FAQ

The Enhanced Competency Framework (ECF) sets out an enhanced level of core competence and on-going professional development of private wealth management (PWM) practitioners who undertake customer-facing roles. It is a non-statutory framework separate from the existing licensing or registration regime for the securities industry.

The ECF is PWM-oriented, covering knowledge of Asia Pacific markets and practical application of PWM-related knowledge, with strong emphasis on ethics and compliance. 

The ECF is a non-statutory framework separate from the existing licensing or registration regime for the securities industry. It is to be adopted voluntarily by PWM practitioners. For the avoidance of doubt, individuals are still required to meet the licensing or registration requirements under the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

A private bank, or an authorized institution/SFC-licensed corporation with a dedicated unit(s) that maintains a personalized relationship with private banking customers*, and provides personalized banking services, dealing, advisory and/or portfolio management services to these customers is considered a PWM institution for the purpose of ECF.

PWM institutions include, but are not limited to, member institutions of PWMA.

Nonetheless, for PWM client-facing work experience at a non-PWMA member institution to be recognized for the purpose of ECF, substantiation has to be provided to demonstrate that the institution (or a unit of the institution) is or was dedicated to serve private banking customers during the period of experience.

* A “private banking customer” refers to a customer who maintains a personalized relationship with the PWM institution and receives personalized banking services, dealing, advisory or asset / portfolio management services from the PWM institution, and has:
a) at least USD3 million or its equivalent in any other currency in investable assets; or
b) at least USD1 million or its equivalent in any other currency in investable assets under the PWM institution’s management.

Investable assets comprise securities, deposits and certificates of deposits. The amount may be calculated on a relationship basis covering (i) individual accounts; (ii) joint accounts with associates; and (iii) personal investment companies wholly-owned by the individual or jointly owned with associates. Associate means the spouse or any child of that individual.

The ECF applies to PWM industry practitioners (Relevant Practitioners) engaged by PWM institutions in customer-facing roles making personalized or customized solicitations or recommendations to customers in the provision of securities dealing and advisory service and/or portfolio management service.

For the purpose of the ECF, PWM institutions refer to the following:

• (a) Private banks or authorized institutions with dedicated unit(s) that maintain a personalized relationship with private banking customers, and provide personalized banking services, dealing, advisory and/or portfolio management services to these customers; and
• (b) SFC-licensed corporations with dedicated units(s) that maintain a personalized relationship with private banking customers, and provide dealing, advisory, and/or asset / portfolio management services to clients who fall under the definition of private banking customers*.

* A “private banking customer” refers to a customer who maintains a personalized relationship with the PWM institution and receives personalized banking services, dealing, advisory or asset / portfolio management services from the PWM institution, and has:
a) at least USD3 million or its equivalent in any other currency in investable assets; or
b) at least USD1 million or its equivalent in any other currency in investable assets under the PWM institution’s management.

Investable assets comprise securities, deposits and certificates of deposits. The amount may be calculated on a relationship basis covering (i) individual accounts; (ii) joint accounts with associates; and (iii) personal investment companies wholly-owned by the individual or jointly owned with associates. Associate means the spouse or any child of that individual.

Relevant Practitioners refer to PWM industry practitioners engaged by PWM institutions who are in customer-facing roles making personalized or customized solicitations or recommendations to customers in provision of securities dealing and advisory service and/or portfolio management service.

Customer-facing functions refers to those roles such as Relationship Manager or Investment Advisor who have direct access to clients and provide customized solicitations or recommendations directly to clients in the provision of securities dealing and advisory services and/or portfolio management services.

For work experience at a non-PWMA member institution to be considered as PWM client-facing function for the purpose of ECF, substantiation has to be provided to demonstrate that the institution (or a unit of the institution) is or was dedicated to serve private banking customers during the period of experience.
PWM institutions can make reference to the “Definition of Relevant Practitioners” for examples of functional titles, and key roles and required competence in determining whether a customer-facing staff is a Relevant Practitioner for the purposes of ECF.

If the staff performs substantially all of the roles described in the “Definition of Relevant Practitioners”, he or she may classified as a Relevant Practitioner.

