Broadens Access to Influential Retirement Planning Designation
BOSTON, MA, October 19, 2015 – The Retirement Income Industry Association® (RIIA®) has partnered with Salem State University to launch a new online course for financial advisors who wish to pursue the organization’s Retirement Management Analyst® (RMA®) designation.
The RMA program, which is taught only at accredited universities, is recognized as one of the most effective retirement planning designations in the financial community. It arms financial advisors with the knowledge and tools to provide the counseling and planning the public is seeking.
“This online course significantly increases the accessibility of the RMA, while maintaining the rigor and comprehensiveness of the curriculum we have developed over the last decade,” said Francois Gadenne, Chairman, Co-Founder and Executive Director of RIIA. “We are delighted to build on our partnership with Salem State University to provide this unique program and benefit from their exceptional distance learning expertise and technology.”
The new program will offer the best of classroom-based teaching with the flexibility of distance learning. The first nine week program starts on October 26 and will run through December 18. The program will incorporate live and recorded expert presentations, discussion groups and interactive engagement around the RMA curriculum and case studies. The principal instructor will be Michael Lonier, RMA®, CEO, Lonier Financial Advisor LLC.
“This course is a great example of our ability to strategically leverage our distance learning expertise to meet the specific needs of financial planners, while also helping us support the need in our community for the type of client-focused advice RMA’s provide,” said Patricia Meservey, President, Salem State University.
The new online Retirement Management course is for financial advisors with three or more years’ experience seeking to demonstrate to clients and business partners a mastery of the retirement planning advisory process and RIIA’s View Across the SilosSM approach to achieving clients’ goals.
The completion of this and other programs will prepare advisors to take the RMA exams for the two RMA designation levels. For more information and to apply click here.
The course covers the RMA’s distinctive methods for:The RMA program... is recognized as one of the most effective retirement planning designations in the financial community. It arms financial advisors with the knowledge and tools to provide the counseling and planning the public is seeking
- Implementing a four-part planning framework that starts with a 1) Client Diagnostic
Kit that generates 2) Retirement Allocations that are built using the 3) RMA
Toolbox within the 4) RMA Practice Management context, - Comprehensive retirement planning based on the household balance sheet,
- Using the client’s cash flow and balance sheet to determine the appropriate
application of investment-based planning, goals-based planning, and product-based
planning, - Generating secure retirement income allocations protected by four broad risk-
management techniques to build Upside, Floor, Longevity, and Reserves, - Focusing on goals and successful outcomes, in addition to investment returns and
performance, and, - A cross-silo approach that embraces products across the investment, banking and
insurance spectrum.
About RIIA:
The Retirement Income Industry Association® (RIIA®) is a not-for-profit independent industry association that seeks to discover, validate and teach the new realities of retirement and to do so from the perspective of “The View Across the SilosSM”, with the goal of achieving better retirement outcomes for the client. RIIA’s client-focused approach and the retirement body of knowledge that underpins its influential professional designation – the Retirement Management Analyst® (RMA®) – are highly-valued by clients, companies and advisors using both suitability and fiduciary standards focused on expanding their retirement practices. RIIA organizes conferences and events, professional education for RMAs, publishes a peer-reviewed journal (Retirement Management Journal®), offers twice-monthly retirement-focused webinars through its Virtual Learning Center, manages an 8,000 person strong LinkedIn discussion group, provides research and other services to the industry and its clients. More information about RIIA can be found at http://riia-usa.org.
About Salem State University
Salem State University, established in 1854, is a comprehensive, public institution of higher learning located approximately 15 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. The university enrolls 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing 44 states and 61 nations, and is one of the largest state universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With over 200 veterans currently enrolled, Salem State has been designated a military-friendly institution by G.I. Jobs, placing it in the top 20 percent of schools nationwide. More information about Salem State University can be found at salemstate.edu.
