SINGAPORE - AIA Singapore's wealth managers will be getting training and Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) certification similar to that of a private banker, under a partnership with Nanyang Technological University's Wealth Management Institute (WMI), the insurer said in a media statement on Wednesday (June 19).

As the appointed lead training provider for private banking, WMI has developed the Certified Private Banker (CPB) programme, which equips an individual with the necessary competencies to serve the high net worth client segment.

AIA personal wealth managers (PWMs) who successfully complete the Client Advisor Competency Standards Assessment and WMI's CPB Level 1 will be eligible for the "Wealth Management - Relationship Management - Private Banking" certification under the IBF Standards Level 1.

IBF Standards have three levels, with Level 1 described as "basic understanding of key concepts and ability to apply skill to routine tasks", according to IBF Singapore's webpage.

AIA has also worked with WMI to design two other programmes its PWMs are to complete, before moving on to WMI CPB Level 1.

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

The insurer targets to have 120 PWMs graduate from the CPB programme by 2020, starting with the first intake of 40 advisers in October 2019.

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