Awards

Founder Ken Fisher’s “Portfolio Strategy” column for Forbes ran from 1984 through 2016, making him the longest continually running columnist in the magazine’s history.

In 2010, Ken Fisher was included on Investment Advisor’s "Thirty for Thirty" list of the 30 most influential individuals in and around the investment management profession over the last three decades.

Investment Advisor’s "Thirty for Thirty" list of the 30 most influential individuals in and around the investment management profession over the last three decades includes individuals which Investment Advisor noted as having been the most influential in building the independent advisor profession. Investment Advisor recognizes the thirty individuals under the following categories: Pioneers & Practitioners, Iconoclasts & Visionaries and Partners & Politicians. Ken Fisher was included in the Pioneers and Practitioners category. For more information, please visit: http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2010/05/01/30-for-30-interviews-ken-fisher?slreturn=1509486577.

In 2011, Ken Fisher was included on Investment Advisor’s annual list of the 25 most influential people in the adviser universe.

In 2011, Investment Advisor ranked and published a list of the 25 most influential people in and around the advisor universe in the order of their importance—based on internal criteria. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered and selected for this award. For more information, please visit: www.thinkadvisor.com/2011/04/25/special-report-the-2011-ia-25-most-influential-peo.

Fisher Investments was named a 2022 Top Workplace for diversity and inclusion. Fisher Investments was selected based on anonymous employee survey feedback about culture drivers critical to organizational success.

This recognition is based on anonymous employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by Energage, LLC and the Top Workplaces organization. The anonymous survey measures 15 culture drivers that Top Workplaces identifies as critical to organizational success. To qualify, companies must have 150 or more employees in the United States and achieve a workplace survey response rate of 35%+. Companies with the highest overall average scores (in comparison to like-sized companies within their industry) were named a Top Workplace in D&I Practices. Fisher Investments and its affiliates do not pay to be considered or selected for this award.

Fisher Investments, one of the world's largest independent, fee-only investment advisers, was recognized by DiversityQ as "Employer of the Year" at their third annual Women in Asset Management USA Awards. Bonhill Group PLC's DiversityQ advocates diversity and inclusion in the workplace to create corporate cultures where everyone is heard and respected. In recognizing Fisher Investments, DiversityQ noted the firm's goal to "guide and give opportunities for career development as well as a huge focus on investing in the future of their talents."

To determine the “Employer of the Year” award, a panel of independent judges examined US-based firms on multiple factors, including professional training and advancement opportunities, programs to increase employees' well-being, and efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment. For more information, please visit WIAM Awards | Bonhill PLC and US Nomination Guidelines - Women in Asset Management.

Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered for this award.

For the sixth year in a row, Fisher Investments has been certified a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®, a recognized global authority on workplace culture and producer of important reviews, including the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list. Great Place to Work® anonymously surveyed Fisher Investments employees as part of its comprehensive review process. The survey measured several factors including compensation, manager quality, overall workplace atmosphere and the pride that employees feel working for Fisher Investments.

Great Place to Work selects winners of the Best Workplaces lists primarily based on employees' responses to their industry-defining Trust Index© Survey, taken as part of Great Place to Work® Certification. Results from the survey are highly reliable, having a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 5% or less.

Fisher Investments was recognized by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) as a 2022 BEST Award winner. This is the fourth consecutive year Fisher Investment has earned a place on ATD's list. ATD, the world’s largest professional talent development association, represents private and public organizations and executives in over 120 countries across every industry.

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee talent development. Established in 2003, the BEST Awards Winners' Circle includes small and large private, public and not-for-profit organizations from around the world. Award winners must demonstrate that they are excellent in many aspects of talent development, including: Talent development has an enterprise-wide role, Learning has value in the organization's culture, Learning links to individual and organizational performance, Investment is made in talent development and performance initiatives. Fisher Investments pays a participation and administrative fee to be considered for this award.  For more information, please visit https://www.td.org/best-award-winners.

Fisher Investments was named to the 2023 Top Workplaces USA list for the third consecutive year. Leading employer research firm Energage manages the Top Workplaces USA program, which recognizes organizations with a people-first culture of excellence.

Fisher Investments earned Top Workplaces USA recognition based on feedback from the firm’s thousands of US-based employees. Energage, LLC analyzes anonymous employee feedback gathered through a survey of 15 areas measuring an organization’s workplace culture and success. Scoring well indicates a healthy and productive culture, highly engaged employees and superior business results. To participate, companies must have at least 150 employees and achieve a survey response rate of 35% or higher. Those with the highest overall average scores (in comparison to like-sized companies) qualify as Top Workplaces.