An individual with a functional title such as Relationship Manager and Investment Advisor is likely to be classified as a Relevant Practitioner if that individual in practice performs substantially all of the prescribed roles listed in the “Definition of Relevant Practitioners”. An individual that holds other functional titles such as Dealer or Product Specialist would not typically be classified as a Relevant Practitioner if that individual does not perform substantially all of the prescribed roles including the provision of investment ideas or recommendations to customers directly.

An individual who is a PWM Assistant, including but not limited to those with a functional title such as Assistant to Relationship Manager, is not considered a Relevant Practitioner for the purpose of ECF and therefore out of scope for grandfathering or CPWP certification.

The ECF is to be adopted voluntarily by PWM industry practitioners. It will be up to the PWM institutions to decide whether it is necessary for individuals who work on a temporary basis in Hong Kong to meet the ECF standards. In general it may not be practical to require individuals to adopt the ECF standard if they work on a one-off basis for only several months in Hong Kong.

They are considered product specialists selling trust structures / solutions to clients instead of investment products; hence, they are not covered by the ECF.

The PWMA has pursuant to the ECF developed a professional qualification Certified Private Wealth Professional (CPWP).  PWMA will administer the CPWP certification for its PWM member institutions.  Relevant Practitioners may apply for the CPWP certification when they have successfully completed the examination requirements under the ECF and have the prerequisite work experience.

No, CPWP certification will only be administered for Relevant Practitioners of PWMA member institutions. 

There are two conditions that must be met before applying for CPWP certification:

(a)   Minimum 3 years’ experience as a Relevant Practitioner within private wealth management institution(s) out of the most recent 5 years; and

(b)   Passed all examination papers for both Module 1 and Module 2 of ECF. The result of each examination paper is valid for 5 years (counting from the date of the examination) for the purpose of applying for CPWP certification.

A relevant practitioner who has met both conditions for certification is eligible to apply for certification, but such application should be received by PWMA not later than 3 months from the end of the validity period of the examination result.

Below are some illustrations in relation to the validity period of examination results for applying CPWP certification.

Illustration A:

• Assuming the candidate continues to work as a Relevant Practitioner (“RP”).

Illustration B:

• Assuming the candidate is not working as a Relevant Practitioner (“RP”) when he / she starts to take the examination but later on works as a RP.

For those Relevant Practitioners with less than 10 years of relevant customer-facing work experience as described above, they must have at least 3 years of relevant work experience performing substantially the prescribed functions and roles of a Relevant Practitioner with PWM institutions within the last 5 years.

In general, relevant overseas work experience in established financial centres / wealth management centres is recognized for the purpose of CPWP certification application. These countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), United Kingdom and United States. Work experience in other countries will be considered by the Accreditation & Exemption Committee on a case by case basis, following guidance from the PWMA Executive Committee when needed.

A non-refundable HKD2,000 application fee is charged for the application of CPWP certification.

Relevant Practitioners with less than 3 years of relevant experience can sit for the Modules 1 and 2 examinations. However, as the requirement of minimum 3 years PWM working experience is not met, he/she is yet to be eligible to apply for CPWP certification.

For the purpose of applying for CPWP certification, the result of each examination paper is valid for 5 years counting from the date of the examination.

Application for certification can be made when both conditions (related to work experience and examination pass) are met. 

No, experience as a PWM Assistant, including but not limited to functional titles such as Assistant to Relationship Manager, is not considered relevant for the purpose of applying for CPWP certification.

No, experience in Corporate Finance or Research is not considered relevant for the purpose of applying for CPWP certification.

PWMA will inform all applicants of the result of their applications via email usually within 60 days upon receipt of the application form and the required supporting documents. More time may be required if further clarification is needed.

Applicants who wish to appeal against a result may do so by providing additional information with supporting document(s) for substantiation within 3 months from the date of notification of result. Reassessed results are final and no further appeal will be accepted.

The following condition must be met before applying for CPWPA certification:

• Passed all examination papers for both Module 1 and Module 2 of ECF. The result of each examination paper is valid for 5 years (counting from the date of the examination) for the purpose of applying for CPWPA certification.

A PWM practitioner, who has met the condition, is eligible to apply for CPWPA certification, but such application should be received by PWMA not later than 3 months from the end of the validity period of the examination result.

Beginning 1 July 2023, the CPWPA certification is open to individuals (i.e., including staff of PWMA and Non-PWMA member institutions as well as full-time university students) applying for CPWPA certification if they have passed all the relevant Module 1 and 2 examinations under the Enhanced Competency Framework.

