WMCP®
Wealth Management Certified Professional®
Best For
Professionals seeking foundational and focused wealth management expertise.
Complete In
As Few as Three Months
Format
Gain the knowledge and skill to build efficient goal-based portfolios through a 100% online curriculum and support from preeminent wealth management thought leaders. Look Inside.
100% Online
Tuition
Starting at
$1,125/course
Packages available with reduced tuition.
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Create Efficient Portfolios
Apply Modern Investment Theory
Don’t just learn about wealth management — put your knowledge into practice with a focus on application of skills.
Implement Solutions for Complex Needs
Wealth management is about more than picking stocks — integrate strategies to help clients achieve their goals.
Flexible Learning Options
Our all-online program for financial professionals lets you study and complete coursework on your schedule.
Build Your Foundation in Wealth Management
Tour the Program Now
Join Program Director Michael Finke, PhD, CFP®, for a look inside the WMCP® Program and a curriculum overview!
WMCP® Program Overview
Admissions Requirements
There are no prerequisite courses required to begin the WMCP® Program (other than a high school diploma or equivalent), but at least one year of experience in financial planning or a related profession is required to use the designation.
To receive the WMCP® designation, you must:
- Successfully complete the three required courses and three proctored final course exams.
- Agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures
Participation in the annual Professional Recertification Program (PRP) is required to maintain the designation.
What You'll Learn
The all-online WMCP® Program delivers the strategic and practical framework you need to build broadly-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios aligned with your clients’ goals. The program will help you develop tools to deliver true advisor alpha.
You’ll learn how to:
- Employ a goal-based process for planning and managing client wealth
- Create an efficient investment portfolio
- Evaluate financial instruments
- Formulate a wealth management strategy
- Provide solutions for complex client needs
Course Delivery
Earn your WMCP® designation online while studying the curriculum at your own pace and get support from our academic advising team and the top thought leaders in the industry today.
- All-Online Resources: All-virtual lessons organized in sequential units and supported by short videos, knowledge checks, quizzes, and case studies.
- Testing: There is no high-stakes cumulative exam in the WMCP® Program; each course features its own quizzes, knowledge checks, and a final course exam.
- Expert Instruction: Get the latest insights delivered by preeminent thought leaders and researchers.
- Flexible E-learning: Complete coursework on your schedule.
Tuition Overview
Single Courses
Starting at $1,125
Packages
Starting at $2,995
Single Courses
Just $1,125 per course
Single courses in the WMCP® Program are only $1,125 each. To finish the full program, complete the required courses below:
- WMCP 360 Introduction to Goal-Based Planning — Introduces goal-based wealth management through a theoretical framework guided by the life-cycle model of optimal investing, borrowing, and protection.
- WMCP 361 Efficient Investment Portfolios — Explains modern investment theory and provides an overview of financial instruments used to build efficient goal-based portfolio strategies for individual investors.
- WMCP 362 Strategic Wealth Management — Provides an overview of applied goal-based wealth management strategies.
Three-Course Package
$2,995
Purchase the full WMCP® Program containing all three required courses for only $2,995 (a $380 savings from individual course purchases!). Package includes:
- WMCP 360 Introduction to Goal-Based Planning — Introduces goal-based wealth management through a theoretical framework guided by the life-cycle model of optimal investing, borrowing, and protection.
- WMCP 361 Efficient Investment Portfolios — Explains modern investment theory and provides an overview of financial instruments used to build efficient goal-based portfolio strategies for individual investors.
- WMCP 362 Strategic Wealth Management — Provides an overview of applied goal-based wealth management strategies.
Enroll Now If:
You Want to Calm Client Concerns
Behavioral Finance is Key
59% of your peers want more wealth management education, especially connected to behavioral finance.1 This program will help you recognize impulses and mitigate irrational decision-making.
