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Certified Fund Specialist

We Invented the CFS Designation...

and reinvented financial services education to give you an edge in the industry.

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Certified Fund Specialist

Distinguish yourself with your education.
Articles For Financial Advisors

Trusts Explained: Types Every Financial Advisor Should Know

Only 11% of Americans have a trust, yet trust planning shapes nearly every serious estate conversation. This article covers the trust types advisors...
Articles For Financial Advisors

The Quarterback Model: How Financial Advisors Coordinate Estate Plans

Most estate planning failures happen after the documents are signed. This guide explains how financial advisors serve as quarterback of the estate...
Articles For Financial Advisors

The Big Three: BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street

BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively manage over $30 trillion and dominate fund investing. This analysis examines how each firm built...
Articles For Financial Advisors

How to Evaluate Stocks: Fundamental Analysis for Financial Advisors

The three ratios most advisors learn first for stock evaluation are the same three that mislead most often when used in isolation. This guide covers...
Facts & Figures

1988

The year Institute of Business & Finance was founded.

Articles For Financial Advisors

The Trillion-Dollar Fund Club

Only two mutual funds have ever crossed $1 trillion in assets. Both are Vanguard index funds charging four basis points. What this unprecedented...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Fund Industry Overview: By the Numbers

The U.S. fund industry manages over $44 trillion across mutual funds and ETFs. This data reference covers total assets, fund counts, ownership...

Certified Annuity Specialist

What you learn about annuities can make you invaluable.

Master of Science in Financial Services

One of the industry’s most pragmatic elite degrees.
Facts & Figures

21,000+

# of professionals that have taken our courses

Facts & Figures

Keeping It Real

Written by advisors for advisors

Articles For Financial Advisors

Trusts Explained: Types Every Financial Advisor Should Know

Only 11% of Americans have a trust, yet trust planning shapes nearly every serious estate conversation. This article covers the trust types advisors...
Articles For Financial Advisors

The Quarterback Model: How Financial Advisors Coordinate Estate Plans

Most estate planning failures happen after the documents are signed. This guide explains how financial advisors serve as quarterback of the estate...
Articles For Financial Advisors

The Big Three: BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street

BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively manage over $30 trillion and dominate fund investing. This analysis examines how each firm built...
Articles For Financial Advisors

How to Evaluate Stocks: Fundamental Analysis for Financial Advisors

The three ratios most advisors learn first for stock evaluation are the same three that mislead most often when used in isolation. This guide covers...
Articles For Financial Advisors

The Trillion-Dollar Fund Club

Only two mutual funds have ever crossed $1 trillion in assets. Both are Vanguard index funds charging four basis points. What this unprecedented...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Fund Industry Overview: By the Numbers

The U.S. fund industry manages over $44 trillion across mutual funds and ETFs. This data reference covers total assets, fund counts, ownership...
Articles For Financial Advisors

How Expense Ratios Compound Over 20 and 30 Years

Most advisors know that lower expense ratios are better. Fewer have calculated what a 0.50% difference actually costs a client over a full investment...
Articles For Financial Advisors

SPIVA Scorecard Results: How Active Managers Performed

The SPIVA U.S. Scorecard tracks active fund manager performance against benchmarks across equity and fixed-income categories. The 2024 data confirms...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Understanding Risk-Adjusted Returns: A Practitioner's Guide

Raw returns alone do not tell the story. This guide walks advisors through the risk-adjusted measures that matter most in practice, from standard...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Largest Mutual Fund Companies by Assets Under Management

The 10 largest fund companies manage the majority of all U.S. fund assets. Here is what that concentration means for advisors selecting funds and...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Portfolio Diversification for Risk Reduction: What the Research Shows

Classic diversification research shows that roughly 20 stocks from different industries eliminates most company-specific risk, without sacrificing...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Growth vs. Value Funds: Historical Returns and Current Positioning

Growth stocks dominated the 2010s so convincingly that many advisors questioned whether value investing had lost its edge. Five decades of style-...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Standard Deviation, Beta, Alpha, and Sharpe Ratio Explained for Advisors

Most advisors can define the key risk metrics. Fewer can explain where each metric breaks down and when one measure matters more than another. This...
Articles For Financial Advisors

20 Largest Mutual Funds by Assets Under Management

The 20 largest U.S. mutual funds hold trillions in assets. Here is what that concentration means for advisors evaluating funds and building client...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Can You Identify Superior Active Fund Managers? What the Research Shows

The search for superior active fund managers has consumed more research than almost any other question in professional finance. This article examines...
Articles For Financial Advisors