Fisher Investments was named to the Top Workplaces in Financial Services list for the second consecutive year. The prestigious Top Workplaces program—based exclusively on anonymous employee survey feedback—honors organizations that have strong relationships with their employees and foster a culture of success.

The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The anonymous survey measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization. To qualify, companies with 150 or more employees in the United States are eligible and you must achieve a workplace survey response rate of 35% or higher. Companies with the highest overall average scores (in comparison to like-sized companies within their industry) qualify as Top Workplaces in Financial Services.

Fisher Investments earned the prestigious Training APEX Award (formerly T100 & T125) for 2023—the fifth consecutive year Fisher Investments has been recognized as a top employee-training provider. Training is the leading business publication for employee learning and development (L&D), and their APEX Awards recognize organizations that excel in employee L&D.

The Training APEX awards are determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs, how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives, and their effectiveness in terms of business impact. Companies that wish to be considered for APEX awards complete a detailed application, which is scored both quantitatively by an outside research and statistical data company and qualitatively by Training magazine editors and Top 10 Hall of Fame representatives. Fisher Investments pays a fee to participate in the Training Apex Awards program, which covers the cost to apply and the application analysis. For more information, please visit: https://trainingmag.com/training-magazine-announces-its-2023-training-apex-awards-winners/.

Fisher Investments was named to The Oregonian’s 2022 list of Top Workplaces in Oregon and SW Washington, marking the sixth consecutive year earning the honor. Fisher Investments was selected to the list based on anonymous employee feedback from the firm’s Camas, Washington-based employees. 

The award was based on employee ratings of statements regarding company benefits in the 2022 Top Workplaces survey.

Since 2011, The Oregonian/OregonLive and Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee research and consulting firm, have partnered to determine the Top Workplaces in Oregon and southwest Washington based solely on employee survey feedback. Fisher Investments did not pay a fee to participate in this award. For more information, please visit: https://www.oregonlive.com/topworkplaces/2022/09/134-great-places-to-work-in-oregon-and-sw-washington-top-workplaces-2022.html.

Fisher Investments was named to Built In’s 2023 Best Places to Work in Dallas. Built In, a global technology career platform, recognizes companies who offer the best total rewards programs and compensation packages among their peers. The award spotlights organizations that foster meaningful employee experiences through cultural programs and benefits their employees value.

Winners were determined based on an algorithm which looks at data across all Built In profiles, using company provided data about compensation and benefits as described here. Fisher Investments pays an annual fee to post jobs and to manage a premium profile on the Built In website. A premium profile page is not required for eligibility as described here.

Fisher Investments was recognized on a list of the 2022 Top 100 Places to Work in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area by The Dallas Morning News. Fisher Investments also received special honors for "Best Benefits." The Dallas Morning News and Energage, an employee research firm, evaluate anonymous employee survey feedback from regional employers to create the list. The list spotlights organizations that promote a healthy workplace culture.

This ranking is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The anonymous survey measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization. To qualify, companies with 150 or more employees in the United States are eligible and you must achieve a workplace survey response rate of 35% or higher. Companies with the highest overall average scores (in comparison to like-sized companies within their region) qualify as Top Workplaces. Top Workplaces Methodology - Top Workplaces. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered and selected for this award. For more information, please visit: https://topworkplaces.com/company/fisher-investments/. 

For the second year in a row, Fisher Investments was named one of the Top Workplaces in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by Top Workplaces. The prestigious ranking is determined by independent workplace survey firm, Energage, based on anonymous employee feedback from hundreds of the region’s top employers.

The prestigious ranking is determined by independent workplace survey firm, Energage, based on anonymous employee feedback from hundreds of the region’s top employers. Candidates for this award can be nominated by anyone. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered and selected for this award. For more information, please visit: https://topworkplaces.com/company/fisher-investments/.

Fisher Investments has been named the 20th Best Workplace in Texas for 2019, by Great Place to Work (GPTW) and Fortune magazine.

GPTW analyzed anonymous survey feedback from more than 42,000 Texas-based employees across hundreds of employers to determine the 2019 Best Workplaces in Texas. Participants responded to more than 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great work environment. From these results, Fisher Investments ranked #20 in the large company category. To be considered for this award, companies had to meet the Great Place to Work-certified standard.

Great Place to Work® analyzed anonymous survey feedback from more than 42,000 Texas-based employees across hundreds of employers to determine the 2019 Best Workplaces in Texas. Participants responded to more than 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great work environment. From these results, Fisher Investments ranked #20 in the large company category. To be considered for this award, companies had to meet the Great Place to Work-certified standard. For more information, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/texas/2019.

