Justification Kit | Wealth and Trust School - Foundational

Justify Attending ABA Wealth and Trust Schools

You recognize the value of attending the ABA Wealth and Trust Schools. But, in order to attend, you'll need to secure approval from your organization. Using this Justification Kit, you will find everything you need to present your business case, including a letter template that can be customized to suit your needs.

Justification Kit: General Tips

• High Return on Investment: Outline how the time and money will help take your skills and your bank's performance to the next level.
• Efficient & Cost-Effective: A comprehensive, intensive learning experience that's more cost-effective and time-efficient as compared to multiple seminars or webinars.
• World-class Education: An unparalleled curriculum that is developed and delivered by the industry's top practitioners.
• Programs Built to Suit Your Needs: Content is appropriate for institutions of all sizes. Additionally, multiple programs provide an education to meet the needs of wealth and trust professionals at every stage of their career.

Next Steps

1. Customize the Justification Letter (below) to present as part of your formal request.
2. Offer to prepare a short presentation for your colleagues to share what you will learn, maximizing your bank's ROI for your attendance.  Mention that course materials you will receive can be shared with your colleagues, providing a valuable resource tool as your team looks to identify solutions for your clients.
3. Be sure to check out the registration page for applicable fees and discounts. Multiple students registering from the same institution are eligible for a group discount for even greater savings.

Sample Justification Letter

< Date > 

Dear <supervisor’s name>,

I am requesting approval to virtually attend the ABA Wealth and Trust School – Level 1, the week of April 22-May 1, 2025.

Having researched wealth and trust education opportunities, the ABA Wealth and Trust Schools provide the premier educational experience in our industry. By completing the curriculum, I am on the path to sit for the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) professional designation. 

The instructors are all top-tier practitioners in their specialty and come from large and small community banks, law firms, associations, and private consultancies. The school includes discussions regarding tax, retirement, estate planning, investment management, financial planning, ethics, and effective client engagement. To ensure the content remains relevant and up to date, the faculty — in conjunction with ABA in-house subject matter experts — assesses the content each year.

Attending the school provides a rich learning experience, as students learn from experiences as part of class conversation, plus have plenty of interaction with the faculty. I understand that building a professional network of contacts in our industry is an invaluable part of the school experience.

I have included an outline of the costs below. Please let me know if there is additional information I can provide. 

School Fee: $2,725 ABA member/$3,725 ABA Non-member

Travel Costs: <insert costs> includes roundtrip flight to Atlanta, stay at the Emory Conference Center hotel and dinner. Breakfast and lunch, from Monday to Thursday, are included in the school fee.

As you can tell, I am extremely enthusiastic about this opportunity and the benefits that both I and <insert bank name> will realize as a result of my attendance. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

<your name here>