This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on 30 November, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd (CIMB-Principal) is optimistic that its newly launched “CWA Business Academy” will offer a structured business development path to enterprising adults looking into deriving multiple income streams in the wealth management industry.

Located strategically in Jaya Shopping Mall, Petaling Jaya, CIMB-Principal said the academy will also house a servicing counter that is for its consultants to complete their business transactions.

In a statement, CIMB-Principal said CWA aims to partner at least 10,000 consultants by the end of 2016.

CIMB Group Asset Management and Investments chief executive officer (CEO) Effendy Shahul Hamid said the academy will soon expand its training capabilities to include other strategic collaborations such as CIMB Bank Bhd, third-party bank partners and Institutional Financial Advisors.

“Our hope is that the CWA Business Academy will grow in scale and this will be the beginning of CIMB-Principal’s maiden step to launch more academies in the Asean region in the near future,” he said.

According to him, CIMB-Principal is committed to taking its retail distribution strategy onto regional shores, in line with the group’s Target 2018 aspirations to focus on priority areas and strengthening the organisation’s culture.

Meanwhile, CIMB-Principal CEO Munirah Khairuddin said the academy aspires to hone CWA consultants’ wealth management skills via its four key faculties, including sales and financial planning, product and technical, personal effectiveness as well as leadership.

“The academy will not only be the platform to generate future entrepreneurs but also inspire and nurture a new generation of young professionals into CEOs in the next five years,” she added.

According to CIMB-Principal, CWA currently has 7,000 highly trained Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia-registered Consultants and Financial Planners.

As at Oct 20, CIMB-Principal had a total asset under management of RM62.6 billion. CIMB-Principal currently manages a total of 59 retail unit trust funds, of which 21 are syariah-compliant, 12 wholesale funds, 10 PRS funds and two exchange-traded funds.