AIA Singapore's wealth managers will undergo training towards an Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) certificate similar to what a private banker gets, under a partnership with Nanyang Technological University's Wealth Management Institute (WMI), the insurer said in a media statement yesterday.

As the appointed lead training provider for private banking, WMI has developed the Certified Private Banker (CPB) programme, which trains people to serve high-net-worth clients.

AIA personal wealth managers who complete the Client Adviser Competency Standards Assessment and WMI's CPB level 1 can attain the Wealth Management - Relationship Management - Private Banking certification under the IBF standards level 1. There are three levels in IBF standards.

AIA's wealth management programmes add up to more than 90 hours of online and classroom training and assessments. These cover topics including the needs of business owners and client relationship management and digital wealth management.

The insurer targets to have 120 wealth managers graduate from the CPB programme by next year, starting with the first intake of 40 advisers in October.

AIA said this initiative aims to support the national agenda of upskilling for a more competitive financial sector workforce.