The AIF is now accredited.
Fi360 announced Tuesday that its Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation has been …well, accredited by ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB).
“The AIF Designation was created to assure that those responsible for managing or advising on investor assets have a fundamental understanding of the principles of fiduciary duty, the standards of conduct for acting as a fiduciary, and a process for carrying out fiduciary responsibility,” the Pittsburgh-based education and technology firm said.
Earning the certification demonstrates an advisor and/or investment fiduciary has met certain criteria to earn and maintain the credential.
“We voluntarily took steps to ensure our AIF® Designation met all of the necessary standards to become fully accredited by a trusted, third-party organization like ANAB,” Bill Mueller, AIF, Chief Executive Officer of Fi360, said in a statement. “We see this as an affirmation of the work we have been doing since 2002 to provide the highest level of professional training and certifications and advocate for responsible fiduciary practices to our industry.”
Benefits
According to the company, formal accreditation for the AIF benefits current and future designees in a variety of ways, including:
- Insulation: Regulators have shown interest in restricting what types of designations can be used in the market. Accredited designations enjoy a presumption that they are appropriate, which will protect AIF designees from potential restrictions in the future.
- Validation: The designation is not only being internally managed to high standards that meet ANSI’s requirements, but Fi360 has involved outside stakeholders to oversee the process and ensure fair and objective requirements of AIF designees.
- Differentiation: As the pool of certifications available to advisors grows, the AIF® Designation stands out by being one of just ten accredited designations listed by FINRA.
“There are only nine financial designations that have earned third-party accreditation out of over 200 total credentials available to advisors. The AIF designation will be just the tenth in this elite group,” Richard Lynch, AIFA, Director at Fi360, added. “This extra step will give designees an added layer of trust in our processes, as well as the peace of mind that not only do we stand behind the qualification standards used to certify financial professionals, but so does the ANSI National Accreditation Board.”
The designation has met requirements for compliance with international standard ISO/IEC 17024:2012.
“All qualified AIF designees can now proudly and confidently advertise to their clients that they hold this designation,” Mueller concluded. “It’s a benefit to investors to know without a doubt that if their advisor is an AIF designee, it means they possess a fundamental understanding of their fiduciary duty and a trusted process for carrying out that fiduciary responsibility.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
