The Fiduciary Group, a two-time Financial Times 300 list honoree and leading wealth management firm headquartered in Savannah, Ga., recently announced that Chief Investment Officer Joel Goodman, CFA and Senior Wealth Advisor and Director of Financial Planning Michael McLeod, CFP^Ⓡ both earned the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CFTA) designation.

The CTFA designation is the recognized trust certification standard for fiduciary wealth advisors. Managed by the American Bankers Association, this prestigious industry designation demonstrates professionals’ expertise in the trust and financial advisor field while recognizing the client relationship skills necessary to be a successful wealth manager.

“The Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor designation will add value to client relationships,” said Goodman. “This certification provides an even broader knowledge base regarding trusts, financial planning and risk management to help clients with complex financial decisions.”

To earn the CTFA designation, Goodman and McLeod had to meet minimum wealth management experience requirements and pass a comprehensive exam covering a variety of topics including fiduciary principles and applications, integrated planning and advice, asset management, administration of trust accounts, risk/compliance management, ethics and relationship management.

“The CTFA designation is another way to boost our knowledge in areas that are important to our clients’ financial lives,” said McLeod. “It gives us even greater depth of knowledge to help clients make important financial decisions.”

Goodman, who previously earned the Chartered Financial Analyst^Ⓡ (CFA) designation, originally joined The Fiduciary Group in 2003 and has an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from the University of Georgia.

McLeod, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, joined the firm in 2019 and has a B.A. from Washington & Lee University and completed the Executive Program for Financial Planning at the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business.