Efficient Markets

A cornerstone of indexing advocates is based on securities markets being efficient.
Articles For Financial Advisors

Indexing

Wells Fargo Investment Advisors were the first to use indexed portfolios for some of their institutional pension plans from 1969-1971.
Articles For Financial Advisors

Duration

A fund’s duration can sometimes be a misleading measurement of interest rate risk if the bond fund has a meaningful weighting in convertibles, fore
Articles For Financial Advisors

Unpopular Funds

Fund popularity can be measured by percentage change in net cash flow over a stated period.
Articles For Financial Advisors

Expense Ratios

Bogle (1999b) concluded 92% of return shortfall for active managers was due to expenses.
Facts & Figures

1988

The year Institute of Business & Finance was founded.

Facts & Figures

21,000+

# of professionals that have taken our courses

Facts & Figures

Keeping It Real

Written by advisors for advisors

Certified Fund Specialist

Distinguish yourself with your education.

Certified Annuity Specialist

What you learn about annuities can make you invaluable.

Master of Science in Financial Services

One of the industry’s most pragmatic elite degrees.

Certified Income Specialist

Customize—and maximize—your clients’ income investments.

Certified Tax Specialist

Give your clients investment related tax advice.

Certified Estate and Trust Specialist

Serve your clients' interests for generations to come.

  • After completing my CAS™ designation… two weeks later I rolled a $217,000.00 case.

    IBF gave me the tools and knowledge to close the sale. Thanks IBF for taking my sales to the next level!

    Hundley Batts, Jr., CAS™
    President of HB2 Insurance Services LLC

  • IBF's program is under-valued. Which means that I got more than my money's worth.

    The curriculum was unwavering and has enhanced my business tremendously.

    I think what a lot of individuals fear when going into an executive educational program, is, "Will the information gleaned from the program be applied to my practice?" That has not been the case with IBF.

    I truly do not understand why many other professionals do not seek to complete the entire MSFS program. It's well rounded and designed to nurture the financial professional into becoming a more mature and respected individual from both their clients and their peers.

    Steve Lewis, MSFS
    Virtus Wealth Advisors

  • When I came into the industry some 20 years ago, the best advice I received was to contact the IBF to obtain my CFS™ Designation.

    Going through the coursework was not only interesting but enlightening. I have no doubt that the knowledge gained, kick-started my career in financial services.

    Over the years, I have found myself going back to the well, so to speak, and utilizing IBF resources on an ongoing basis. I have received several certifications, as well as, my MSFS.

    The creditability and prestige gained through my association with the IBF has been invaluable to my practice.

    Richard Chrzanowski, MSFS
    Money Concepts Capital Corp.

  • Wealth Management demands sophisticated advice.

    The IBF MSFS has provided me the knowledge to disseminate that level of advice to my clients.

    Dan McDevitt, MSFS
    Ameriprise Financial

  • I take great pride in becoming a member of this exclusive group of my peers that has shown a commitment above and beyond the average industry standards.

    Achieving a MSFS degree shows my continuing efforts of providing top levels of investment counsel and financial service to my clients.

    The added benefit of having investors with a certain feeling of reassurance that coincides with my supplementary education through IBF is invaluable.

    Ray Ambrosino, MSFS
    Garden State Securities

  • As the head of training for an asset management firm I wanted my employees to have a deeper understanding of the Mutual Fund arena.

    I looked at other certifications and a couple things that drew me to IBF's Certified Fund Specialist™ were the extensive coverage of our business, the case study to put into practice what they learned, and the Continuing Education to keep my sales force current on updates in our industry.

    Tim Wilkinson, CFS<span id=“tmpRm”>™</span>
    ING Funds Distributor LLC

  • I came to IBF seeking to complete my CFS™ , but within 2 years I was able to successfully complete my MSFS, which provided me with a good foundation as I progressed throughout my career.

    Hadley Joseph, MSFS
    Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

  • Focused learning to help clients and stay on top of legislative and product changes is imperative!

    IBF course materials have helped me develop the skills and discussions necessary to help current clients and turn prospects into clients.

    As a result I have fewer and larger clients - allowing me more time to focus on more profitable clients and working with people and families I enjoy seeing.

    I will continue to work with IBF as they continue to provide top tier information to me for my benefit and the benefit of our clientele.

    Willard E. Gombert, MSFS
    The Financial Architects Inc.

Call Us Now

Telephone : (800) 848-2029

Our Address

PO Box 371243
San Diego, CA, 92137 USA

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Main Email : info@icfs.com
Student Services: studentservices@icfs.com

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