Fisher Investments was named a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner by RippleMatch, marking the second consecutive year being recognized for excellence in early career hiring. 2023 Campus Forward Award Winners were selected for their commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Fisher Investments was recognized in the Mid-Size Career Programs category.

The Campus Forward Awards recognizes early career and university recruiting teams of all sizes with standout programs. To be considered, early-career hiring teams must fill out a detailed application about their recruitment strategies, candidate experience, early career programs, and equitable hiring processes. Neither Fisher Investments or its affiliates paid any fee to apply or be considered for the Ripplematch awards. For more information, please visit https://resources.ripplematch.com/2023-campus-forward-award-winners and https://resources.ripplematch.com/fisher-investments-2023-campus-forward-award-winner.

In 2020, Talent Board—the first non-profit research organization focused on promoting quality candidate experiences—announced their 2020 Global Candidate Experience Award (CandE) recipients. Fisher Investments was ranked 24th in North America out of 55 award winners.

Talent Board, a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and benchmark research of a quality candidate experience, conducts a comprehensive evaluation and data analysis that consists of an employer survey and a targeted candidate survey. Fisher Investments paid a nominal fee to participate in the program. For more information, please visit: https://www.thetalentboard.org/cande-awards/the-cande-winners/.

In September 2021, Fisher Investments was named one of the largest employers in the Portland, Oregon metro area. For their list, the Portland Business Journal ranked employers in Oregon’s Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and Washington’s Clark County.

Information was obtained from firm representatives through questionnaires, the Oregon Employment Department and the Washington Employment Security Department, and could not be independently verified by the Portland Business Journal. In case of ties, companies are listed alphabetically. Ranked by employment in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington.

Fisher Investments earned the status of a Workhuman Certified Enterprise. The status distinguishes organizations that are committed to investing in and demonstrating progress towards providing an environment where employees are valued and can do their best work.

Workhuman Certification is open to all enterprises with a minimum of 10 full-time employees. Participating companies complete an application outlining their employee-focused programs and describe how the company is creating a human-centered workplace. Companies provide examples of programs, practices and data that demonstrate progress within appreciation, work-life harmony, growth opportunities, fair pay, safety and purpose-driven meaningful work. Applications are reviewed by a team of Workhuman subject matter experts including human resources leaders, human resources consultants, data analysts and business leaders. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates paid to be considered for Workhuman Certification.

Fisher Investments Europe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fisher Investments, announced today that it has won the 2019 ADVFN International Financial Award for Wealth Manager of the Year, the fourth time it has received the honor.

A panel of judges selected the winners, which include investment advisers, brokerage firms, notable journalists and trading platforms from around the globe.

Most investors would have a hard time keeping up with the constantly expanding market of more than 400 BaFin-registered* independent asset managers. That’s why in its September 2019 issue, for the first time Capital magazine joined with the Institute for Asset Development (IVA) of Munich to analyze 13,430 anonymized portfolio data points—provided by the leading custodians V-Bank and DAB BNP Paribas—from 47 asset managers to assess portfolio structure, product implementation, risk management and cost efficiency.

* BaFin supervises German asset management companies (Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaften).

Capital magazine joined with the Institute for Asset Development (IVA) of Munich to analyze 13,430 anonymized portfolio data points—provided by the leading custodians V-Bank and DAB BNP Paribas—from 47 asset managers to assess portfolio structure, product implementation, risk management and cost efficiency. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates paid to be considered for this award. For more information, please visit https://www.capital.de/geld-versicherungen/das-sind-die-besten-vermoegensverwalter.

Fisher Investments UK was Certified™ by Great Place to Work® for the second consecutive year. Great Place to Work® is an independent, global authority on workplace culture and employee experience. Fisher Investments UK was also recently recognized as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces™ for Women and 2021 UK Best Workplaces™ by Great Place to Work®.

To be considered for this certification, Great Place to Work® analyzed anonymous survey feedback from Fisher Investments UK employees. Employees responded to more than 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great work environment. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work™, which covers the cost of administering the survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. For more information, please visit: Fisher Investments UK  Great Place to Work UK | The global authority on workplace culture.

Fisher Investments UK was named a 2022 UK Best Workplaces™ recipient from Great Place To Work®—the global authority on workplace culture—for creating a positive employee work environment. This is the third consecutive year Fisher Investments UK receives the UK Best Workplaces™ recognition.