Work experience is not a prerequisite for attaining the CPWPA certification.

Application fee for all applicants and full-time university students is HKD1,000 and HKD500 respectively which is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Yes, Relevant Practitioners who have passed all examination papers for both Module 1 and Module 2 of ECF but have not met the 3 years of relevant experience requirements for CPWP Certification are eligible to sit for the CPWPA Certification.

A CPWPA practitioner can apply to transfer to the category of CPWP Certification after he/she has accumulated a minimum of 3 years’ experience as a Relevant Practitioner and must be employed by a PWMA member institution.

A CPWPA practitioner may apply to transfer from CPWPA Certification to CPWP Certification free of charge.

No, there is no Grandfathering application /one-off exemption for CPWPA Certification.

PWMA will inform all applicants of the result of their applications via email usually within 60 days upon receipt of the application form and the required supporting documents. More time may be required if further clarification is needed.

Relevant Practitioners can meet the ECF by undertaking self-study and/or taking accredited training programmes, and passing examinations. Those who have been granted grandfathering exemption is only required to meet the Module 2 requirement.

The training programmes and examinations consist of two modules:  Module 1 on technical, industry and product knowledge; and Module 2 on ethics and compliance.  Please refer to the “Detailed Syllabus” for additional information on the syllabus.

The Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) and The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB) are the providers for Module 1 and Module 2, respectively.

Relevant Practitioners may also take the programmes and examinations at their own PWM institutions if the programmes and examinations have been accredited by the PWMA.

The training schedule and examination schedule of Module 1 and 2 can be found in the following websites respectively. http://www.hksi.org/hksi/ for Module 1 and https://www.hkib.org/en/index for Module 2.

For details of the programmes and examinations fees charged by HKSI and HKIB, please refer to the websites of HKSI (http://www.hksi.org/hksi/) and HKIB (https://www.hkib.org/) accordingly.

There is no limit on the number of times one can take the examinations.

Yes, a Relevant Practitioner may take the examinations without attending programmes. Study manuals are available for Modules 1 and 2 for self-study. Please contact the respective examination providers for further details.

From February 2018 onwards, specific session(s) of the Paper 1 and Paper 2 examinations for Module 1 are offered in both English and Chinese. Language availability of examination session(s) are detailed in the examination timetable of the HKSI Institute counter/website.  Other Chinese-language materials may be made available over time.

The Association takes up the administration of the ECF, including accreditation and exemption. The PWMA has, pursuant to the ECF, developed the CPWP professional qualification. The PWMA administers the CPWP certification and on-going professional training for its member institutions.

The PWMA will notify the Relevant Practitioner by email informing he/she has been awarded as CPWP upon his/her completion of all the requirements. The email to the Relevant Practitioner will also stipulate the CPWP status remains in effect upon his/her fulfilling of the annual OPT requirement.

PWMA does not currently offer any exemption for professional qualifications.

The ECF provides for a one-off exemption to those Relevant Practitioners who have at least 10 years of relevant work experience.  Please refer to “Guidelines for Grandfathering” for full details. The 10 years of work experience must be met on or before December 31, 2014.

Relevant Practitioners who have been granted this one-off exemption will be exempted from the Module 1 (Technical, Industry and Product Knowledge) requirements, but still need to fulfil the Module 2 (Ethics and Compliance) requirements.

Those Relevant Practitioners who have at least 10 years of relevant customer-facing work experience described below, may be eligible for grandfathering.

The counting of years of relevant experience is calculated up to the nearest month, with days less than one month rounded up to the nearest month and cut-off as at December 2014.

For example, an applicant employed in a PWM institution with customer-facing functions from 20 March 2007 to 31 December 2014, would have 7 years and 10 months relevant working experience and would need to have an additional 4 years and 4 months relevant working experience in other customer-facing functions in the financial services industry in order to meet the 10 years relevant working experience requirement.

Customer-facing functions refers to those roles such as Relationship Manager or Investment Advisor  which make customized solicitations or recommendations to clients in the provision of securities dealing and advisory services and/or portfolio management services. Please refer to the definition of Relevant Practitioners for the detail of the key roles.

Financial services industry refers to investment banking, corporate banking, retail banking, asset management companies, brokerage firms, hedge funds, private equity funds etc.

