Due to higher than normal call volumes you may experience longer wait times when contacting us and we appreciate your patience. View the best times to call and other ways to contact us.
APMA® Designation
(edit)
EnrollWhy PursueRenewalStudent Login

Accredited Portfolio Management AdvisorSM - APMA®

APMA
APMA® Professional Designation Program
$1,300.00

The Accredited Portfolio Management AdvisorSM, or APMA® program, is a designation program for financial professionals. The program educates advisors on the finer points of portfolio creation, augmentation, and maintenance. Students will gain hands-on practice in analyzing investment policy statements, building portfolios, and making asset allocation decisions.

Choose your learning modality and complete your APMA®  designation program.

  • Live Online Classes
    Our Live Online classes are best for individuals who prefer a structured schedule of instructor-led classes to stay on track with completing the program and the advantages of active learning features only possible in a live learning community. Features such as the following help you participate in the learning process, enabling you to apply new skills more quickly into your client interactions:
    • Interactive infographics
    • Activities using whiteboards
    • In-class polls as part of knowledge checks
    • Additional handouts to reinforce learning
    • Real-time access to instructors to ask questions or get clarifications on challenging concepts

Because this option is structured-pace, classes begin at certain times of the year.

  • OnDemand Classes
    Our OnDemand classes are best for individuals who need the flexibility to complete a professional designation program at their own pace based on their busy schedule. Your online learning platform will guide you through all your course-related activities, from reading assignments, recorded video lectures and module quizzes to your final exam.

Because this option is self-paced, you can begin the program at any time.  

The APMA® designation streamlines the cost and time toward your next credential.
As you advance your career, the College recognizes the time and investment it takes to earn industry-recognized credentials. Upon completion of the APMA®, graduates earn direct credit for:

  • Course FP513 in the College's CFP® certification education program.
  • One elective course in the College’s Master of Science Degree in Personal Financial Planning.
Plus, completion of professional designations programs can also help you fulfill continuing education (CE) requirements:
  • If you are a CFP® professional, all designation programs (except the WMS® and LUTCF® programs) fulfill 28 hours of CE as part of your CFP® certification renewal.
  • If you currently hold a professional designation from the College, completion of a new professional designation fulfills CE hours as part of the renewal of your current designation.
 

The APMA® designation package includes: 

Choose between Live Online or OnDemand classes to complete your program.

 

Live Online Classes

Our Live Online classes are best for individuals who prefer a structured schedule of instructor-led classes to stay on track with completing the program and the advantages of active learning features only possible in a live learning community. Features such as the following help you participate in the learning process, enabling you to apply new skills more quickly into your client interactions:
  • Interactive infographics
  • Activities using whiteboards
  • In-class polls as part of knowledge checks
  • Additional handouts to reinforce learning
  • Real-time access to instructors to ask questions or get clarifications on challenging concepts

Because this option is structured-pace, classes begin at certain times of the year.

OnDemand Classes

Our OnDemand classes are best for individuals who need the flexibility to complete a professional designation program at their own pace based on their busy schedule. Your online learning platform will guide you through all your course-related activities, from reading assignments, recorded video lectures and module quizzes to your final exam.

 

Because this option is self-paced, you can begin the program at any time.  







  • Investment Risk and Return Analysis
  • Modern Portfolio Theory and Performance Evaluation of Equities
  • Debt and Fixed-Income Features
  • Debt and Fixed Income Valuation and Analysis
  • Mutual Funds and Other Pooled Investments
  • Investing in Real Assets
  • Derivatives and Structured Products
  • Taxation of Investments and the Regulatory Environment
  • Ethical Considerations, Investment Strategies and Retirement Needs Analysis
  • Behavioral Finance, Client Suitability and Constructing Portfolios


Electronic textbooks are your primary resource for course content. You will receive an electronic VitalSource eBook as part of the package price. eBooks in the ePub format that are compatible with Apple iPad and MOBI/Kindle will also be available on your student dashboard. 
 
Printed textbooks are available as an add-on to your package for $150 plus tax and shipping. 


