Demonstration site. Meridian Finance Academy is a synthetic academy built to show CohortPilot working end to end. The programs, fees and dates are fictional.
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Certified Private Wealth Advisor

A three level certification track that takes a banking professional from product fundamentals to running a private client book. Each level stands alone and carries its own certificate.

Candidates finish able to build, defend and review a client portfolio against a stated mandate, and to hold the conversations that go with it.

Who this is for: Retail and priority banking staff, relationship managers, and advisors moving toward private client work.

CPWA Level 1, Foundations of Wealth Advice

CPWA-1

Apply for this level
Duration
10 weeks
Format
Live online, with recordings available for two years
Schedule
Saturday and Sunday mornings, 9:30am to 12:30pm India time
Next cohort
6 October 2026
Listed fee
Rs 42,000 (includes assessment and one retake)
Assessment
A two hour written assessment plus one recorded client roleplay

What it covers

  1. 01

    The Indian savings and investment landscape

    How households actually hold wealth, and what that means for an advisor's first conversation.

  2. 02

    Product fundamentals

    Deposits, mutual funds, insurance linked products, bonds and equities, compared on what they cost and what they do.

  3. 03

    Risk profiling that holds up

    Running a risk conversation that survives a market fall, rather than a questionnaire that does not.

  4. 04

    Goal based planning basics

    Turning a stated life goal into a number, a horizon and a monthly figure.

  5. 05

    Regulatory ground rules

    Suitability, disclosure and record keeping obligations in plain language.

  6. 06

    The first client meeting

    Structure, questions and the things a new advisor should never say.

What it expects from you

  • A graduate degree in any discipline
  • No prior finance certification required

Built for

  • recent graduates entering banking
  • branch staff moving into advisory roles
  • professionals with no formal finance certification
  • anyone who wants the fundamentals before specialising

This level is not for: experienced relationship managers already running a client book, portfolio managers, candidates who already hold an advanced wealth certification. If that sounds like you, the assistant will say so rather than take your application.

CPWA Level 2, Applied Wealth Advisory

CPWA-2

Apply for this level
Duration
14 weeks
Format
Live online, with two optional in person workshop days in Mumbai
Schedule
Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 7:00pm to 9:00pm India time
Next cohort
13 October 2026
Listed fee
Rs 78,000 (includes both workshop days)
Assessment
A capstone client mandate defended in a live panel review, plus a written assessment

What it covers

  1. 01

    Portfolio construction for private clients

    Asset allocation as a decision you can defend, not a pie chart you inherited.

  2. 02

    Tax aware advice

    How the tax treatment of an instrument changes the recommendation, with worked Indian examples.

  3. 03

    Insurance and protection in a wealth plan

    Sizing cover honestly, and recognising when a product is being sold rather than needed.

  4. 04

    Behavioural finance in practice

    The four client behaviours that destroy returns, and the scripts that interrupt them.

  5. 05

    Reviewing an inherited book

    Auditing a portfolio you did not build, and telling the client what you found.

  6. 06

    Difficult conversations

    Underperformance, concentrated stock, family disagreement and the exit conversation.

  7. 07

    Capstone: a full client mandate

    Build, present and defend a complete plan for a private client brief.

What it expects from you

  • At least two years in a client facing banking or advisory role
  • CPWA Level 1 or equivalent working knowledge, assessed at admission

Built for

  • relationship managers with a live client book
  • priority and privilege banking staff
  • advisors moving into private banking
  • professionals seeking a promotion into private client work

This level is not for: complete beginners with no client facing experience, candidates who have never held a client conversation. If that sounds like you, the assistant will say so rather than take your application.

CPWA Level 3, Advanced Portfolio and Estate Strategy

CPWA-3

Apply for this level
Duration
16 weeks
Format
Live online, with a three day residential in Mumbai
Schedule
Wednesday evenings 7:00pm to 9:30pm, plus one Saturday a month
Next cohort
3 November 2026
Listed fee
Rs 1,25,000 (residential accommodation is not included)
Assessment
A written strategy paper on an assigned family case, defended in an oral examination

What it covers

  1. 01

    Multi asset strategy for large portfolios

    Building mandates where liquidity, tax and family constraints bind at the same time.

  2. 02

    Alternatives and private markets

    What the structures actually are, what they cost, and when they are the wrong answer.

  3. 03

    Estate and succession planning

    Wills, trusts and family arrangements, and the advisor's limits in each.

  4. 04

    Family governance

    Advising a family rather than an individual, including the second generation conversation.

  5. 05

    Cross border considerations

    The questions to ask before advising a client with assets or heirs outside India.

  6. 06

    Practice leadership

    Supervising junior advisors, reviewing their files, and owning the quality of a team's advice.

What it expects from you

  • At least six years in wealth management or private banking
  • CPWA Level 2 or an equivalent senior advisory record

Built for

  • senior private bankers
  • team leaders supervising advisors
  • portfolio managers moving into family advisory
  • advisors specialising in estate and succession work

This level is not for: advisors in their first years of client work, candidates without a live senior client book, anyone seeking an introduction to wealth management. If that sounds like you, the assistant will say so rather than take your application.

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