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Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA)
About CTFA | Apply | Exam Information | Exam Outline | Benefits | Maintain Certification | Advisory Board
Maintain certification
To maintain your CTFA in good standing, you must adhere to ICB's Professional Code of Ethics, pay an annual fee, and complete 45 credits of continuing education every three years.
You must complete 45 credits of continuing education every three years with a minimum of six hours in each of the following four knowledge areas: Fiduciary and Trust Activities, Personal Financial Planning, Tax Law, and Investments Management. In addition you are required to complete three continuing education credits in Ethics. You are allowed to carry over up to 15 total continuing education credits per three-year cycle. The following list is intended to give you an idea of the types of continuing education ICB accepts for post exam continuing education credit.
As you look for activities to fulfill your continuing education requirements, please remember that it is not necessary to have ICB review courses or programs that you are considering. To determine whether a course is eligible for continuing education credit, refer to the ICB CTFA examination outline. If the program you are considering includes content that relates to the items detailed in the exam outline, it qualifies for continuing education credit.
To calculate your CE credits, divide the number of instructional minutes by 50. Fifty (50) minutes of instruction equals one (1) credit. Round up this number to the nearest quarter hour. Do not include breaks or meal functions; motivational speeches; business meetings; introductory remarks; non-guided, unstructured group discussions; or award presentations or receptions.
ABA continuing education opportunities
| Conferences/Schools | Area | Credits |
| ABA National Trust School, October 7-21, 2012 | FID FP TAX INV |
22.50 6.50 12.25 6.00 |
| ABA Graduate Trust School, October 17-21,2012 | Level 1 FID FP TAX INV Level 2 FID FP TAX INV Ethics |
8.50 13.00 13.50 6.75 15.00 6.50 16.00 3.00 2.75 |
| ABA Wealth Management and Trust Conference , March 14-16, 2012 Order Audio Recordings CTFA CE Credits Worksheet NOTE: Credits to the right are for the LIVE conference. Refer to CTFA CE Credits Worksheet for audio recordings credits. |
FID FP INV Ethics |
8.50 1.50 8.25 1.00 |
| ABA National Trust School, October 23-28, 2011 | FID FP TAX INV |
22.50 6.50 12.25 6.00 |
| ABA Graduate Trust School, October 23-28, 2011 | Level 1 FID FP TAX INV Level 2 FID FP TAX INV Ethics |
8.50 13.00 13.50 6.75 15.00 6.50 16.00 3.00 2.75 |
| ABA Wealth Management and Trust Conference, March 6-8, 2011 Order Audio Recordings CTFA CE Credits Worksheet NOTE: Credits to the right are for the LIVE conference. Refer to CTFA CE Credits Worksheet for audio recordings credits. |
FID FP TAX INV |
4.50 2.00 1.50 5.75 |
| ABA National Trust School, October 24-30, 2010 | FID FP TAX INV |
19.00 4.25 17.00 7.50 |
| ABA Graduate Trust School, October 24-30, 2010 | Level 1 FID FP TAX INV Level 2 FID FP TAX INV Ethics |
10.00 21.25 7.50 9.50 11.50 8.75 15.00 7.50 2.50 |
| ABA Wealth Management and Trust Conference, March 7-9, 2010 Order Audio Recordings CTFA CE Credits Worksheet NOTE: Credits to the right are for the LIVE conference. Refer to CTFA CE Credits Worksheet for audio recordings credits. |
FID INV ETH |
8.75 5.75 1.0 |
| Telephone Briefings (Order Telephone Briefing Audio CDs) | Area | Credits |
| Recent Developments in Estate and Trust Administration, Dec 6, 2012 | FID TAX |
1.25 1.25 |
| Diversification or Concentration of Assets: What Should a Trustee Do?, November 1, 2012 | FID | 2.50 |
| The Uses and Misuses of Decanting and Change of Situs, Oct 4, 2012 | FID | 2.50 |
| The Increasing Importance of International Estate Planning, Sept 6, 2012 | FID FP |
1.25 1.25 |
| Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts and Other Key Gifting Strategies for 2012 and Beyond, June 7, 2012 | TAX | 2.50 |
| Model Risk Management – The Keys to Effective Model Governance, May 31, 2012 | FID | 2.00 |
| Fiduciary Litigation Panel, May 3, 2012 | FID | 2.50 |
| When Bad Things Happen to Good Portfolios: Rethinking Risk and Diversification, April 19, 2012 | INV | 2.00 |
| The Eroding Protection of Trusts in Divorce, April 5, 2012 | FP | 2.50 |
| Section 408(b)(2) Disclosure Requirements: Is Your Institution Ready?, March 29, 2012 | FP | 2.00 |
| Top Ten Fiduciary Income Tax Issues, March 1, 2012 | TAX | 2.50 |
| IRAs – Do's, Do Not's and Did Not's, February 16, 2012 | FP | 2.00 |
| Issues Facing Fiduciaries in Post-Death Administration, Feb 2, 2012 | FP | 2.50 |
| Ethics in Financial Services: Strategies for Managing Risk and Complexity, January 18, 2012 | ETH | 2.50 |
| Recent Developments in Estate and Trust Administration, Dec 1, 2011 | TAX | 2.50 |
| Special Needs Planning for Trust Beneficiaries -- More and More Beneficiaries Need It, Nov 3, 2011 | FP | 2.50 |
