The Investment Management Consultants Association, Inc. (IMCA) is offering a new designation–the Chartered Private Wealth Advisor or CPWA. The first self-study session will start this September followed by an in-person class in Spring, 2008. The designation is achieved after a comprehensive background check and five years of client-centered experience in financial services or related discipline and a six month self-study period and one week of classroom instruction at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, plus 40 hours of continuing education every two years. Candidates must also successfully pass a three-hour comprehensive examination and adhere to the IMCA Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards of Practice.