You Seek Access to Top Minds
Learn From the Industry’s Best
Our program includes interviews with leading figures in wealth management, including Michael Kitces, Jeffrey Levine, David Blanchett, and more. The content balances academic theory and strategic application.
You Deliver Value Through Planning
Go Beyond Fund Selection
95% of clients expect wealth management services from their advisor and markets are increasingly volatile.2 Navigate them through turbulent times as a trusted partner in wealth management with the right accounts, products, level of risk, ...and time horizonRead more +Read less -
What Your Peers Say
144%
Higher growth in client retention than advisors with no designations.1
32%
Higher growth in earnings than advisors with no designations.1
16%
Higher growth in production than advisors with no designations.1
Course Overview
Courses to Complete
Three
Typical Completion Time
As Few as Three Months
WMCP 360 Introduction to Goal-Based Planning
Introduces goal-based wealth management through a theoretical framework guided by the life-cycle model of optimal investing, borrowing, and protection.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the role of wealth over a lifetime
- Observe investing within a life-cycle framework
- Apply the value of a goals-based approach to investing
- Analyze the impact of the economic environment on financial markets
- Identify the CFP® financial planning process and evaluate strategies for managing effective client communication
- Assess ethical practices and financial regulations
- Implement a goal-based process for planning and managing client wealth
WMCP 361 Efficient Investment Portfolios
Explains modern investment theory and provides an overview of financial instruments used to build efficient goal-based portfolio strategies for individual investors.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Explain statistical concepts and how they can be incorporated in portfolio construction and wealth management
- Apply modern investment theory to portfolio construction and wealth management
- Demonstrate how to construct an efficient household portfolio
- Analyze how portfolio strategies help clients meet spending goals
- Characterize the types of fixed-income instruments available
- Differentiate the types of equity instruments available
- Assess the different types of diversified securities available and evaluate how they fit in an efficient portfolio
- Evaluate other financial instruments and decide how they can be incorporated with other types of investments to create an efficient portfolio
WMCP 362 Strategic Wealth Management
Provides an overview of applied goal-based wealth management strategies.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Identify the role of taxes on portfolio and wealth management decisions
- Observe the relative benefit of tax-sheltered accounts
- Implement solutions for complex wealth management needs
- Integrate strategies for meeting estate planning goals
- Examine strategies for meeting charitable planning goals
- Evaluate the planning needs of business owners and executives
- Review areas of financial planning that require specialized financial expertise
- Formulate a wealth management strategy
The WMCP® gave me the knowledge and confidence to work with more up-market clients and higher-net-worth individuals I’d never spoken with before. I’ll absolutely be a lifelong learner with The College.
Terry Parham, MSFP, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, WMCP®
The WMCP® Program deepened my understanding of advanced wealth management strategies in a way that’s both academically rigorous and directly applicable to client work. It sharpened my ability to build more intentional, goals-based plans — especially for business owners navigating complex financial decisions.
Gregory Kelly, WMCP®
Just building portfolios is the past, but WMCP® has set me up to expand my expertise and my services now and in the future. It’s about your clients, their family, their business, their legacy.
Lee Williams, WMCP®
The terrific WMCP® Program should be mandatory material for all advisors. I simply cannot imagine a better program to help me move forward in my advisor practice and elevate my knowledge.
Robert Edry, WMCP®, CLTC®, CFP®, MBA
The value in the WMCP® Program is that it combines goal-based planning with investment management. The program was an easy way to enhance my skills and bring more expertise to my clients without worrying about scheduling for an in-person class.
Morgan Marlin, WMCP®, CRPS®
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See How the WMCP® Compares
Save time with a quick view of how our WMCP® Program stacks up against other wealth management education programs.
