WEALTH MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION

CIEL's core products are its certification programs and publications.

Our flagship certification programme is the Wealth Management Certification, offered at three
levels of difficulty, to cater to the requirements of investment advisors, relationship managers,
wealth managers and private bankers.

CIEL's approach to creating and delivering its products can be described by the following
principles:

  Practice-oriented learning must be relevant to performance on the job.

  Technical  content of any level of complexity can be simplified to enable self-learning.
  Multiple delivery models should be used to enable flexible pace of learning.
  The assimilation of the content must be assessed with a robust and fair examination.

These principles ensure that the Certification programs and publications of CIEL address the
knowledge and learning needs of the industry effectively.

About the Certification

The certification course in Wealth Management provides a framework to understand the
concepts related to wealth management and contextualize them to actual practice.

The wealth management certification incorporates all the elements necessary to provide
participants with essential knowledge and relevant skills to become trusted advisors.

 The certification progam is defined as a study plan including printed study material, on-line
learning tools, classroom training,quizzes and exams.  The certificate is awarded to candidates
who pass the exam after completing the study plan.  CIEL’s standard passing score is 65%,
though some of our clients have enhanced this cut-off to 70% for their teams.
 

The CIEL Advantage

The certification course has been created by a team of professionals who

combine market and industry experience along with academic qualifications. The course content
is is based on a competency mapping exercise to ensure that the concepts and applications are
practically relevant and conceptually rigourous.The course has been vetted by the industry and
its approval is indicated by the large number of practicing wealth managers who have undergone
the course. See our client list.

 
 

The Wealth Management Certification certification combines  conceptual rigour with

practical application.

Levels of Certification

CIEL offers the Wealth Management Certification at three levels

 Basic
 Intermediate
 Advanced

The basic level certification is targeted at beginners in the wealth management profession.  We
currently offer the course to relationship managers and beginners in the financial advisory
business as an accreditation programme.

The intermediate level certification is targeted at advisors and relationship managers with at least
three years of work experience and plan to move to advising larger and higher value clients.

The advanced level certification is offered to private bankers who require a deeper understanding
of wealth management strategies and products.

The coverage and focus of the course and its approach is different at each level and grows in
complexity and intensity.
Wealth Management Certification   Content Outline
Risk, Return and Asset Allocation    

 Measuring and using return    

 Measuring and managing risk
 Diversification and asset classes
 Asset allocation process and strategies

Equity Markets

 Market structure and participants

 Equity products :Mutual funds, Portfolio management services and private equity
 Fundamental analysis and valuation models
 Technical analysis

 Debt Markets

 Debt market analytics

 Debt market participants and instruments
 Debt funds: Features, valuation and performance
 Direct debt products
 Derivative Products

 Futures, forwards and options

 Market structure
 Pricing and Valuation
 Derivative strategies and their applications
 Investment products : Arbitrage funds, structured products

 Evaluation of Portfolio Performance Evaluation

 Measuring excess return and risk

 Risk adjusted return
 Performance ratios and qualitative factors

 Insurance

 Insurance concepts
 Product features and differentiation
 Process aspects
 Product Performance

Alternative Investments

 Commodities
 International markets
 Private Equity
 Real estate investments
 Art

 Financial Planning

 Concepts of Financial Planning

 Personal finance ratios and analysis
 Wealth pyramid and planning needs
 Strategies in financial planning
 Retirement and insurance planning
 Tax aspects and estate planning

 Process Aspects (only for basic level)

 Regulatory requirements for financial products

 Tax aspects and implications
 Investor documentation
  Banking processes
 Transaction types and processes
 Systematic transactions
 NFTs: Nomination, PoA, and profile changes

 Note: The outline given above is indicative. Actual content for each level varies based on the
functional competence mapping for the given level.

Publications
CIEL’s publications are reading materials for its own certification programmes or for mandatory
certification examinations prescribed by regulation, and therefore have to be completed by
CIEL’s target learning groups of professionals in the investment industry.

 Wealth Management (Basic)

Author(s): Uma Shashikant & Sunita Abraham

The Wealth Management book covers the identified range of subjects and topics for the basic Wealth
Management Certification Program of CIEL, and is the prescribed reading material for the course.  The
topics are organized into eleven chapters. Each topic deals with the concepts, application and practical
aspects of a subject. A combination of illustrations and exercises are used along with the text to
reinforce the subject.
Contents
Risk and Return on Investments Pg.8
Asset Allocation and Diversification Pg.34
Equity Markets Pg.58
Debt Markets Pg.96
Deposits, Saving Schemes and Bonds Pg.126
Mutual Fund Products Pg.154
Insurance and Retirement Saving Products Pg.190
Operational and Tax Aspects Pg.230
Transaction and Process Aspects Pg.270
Using Mutual Fund Product Information Pg.306
Financial Planning Aspects Pg.360Abbreviations Pg.373 

More than 5000 copies of this book have been sold to our clients who have subscribed to the
Wealth Management Certification. 

Understanding Mutual Funds (2nd Edition) 

Author(s): Uma Shashikant & Sunita Abraham

Understanding Mutual Funds is a beginner’s guide to mutual funds in India. The book deals with
mutual fund products, their structure, portfolios and risk and return features.The first edition of
this book has sold 20,000 copies.
This book covers the syllabus and test objectives of the NISM certification exam for mutual fund
distributors.  
This book comes packaged with an access code that enables buyers to log into our test portal and
take practice exams for the NISM (Mutual Fund Distributors) certification. Users can also review
their performance in the practice test, and identify their areas of strengths and weaknesses to
enable them to prepare better for the examinations.
 Understanding Mutual Funds
Table of Contents
1. Concept, History and Type of Mutual Funds……………………………………............ 5
2. Fund Structure and Constituents………………………………………………………………..36
3. Legal and Regulatory Framework……………………………………………………………… 52
4. Offer Document……………………………………………………………………………………….. 60
5. Mutual Fund Distribution and Sales Practices…………………………………………… 82
6. Accounting Valuation and Taxation………………………………………………………….. 96
7. Investor Services…………………………………………………………………………………….. 124
8. Investment Management……………………………………………………………………….. 138
9. Return, Risk, Performance and Fund Selection………………………………………...172
10. Financial Planning: Concept & Process……………………………………………………..206
11. Life Cycles and Wealth Cycles…………………………………………………………………. 218
12. Creating and Recommending a Model Portfolio……………………………………… 232
13. Investment Strategies………………………………………………………………………………242
14. Investment Products………………………………………………………………………………..256
15. Business Ethics for Mutual Funds……………………………………………………………. 280
16. Practice Test ‐1………………………………………………………………………………………….289
17. Practice Test – 2………………………………………………………………………………………..303
18. List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………….318

REFERENCE WEBSITE: www.ciel.co.in