Credit card companies, credit unions, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, and firms providing audit, consulting, financial advisory, tax or related services to financial institutions will not be considered as within the financial services industry for the purpose of grandfathering applications.

No, corporate finance or research are not considered PWM customer-facing functions for the purpose of ECF.

The application for Grandfathering requires Human Resources or other relevant departments of the concerned PWM institution(s) to endorse an application's employment history based upon respective verification and / or self-declaration. The endorsement by your current employer indicates that the Relevant Practitioner has met the eligibility criteria for relevant experience before the application is passed to PWMA for processing.

Upon confirmation letter issued from the PWMA that a one-off exemption has been granted, the Relevant Practitioner may either complete the accredited training programme from Module 2 or pass the accredited examination for Module 2 within 12 months from the confirmation letter issuance date.  The provider for the programme and examination for Module 2 will be The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers.

Please go to the HKIB website (https://www.hkib.org/en/index ) for details of the training and examination schedule.

Results will be given in writing by post usually within 60 days upon receipt of the application form and the required supporting documents. More time may be required if further clarification is needed.

Applicants who wish to appeal against a result may do so by providing additional information with supporting document(s) for substantiation within 3 months from the date of notification of result. Reassessed results are final and no further appeal will be accepted.

The ECF provides for a one-off exemption to those Relevant Practitioners who have at least 10 years of relevant experience. The 10 years of relevant experience must be met on or before December 31, 2014.  Leave of any type is counted for grandfathering while the employee remains working in the institution.

Currently, the grandfathering is only applicable for Relevant Practitioners who are currently employed at a PWMA member institution.

There is a non-refundable HKD2,000 application fee for application of grandfathering and CPWP certification.

The 10 years of relevant experience must be met on or before December 31, 2014.

For those Relevant Practitioners who are currently employed by PWMA member institutions, the deadline to apply for the grandfathering exemption will be on or before 30 January 2015. They need to have the Module 2 completed, either by passing the examination or taking the course, on or before 30 June 2016.

Those Relevant Practitioners who are currently employed by Non-PWMA member institutions may apply for grandfathering within 3 months of becoming Relevant Practitioners of PWMA member institutions provided that the eligibility for grandfathering has been met. They need to complete Module 2, either by passing the examination or taking the course, within 12 months after a one-off exemption has been granted.

In general, relevant overseas work experience in established financial centres / wealth management centres is recognized for the purpose of grandfathering application. These countries include France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), United Kingdom and United States. Work experience in other countries will be considered on a case-by-case basic by the Accreditation & Exemption Committee, following guidance from the PWMA Executive Committee when needed.

Relevant Practitioners who have been certified as CPWPs/CPWPAs are required to complete 10 hours of PWM-related OPT every calendar year starting with the year after certification. There is an annual renewal requirement for the CPWP certification which comprises 10 hours of OPT, of which 5 hours may include continuous professional training recognized by the SFC. Out of the 10 hours of PWM-related training, a minimum of 2 hours should be on ethics and compliance.

Failure to meet the annual OPT requirements may result in the imposition of conditions such as a penalty on your OPT shortfall, a penalty of $500 for CPWP certification/$250 for CPWPA certification imposed for unfulfilled OPT requirements, suspension of your CPWP/CPWPA certification until condition(s) fulfilled, or revocation for repeated failures.

PWMA allows a qualified CPWP/CPWPA practitioner of a non-member financial institution to apply for CPWP/CPWPA renewal as long as the practitioner provides substantiation information for the trainings attended with official attendance records issued by the training providers.

OPT courses need not be accredited and may be organized by relevant professional bodies, training institutes or PWM institutions located in Hong Kong. 

The means of attaining OPT shall follow the approach allowed for the continuous professional training recognized by the SFC, such as:

• Attending classroom training
• Attending seminars (for attending luncheon talks which normally last for 1 to 2 hours in total, 0.5 hours will be counted)
• Conducting industry research
• Giving lectures

Sufficient records on the training and the OPT activities undertaken should be kept by the individuals for a minimum of 3 years and be made available upon request by PWMA.

Relevant Practitioners may combine the OPT hours earned at different PWM institutions.

No, any OPT hours accumulated in any calendar year in excess of the minimum 10 hours cannot be carried forward to the next calendar year.

There is a non-refundable HKD2,000 fee for annual renewal of CPWP certification and $1,000 for CPWPA certification.