Module Quizzes, located at the end of each unit in your program, are designed to gauge your comprehension of the material. Students must complete the 30-question quiz for each module (or 20-question quiz if you are pursuing the ADPA® program) before moving to the next module. For questions answered incorrectly, correct answers with detailed rationale are provided to help improve your comprehension.

The Practice Exam is designed to closely replicate the Final Exam experience in terms of the degree of difficulty, timing, format, and topical coverage. This exam can be taken twice and provides unique practice questions that you haven’t seen at this point in your studies. The Practice Exam is a sound indicator of how you will perform on your Final Exam. It allows you to see areas of strength and weakness on your Performance Tracker. 

 

For the AAMS®, APMA®, AWMA® ,CRPC® , CSRIC®  and FPQP®  designations:
To pass the designation program, you must achieve a score of 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Students have an allotted time of 3 hours to take the Final Exam and a maximum of two attempts to pass the Final Exam. 

The grade earned on the Final Exam reflects your overall grade for the designation program.

For the ABFPSM, ADPA®, LUTCF®  and WMSSM  designations:
To pass the designation program, you must achieve a score of 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Students have an allotted time of 2 hours to take the Final Exam and a maximum of two attempts to pass the Final Exam. 

The grade earned on the Final Exam reflects your overall grade for the designation program.

 




 


Course Sessions

The next Live Online classes will be offered during these dates. If you prefer OnDemand classes, you can enroll and begin pre-recorded class lectures at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions about the APMA® Designation

The APMA® designation program is ideal for advanced financial advisors and planners who wish to delve deeper into the finer points of portfolio creation, augmentation, and maintenance. 
 
  • Advanced advisors who desire financial planning credentials to advance their career
  • Advisors with a broad financial knowledge who wish specialize in the discipline of portfolio management
  • Advisors who wish to pursue the CFP® certification or a master of science degree at a later date

For all designation programs except LUTCF®
Students in all professional designation programs except LUTCF® have 120 days from the date they are provided online access to complete a designation program (including testing and passing the Final Exam). 
  • Students who enroll in Live Online classes will receive online access 20 days prior to the first class date.
  • Students who enroll in OnDemand classes will receive online access immediately after they enroll.
If you need to extend your program, extensions of up to 60 days are available at a fee.  Extensions requests must be received on or before the fourteenth day following the course end date. Fees are non-refundable.

For the LUTCF® program
Students have 180 days from the date they are provided online access to complete a course in the three-course LUTCF® program (including testing and passing the Final Exam). 
  • Students who enroll in Live Online classes will receive online access 20 days prior to the first class date.
  • Students who enroll in OnDemand classes will receive online access immediately after they enroll.
If you need to extend your program, extensions of up to 60 days are available at a fee.  Extensions requests must be received on or before the fourteenth day following the course end date. Fees are non-refundable.

 

 

The Final Exam for the APMA® program contains 90 questions. 

Students have an allotted time of 3 hours to take the Final Exam and a maximum of two attempts to pass the Final Exam.

A passing score on the Final Exam is a score of 70% or higher. The grade earned on the Final Exam reflects your overall grade for the designation program.

A score of 70% or better is required to pass all professional designation final exams. Students who do not earn a minimum of 70% after the allotted number of final exam attempts will be required to re-enroll in the professional designation course, pursuant to the Professional Designation Re-Enrollment Policy.


After a student successfully completes the academic requirements of the professional designation program, students are notified via email (typically within 48 hours of course completion) to apply for authorization to use the applicable certification marks in accordance with the designation requirements. You can also apply for authorization through home.kaplanlearn.com. Continued use of certification marks is subject to compliance with ongoing renewal requirements.










All APMA® designation holders are responsible for completing 16 hours of Continuing Education credits every two years.

A $95 renewal fee is also required every two years. Learn more about your renewal options at the link below:

Renew Your Professional Designation

Offer the APMA® Program to Your Employees

Kaplan offers enterprise business solutions to keep your most valuable resources working smarter.

Kaplan for Business