Interview with Thierry Lacraz: The SAQ CWMA program, essential training for private banking professionals

February 27, 2025

Mr. Thierry Lacraz, you are the SAQ CWMA Preparation Program Manager. Could you introduce this program and tell us who it's aimed at?

SAQ certification, in particular the CWMA (Certified Wealth Management Advisor), has become the training standard for Swiss bank employees. With over 17,000 of the industry's 93,000 employees certified, it represents a major achievement in Swiss professional training, designed by banks for banks.

ISFB offers a 9-month training program to obtain CWMA certification, as well as re-certification programs for all banking profiles. We offer two courses (of 5 or 10 days), depending on the candidates' level of knowledge as assessed by our placement tests, so that everyone can choose the formula best suited to their needs.

The course is aimed at all those in regular contact with high-net-worth private clients, both in Switzerland and at our foreign subsidiaries, whether they are young relationship managers just out of university or more experienced colleagues wishing to update their banking, financial and regulatory knowledge. Everyone can benefit from the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in certain areas, whatever their background. It can also be particularly useful for bank employees from abroad who want to quickly understand the regulations and knowledge required for the position of customer advisor in Switzerland.

In your opinion, what makes this program so rich and high quality?

The course is divided into 14 chapters, covering financial markets and assets, services for high-net-worth clients, and all regulatory aspects. The spectrum is vast, and the program evolves regularly to take account of new developments.

The course covers topics as diverse as private equity, blockchain, responsible investment exclusion criteria, stock valuation and customer risk profiling.

At ISFB, we have chosen to run these courses face-to-face with some of the best professionals in the business. I really like this pragmatic approach: a practitioner, confronted on a daily basis with the ups and downs of the markets and the diverse demands of clients, doesn't limit himself to theory; he also shares his experience. The richness of this training lies in its practical orientation. It combines "knowledge" - validated by the written exam - and "know-how", assessed orally, effectively preparing advisors for the realities of the field.

What do you see as the main challenges in the field of SAQ certification, and how does this program provide concrete solutions?

One of the challenges of training is the recognition of diplomas. SAQ Certification meets this need by offering a personal, standardized certification that will accompany the customer relationship manager throughout his or her professional life. In the event of a change of bank, CWMA certification guarantees that the future employer has the required knowledge in all areas of private banking.

For the banks, CWMA certification is a means of ensuring a desired level of knowledge across all management teams, whatever the type of customer. For auditors, it is also a guarantee that the training aspect has been taken seriously by the banks.

SAQ certifications require 8 hours per year (for the CWMA) of recertification, an excellent "obligation" which assures banks that their staff will continue to train, and that the SAQ certificate is not just a one-off quickly forgotten. With this in mind, ISFB offers recertification courses for all SAQ banking certificates.

What is your role as Program Director?

As SAQ stands for "Association Suisse pour la Qualité" (Swiss Association for Quality), we are committed to offering a "quality" program where everything has been thought out with our customers in mind. This is a constant concern for ISFB, which also holds the Eduqua label.

As Program Director, I have a broad and independent view of the link between course materials and the quality of exam questions.

We have selected the best practitioners for each chapter, while ensuring strong complementarity with the other certifications offered by ISFB.

We pay particular attention to the congruence between course materials and questions. We also regularly carry out a thorough review of course support documents, as well as written and oral exam questions.

SAQ certification should be seen as an investment, both for banks and for individual candidates. Upon obtaining CWMA certification, each candidate should be able to feel a real improvement in his or her professional skills and, ultimately, both the candidate and his or her employer should benefit from a positive "customer" experience.

Thierry Lacraz

SAQ CWMA Preparation Program Manager

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