It takes approximate 60 days to process upon receipt of the application form together with its substantiation information. More time may be required if further clarification is needed.

Yes, the OPT requirement runs on a calendar-year basis.

No, it is not necessary to upload documents when submitting online application for CPWP/CPWPA Certification Renewal., PWMA will review the verification by the Human Resources and /or respective relevant department of the PWM institution(s).

However, PWMA may request provision of records on the training and the OPT activities undertaken.

Yes, an applicant should update any change of job or industry, and / or personal information by logging in to his/her CPWP/CPWPA User Account through the CPWP Online Platform.

Applicant should submit the Online Application for CPWP/CPWPA Certification Renewal to the PWMA within 1 month following the preceding calendar year-end.

Late submission may result in the imposition of conditions such as a penalty charge of $500 for CPWP certification and $250 for CPWPA certification on top of the outstanding renewal fee, suspension of CPWP/CPWPA certification or revocation for repeated failures.

Please contact PWMA if you have any questions.

No, the OPT requirement only needs to be met on a calendar-year basis.  For avoidance of doubt, there is no OPT requirement for the year the CPWP/CPWPA certification was obtained.  The OPT requirement only starts in the succeeding calendar year. 

This CPWP Bridging Programme requires applicants to meet one of the following requirements:

•      Valid Certification holder of Certified Retail Wealth Professional (CRWP) Certification awarded by HKIB; or

•       Successfully completed the training and examination of Enhanced Competency Framework on Retail Wealth Management (ECF-RWM) Module 1 to Module 7 and/or exempted on specific modules (i.e. ECF-RWM Module 1, 2, 4)

The CPWP Bridging Programme aims to bridge the gap between the syllabus of traditional CPWP Module 1 (Paper 1) and Module 2 and ECF-RWM by providing a trimmed down version of training with an assessment that avoids content duplication. 

The CPWP Bridging Programme is a cohort-based programme consisting of two training modules plus a post-training examination. The first training module (Module 1: Technical and Product Knowledge) will be delivered by the HKSI Institute in eCourse format while the second training module (Module 2: Ethics and Compliance) will be delivered via face-to-face/Zoom training by the HKIB. Candidates must first complete both training modules before proceeding to the post-training examination.

Upon successful completion of the CPWP Bridging Programme (i.e. completing the training modules and passing the post-training examination),  the candidate will obtain a certificate of completion which will be equivalent to passing the examinations of traditional CPWP Module 1 (Paper 1) and Module 2 Examinations.  The candidates are also required to pass the CPWP Module 1 (Paper 2) Examination to meet the examination requirement of applying for CPWP certification.               

In addition to the examination requirement, the candidates should be currently employed by a PWMA member institution, be a valid holder of CRWP and fulfill the prerequisite work experience requirement in order to be eligible to apply for CPWP certification. The candidates who have not yet fulfilled the work experience requirement can apply for CPWP Associate (CPWPA) certification.

The examination result of the CPWP Bridging Programmeis valid for 5 years (counting from the date of the post-training examination) for the purpose of applying for CPWP/CPWPA certification.

The HKSI Institute and HKIB are the training providers for the CPWP Bridging Programme.  Information on the training schedules and fees for the CPWP Bridging Programme can be obtained on the websites of HKIB and the HKSI Institute.

Individuals who are interested in and eligible for the CPWP Bridging Programme can enroll via the HKSI Institute’s online portal. Creating a free online portal user account is required for enrolment.

Two cohorts will be arranged per year.  Enrolments start in January and July and post-training examinations will be held in April and October respectively.

There is no specified sequence for the candidates to take the training modules under the CPWP Bridging Programme.

Candidates failing to complete both training modules are not allowed to attend the post-training examination. All fees paid are non-transferrable and non-refundable. For Module 1, candidates should complete the eCourse 5 working days before the post-training examination date. For Module 2, you should attend the training as scheduled.  All fees paid are non-transferrable and non-refundable.

The post-training examination consists of 40 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to be completed within 60 minutes and is conducted in paper-based mode. The pass mark is 70% and the examination questions between Module 1 and Module 2 are equally weighted (i.e., 20 MCQs from Module 1 and 20 MCQs from Module 2).

Candidates who fail the post-training examination are allowed to retake the examination within 3 years (counting from the date of his/her first examination) and are NOT required to go through the training modules again.