Some of our members who manage private client portfolios have suggested ways that CFA Institute could help them in their business. In response to these requests, I am pleased to announce several exciting initiatives that CFA Institute has under way. The first of these is a suite of business development tools to help you develop your business.

Electronic Client Newsletter
This tool makes building a newsletter — a popular client development tool — easy and affordable. It allows members to produce a customized newsletter by selecting content from a menu of globally relevant syndicated articles (from such publications as the Wall Street Journal and the Economist) and original CFA Institute investor education materials. The tool includes a tracking mechanism to identify topics most important to your clients. The US$250 annual fee is heavily subsidized by CFA Institute and fully refundable if the tool does not meet your expectations.

Brochure, Pitchbook, and Mailer Templates
Professionally designed and customizable marketing materials provide a starting point for attracting new clients. These brochure, pitchbook, and mailer templates are a convenient way to begin that process; they have similar designs and thus work well together or individually. Each template includes language that articulates the value of the CFA charter to the wealth management relationship and provides guidance on how best to position your firm.

Public Member Directory
We are also working to raise the profile of CFA charterholders and CFA Institute members to high-net-worth investors. We are testing an advertising campaign in North America that directs people to “Find an Adviser” in a publicly available directory on the CFA Institute website. To be listed in the directory, access your account and click on the “Update Public Member Directory Profile.” Only members specifically choosing to make their information available to the public will be included in the public member directory. The private, member-to-member directory remains unaffected by this new directory.

Finally, we are developing more educational materials to help individual investors understand the value of the CFA charter when seeking an investment adviser. I look forward to sharing more on this initiative as it develops.

These resources are designed to help you build your business and increase your clients’ and prospects’ awareness of the CFA charter. We hope you will find them useful in your practice.

Stephen Horan, CFA, is head of professional education content and private wealth at CFA Institute.