To determine the 2022 Best Workplaces™ in the UK, Great Place to Work® analyzed anonymous survey feedback from Fisher Investments UK employees. Employees responded to more than 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great work environment. Based on these survey results and a company culture questionnaire, Fisher Investments UK earned Best Workplaces™ recognition and certification in the UK. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work®, which covers the cost of administering the survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. For more information, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/workplace/item/3141/Fisher+Investments+UK.

For the second year in a row, Fisher Investments UK was named to the 2022 UK Best Workplaces™ for Women list by Great Place to Work® UK—the global authority on workplace culture. This marks the second consecutive year that Fisher Investments UK has received this honor. The award recognizes companies who are committed to building a better future for women in the workplace. 

Great Place to Work® selects winners of the Best Workplaces lists primarily based on employees' responses to their industry-defining Trust Index© Survey, taken as part of Great Place to Work® Certification. Great Place to Work® also uses its For All™ Methodology to analyze employee responses and ensure every employee, regardless of background or position, is having a similarly positive work experience.

Great Place to Work® is a recognized global authority on workplace culture and producer of important reviews, including the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list. Great Place to Work® UK anonymously surveyed many Fisher Investments UK employees as part of its comprehensive review process. The survey measured several factors including compensation, manager quality, overall workplace atmosphere and the pride that employees feel working for Fisher Investments UK. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work®, which covers the cost of administering a survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. Awards are granted based on qualifying survey results. For more information, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/workplace/item/3141/Fisher+Investments+UK and https://www.greatplacetowork.com/our-methodology.

In February 2022, Great Place to Work® UK recognized Fisher Investments UK for cultivating high-levels of employee wellbeing in their inaugural UK’s Best Workplace™ for Wellbeing rankings. Fisher Investments UK was among the first organizations recognized in the UK’s Best Workplace™ for Wellbeing large company category rankings.

Great Place to Work® UK experts analyze thousands of anonymous employee surveys assessing fundamental facets of employee wellbeing to receive the recognition. These include work-life balance, job satisfaction, sense of fulfillment, psychological safety and financial security. Companies must have been Certified™ by Great Place to Work® UK in 2021 to be eligible, and are evaluated according to their size.

Fisher Investments Ireland Ltd.—a subsidiary of US-based Fisher Investments—earned the 2022 Best Workplaces™ recognition from Great Place to Work® Ireland for creating a positive employee work environment. To determine the 2022 Best Workplaces™ Ireland list, Great Place to Work® analyzed anonymous survey feedback from employees describing the extent to which their organization creates a positive work environment. The survey measured several factors including compensation, manager quality, overall workplace atmosphere and the pride that employees feel working for their organizations.

Great Place to Work® selects winners of the Best Workplaces lists primarily based on employees' responses to their industry-defining Trust Index© Survey, taken as part of Great Place to Work® Certification. Great Place to Work® also uses its For All™ Methodology to analyze employee responses and ensure every employee, regardless of background or position, is having a similarly positive work experience.

Fisher Investments—which also does business in Canada as Fisher Investments Canada—has been certified a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®, a recognized global authority on workplace culture and producer of important reviews, including the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list. Great Place to Work® anonymously surveyed Fisher Investments employees as part of its comprehensive review process. The survey measured several factors including compensation, manager quality, overall workplace atmosphere and the pride that employees feel working for Fisher Investments.

Great Place to Work selects winners of the Best Workplaces lists primarily based on employees' responses to their industry-defining Trust Index© Survey, taken as part of Great Place to Work® Certification. Results from the survey are highly reliable, having a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 5% or less.

For the third time, Grüner Fisher Investments (GFI) was certified as a "Great Place to Work". This recognition not only honors us as a top organization in Germany, but celebrates Grüner Fisher Investments’ ability to drive trust, pride and camaraderie in the workplace. It also publicly supports our reputation as an outstanding employer, which cultivates a friendly and engaging work environment where everyone is made to feel welcome.

Globally, Great Place to Works’ Best Workplace™ survey is the largest survey of workplace cultures and people practices. The methodology that creates its Best Workplaces™ rankings is one of the most rigorous and highly sought after – and regarded as the ‘gold standard’ of employer awards. The methodology assesses the employee experience (through the Trust Index© employee survey) and the HR and leadership practices that create the organisation’s workplace culture (through the Culture Audit©). The Trust Index© survey accounts for 3/4 of the final results. The Culture Audit© accounts for 1/4 of the final results. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work®, which covers the cost of administering a survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. Awards are granted based on qualifying survey results. For more information, please visit: Grüner Fisher Investments GmbH  Great Place to Work®.