| The Growing Importance of the Uniform Trust Code in the Administration of Trusts, Oct 6, 2011 | FID | 2.50 |
| Surviving the Retirement Benefits Planning Maze, Sept 1, 2011 | FP | 2.50 |
| An Eleemosynary State of Mind: What Charitable Techniques are Hot and What are Not, June 2, 2011 | TAX | 2.50 |
| Current Issues in Fiduciary Litigation and How to Minimize a Trustee's Exposure to Litigation -- A Roundtable Discussion, May 5, 2011 | FID | 2.50 |
| Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest Asset Protection State of All? -- A Review of the Increasing Importance of Asset Protection Planning to Trust Clients and Customers, Apr 7, 2011 | FP | 2.50 |
| A Primer on the GST Tax in 2011 -- What Trustees Need to Know in Administering Trusts and Advising Clients and Customers, March 3, 2011 | TAX | 2.50 |
| Estate and Gift Taxation in 2011: Whatever the Law Is, What Hath Congress Wrought -- What is the Law and What Estate Planning Techniques Work in 2011?, Feb 3, 2011 | TAX | 2.50 |
| Self-Paced & Instructor-Led Online Courses | Area | Credits |
| Ethical Issues for Bankers | ETH | 1.75 |
| Bank Secrecy Act | FID | 1.50 |
| Basic Administrative Duties of a Trustee | FID | 20.00 |
| Discretionary Distributions | FID | 2.50 |
| Estate Planning Overview | FID | 2.00 |
| Fiduciary Law | FID | 3.00 |
| Introduction to Trust Administration | FID | 3.25 |
| Managing Trust Accounts | FID | 2.00 |
| Privacy For Customer Contact Personnel | FID | 0.75 |
| Private Banking & Wealth Management: Relationship Management | FID | 0.75 |
| Asset Allocation: An Introduction | INV | 1.25 |
| Asset Classes (Part I) | INV | 1.25 |
| Asset Classes (Part II) | INV | 1.50 |
| Introduction to Investment Management | INV | 4.25 |
| Investments I | INV | 2.00 |
| Investments II | INV | 2.00 |
| Mutual Funds: An Introduction | INV | 1.25 |
| Mutual Funds: Investing | INV | 1.50 |
| Private Banking & Wealth Management: Overview of Investing | INV | 1.25 |
| Private Banking & Wealth Management: Techniques of Investing | INV | 1.50 |
| IRA Online Institute | FP | 32.75 |
| Elder Financial Abuse NEW | FP | 0.50 |
| Estate Planning for the Business Owner | FP TAX |
2.50 2.50 |
| Financial Planning Skills | FP | 2.25 |
| Introduction to Analyzing Financial Statements | FP | 3.25 |
| Life Insurance and Annuities | FP | 5.00 |
| Private Banking & Wealth Management: Financial Planning | FP | 1.25 |
| Retirement Planning | FP | 4.00 |
| Estate Planning Case Study | TAX | 0.75 |
| Estate Planning for Charitable Giving | TAX | 3.75 |
| Estate Planning for Lifetime Gifts | TAX | 3.75 |
| Estate Planning for Marital Deductions | TAX | 6.00 |
| Federal Estate and Gift Taxes | TAX | 4.50 |
| Fiduciary Income Taxes | TAX | 2.25 |
| Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax | TAX | 2.25 |
| Introduction to Estate Planning | TAX | 4.50 |
For courses with * at the end of their title, credits depend on the number of training hours delivered. Please consult the AIB catalog for details.
Additional CE resources
- Members-only online quizzes from ABA Trust & Investments magazine
- State Banker Association Trust Conferences and Seminars
- National Association of Estate Planners & Councils Workshops and Meetings
- Applicable internal training programs (For more information, contact ICB's Continuing Education Manager at 202-663-5377, 800-BANKERS x5377, or icb@aba.com.)
- Click here for a list of other ideas to fulfill your continuing education requirement.
How do I know if an activity has received ICB approval?
Many programs list ICB continuing education credit information directly in their promotional and/or course materials.
Check with your own internal training coordinator to determine if any internal training programs have been approved for ICB continuing education credit. ICB members who wish to submit programs to ICB for review and approval should use the Continuing Education Provider Application and submit the required information via fax or mail. The review period for all programs is approximately four weeks and you will be notified in writing of the outcome once the review is complete. The Continuing Education Provider Application is available in two formats: Word 2007 Version or PDF Form Version.
How do I document the continuing education that I have completed?
Please enter your continuing education credits online by way of the password-protected "Member Services" web pages.
We suggest that you retain the original registration and completion documentation in your files in case you need to report the same information to support CE reporting you may need for other professional designations. In addition, this will ensure that you are prepared in the event that ICB should find it necessary to audit your records.
You must accumulate the designated number of CE credits every three (3) years. If you fail to earn those credits in a given three-year cycle, it may result in your membership status being suspended and/or decertification.
Questions? Please contact icb@aba.com for more information.
