

the Swiss Finance Institute. In 2009, Yale University was added as an academic partner. (See WMI entry above.)

Wharton. The US business school, under the leadership of Professor Chris Geczy, has a “wealth management initiative”. Its wealth management courses fall mainly within the school’s executive education division; it does not have a stand-alone MBA for wealth management. Undergraduate and MBA students may take courses that include related issues.

Association of International Wealth Management. Set up in 2007 as a joint venture between LawInContext and AZEK, the body has created the Certified International Wealth Management Diploma.

UBS Business University Wealth Management Campus, Singapore. The organization, run by the Swiss bank, adopts the Singapore Banking and Finance’s Financial Industry Competency Standards, established in 2005.

Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada - MBA In Global Asset and Wealth Management.

Manchester Metropolitan University Business School - MSc in Financial Planning and Wealth Management, .

CFA Institute, Charlottesville, VA (The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts). It operates a CFA program that has been dubbed “the gold standard” by the Financial Times and “the global passport” by The Economist magazine. The CFA program addresses issues such as tax-efficient wealth accumulation, cross-border estate planning, client communication strategies and financial planning. 

BPP - CISI Masters in Wealth Management.

UBS and Standard Chartered Private Bank recently joined Jersey International Business School’s work support program for the BSc (Hons) International Financial Services degree. The program allows a number of students to study for the degree whilst being employed by one of the firms. HSBC and RBS International also offer paid student placements to the BSc students.

BNP Paribas operates an Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore, described as the French bank’s first training and talent development facility in the region. The firm will train 3,200 employees per annum from Singapore and some of its 75 countries worldwide, with a range of programs specifically designed to cover eight paths: talent development; leadership and management; individual skills; risk and credit; compliance and regulatory; product and technical proficiencies; diversity and inclusion, and corporate culture and citizenship. The project is supported by the government of Singapore.

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law has launched a program that trains students interested in working for family offices and firms with family office service practices. The law school said that it will be the first in the US with a program focused specifically on this area of wealth management.