Fisher Investments Ireland was Certified™ by Great Place to Work®. Great Place to Work® is an independent, global authority on workplace culture and employee experience.

To be considered for this certification, Great Place to Work® analyzed anonymous survey feedback from Fisher Investments Ireland employees. Employees responded to survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great work environment. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work™, which covers the cost of administering the survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. For more information, visit Fisher Investments Ireland  Great Place to Work Ireland or The Methodology

For the first time, Fisher Investments Luxembourg was certified as a "Great Place to Work". This recognition not only honors us as a top organization in Luxembourg, but celebrates our ability to drive trust, pride and camaraderie in the workplace.

In 2020, Great Place to Work® anonymously surveyed Fisher Investments Luxembourg employees as part of its comprehensive review process. The survey measured several factors including compensation, manager quality, overall workplace atmosphere and the pride that employees feel working for Fisher Investments Luxembourg. Fisher Investments and its affiliates pay a participation fee to Great Place to Work®, which covers the cost of administering the survey to employees and the analysis and delivery of survey results. For more information, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.lu/fr/meilleurs-lieux-de-travail/profils/fisher-investments.

Kununu (Europe’s largest employer-rating platform) and Freundin (a German women’s magazine) ranked Grüner Fisher Investments among their most family-friendly employers in Germany and Austria. They judged companies based on employees' anonymous reviews of work-life balance, career education and benefits. Grüner Fisher Investments ranked #11 in the list of the 626 most family-friendly companies in the region.

Kununu (Europe’s largest employer-rating platform) and Freundin (a German women’s magazine) reviewed more than 2 million online reviews of over 200,000 companies to determine their list of the most family-friendly companies in Germany and Austria. They asked employees to rate their employers according to family friendliness. Employees were able to rate their employers anonymously, with a special focus on the following family-friendliness categories: superior behavior, work-life balance, equal rights, career education, salary and benefits and dealing with colleagues over age 45. In order to qualify for ranking, companies have to offer the following benefits: flexible working hours, home office, childcare and company pension schemes. Neither Grüner Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered for this award.

GFI received the prestigious Top Company 2022 Award from kununu, one of the leading European platforms for employer evaluation. Employees and candidates can rate their company on kununu in terms of working atmosphere, culture, communication and various social aspects. Only 5 percent of the companies listed on kununu meet the criteria to qualify for this award.

To be considered for a kununu “Top Company” recognition, a company must have at least six reviews from employees on the kununu platform. The employer must have an average employee rating score for the past twelve months must be at least 3.8 stars. There must also be at least one review in the last 12 months. Updated ratings are also considered as new ratings. Neither Grüner Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered for this award.

In 2020, Grüner Fisher Investments has been named “Top Mittelstand* Employer” by Focus-Business magazine in a survey based on data from kununu, an employer ratings platform. “We are very proud of our fourth-place finish in the “Finance” sector. A total of 4,000 companies were recognized” said a firm representative.

More than 950,000 companies and more than four million employee reviews were analyzed on kununu, an internet platform. The survey rated the top German Mittelstand employers in Germany. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates paid to be considered for this award. For more information, please visit https://www.kununu.com/de/gruener-fisher-investments.

Fisher Investments’ 401(k) Solutions was recently named one of Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisers for 2020. The award recognizes qualified adviser selected by the Financial Times based on a variety of factors, including years of experience and industry certifications. With over $2 billion* in retirement-plan assets, Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions ranked among the elite plan advisers on this year’s FT 401 list.

Advisers were selected based on criteria including 401(k) assets under management, specialization in the 401(k) business, growth rate and plan participation rate.

Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions was named to the National Association of Plan Advisors’ prestigious “Top Defined Contribution Advisors Firms” in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Advisors were selected based on criteria about their practices.

The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), an affiliate organization of the American Retirement Association, was created by and for retirement plan advisors. NAPA members benefit from access to the association’s advocacy, information and education resources, as well as preferential rates and access to NAPA events, discounts on education offerings, and the opportunity to be recognized in widely regarded industry accolades. Each year, NAPA publishes a list of top retirement plan advisors and defined contribution practices—recognizing advisors selected based on criteria including information about their practices, notably advised defined contribution assets. Neither Fisher Investments nor its affiliates pay to be considered and selected for this award. For more information about this award, please visit:  https://www.napa-net.org/news-info/daily-news/announcing-2019-napa-top-dc-advisor-teams and https://www.usaretirement.org/napa-2019-top-dc-advisor-teams.

Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions was recognized by the prestigious Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX®) and awarded their "Fiduciary Excellence" certification.