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See How the WMCP® ComparesSave time with a quick view of how our WMCP® Program stacks up against other wealth management education programs. |
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Insights of Nationally-Recognized Thought Leaders |
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Learn From the Leaders in Modern Wealth Management
Michael Finke
PhD, CFP®
Professor of Wealth Management, WMCP® Program Director, Director for the Granum Center for Financial Security, Frank M. Engle Distinguished Chair in Economic Security
Connect on LinkedIn
Read Bio
Loren Flood
MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®, WMCP®, RICP®, AFC®
Director of Curriculum, Academics
Assistant Professor
Clark/Bardes Endowed Chair in Retirement Planning and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation
Read Bio
Robert Bradley Alderfer
JD, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, RICP®, WMCP®, CAP®, ChSNC®, CRPS®, QPFC, CEPA®, CAIA®, TPCP®
Adjunct Professor
Read Bio01 / 00
Michael Finke
PhD, CFP®
Professor of Wealth Management, WMCP® Program Director, Director for the Granum Center for Financial Security, Frank M. Engle Distinguished Chair in Economic Security
Connect on LinkedIn
Read Bio
Loren Flood
MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®, WMCP®, RICP®, AFC®
Director of Curriculum, Academics
Assistant Professor
Clark/Bardes Endowed Chair in Retirement Planning and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation
Read Bio
Robert Bradley Alderfer
JD, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, RICP®, WMCP®, CAP®, ChSNC®, CRPS®, QPFC, CEPA®, CAIA®, TPCP®
Adjunct Professor
Read BioThere’s Even More to Explore
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WMCP® Program FAQs
The Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®) is a foundational designation credential offered by The American College of Financial Services that focuses on comprehensive wealth management education. It is similar in concept to designations such as the Certified Wealth Management Advisor (CWMA), the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®), and the Wealth Management SpecialistSM (WMSSM), and is a wealth management designation designed to give financial professionals the strategic and practical framework to build broadly-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios aligned with client goals. However, the WMCP® is more comprehensive than the WMSSM. It is also more focused on personal wealth management, incorporating behavioral finance, tax-efficient investment strategies, and how to help clients achieve specific personal objectives than CIMA®, which is heavily focused on the technical aspects of institutional investment consulting, such as due diligence, performance measurement, and risk management.
To become a wealth management professional through the WMCP® Program, you must complete the three-course program, including all associated classwork and a final exam for each course. These wealth management courses include discussions on goal-based planning, efficient investing, and creation of strategies needed as a wealth management specialist.
Like many comparable wealth management training programs, the Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®) designation can be finished in as few as three months and can be considered a foundational designation; however, with its advanced curriculum, focus on deep behavioral finance theory, faculty of nationally-recognized thought leaders, and the first-rate e-learning experience delivered by The American College of Financial Services, the WMCP® Program has been recognized by the industry as a cornerstone wealth management designation. FUSE Research’s 2024 Designation Outcomes Study showed wealth management professionals who complete the WMCP® Program enhance their career growth compared to others in their field, showing 144% higher growth in client retention, 32% higher growth in earnings, and 16% higher growth in production over a three-year period than professionals with no designations.
Additionally, the knowledge conveyed by these online wealth management courses is proven to meet growing demand: according to a 2022 survey of registered investment advisors (RIAs), over half wanted more wealth management education, specifically in the area of behavioral finance. Spectrum Group also reported in 2023 that 95% of potential clients expect wealth management services from their advisor, though far less than that number actually receive them. This demonstrates the WMCP®’s ongoing value as a wealth management education credential.
You will have 14 weeks to complete all WMCP® course requirements; however, you may work at your own pace and finish much faster.
For example, if you complete your coursework in eight weeks, you can schedule, prepare for, and take your exam over the next eight weeks.
Take the Next Step
As a WMCP®, you’ll deliver true alpha through holistic, tax-efficient portfolio planning aligned to client goals, not investment returns.
1 FUSE Research Network. The American College of Financial Services Designation Outcomes Study. 2024. Based on reported three-year growth compared to clients with no designations.
2 The American College of Financial Services RIA Growth and Specialized Knowledge Survey. 2022.
3 Spectrem Group Wealthy Investor Series: Wealth Management Redefined. 2021.