Need advice about CFP....

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vthomas

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Hi Guys,
I was researching different sources to get more information about the CFP program. Most of my questions were answered other than the “Education Requirement”.
When the CFP board mentions about the “Education Requirement” do they require you to earn a Degree or a Certificate in Financial Planning? Or would any degree in Finance or Accounting would satisfy the requirement.
My plan was to take the CFP exam by March if there is no requirement of specific degree or certificate requirements.
By the way - My background is I have earned an MBA in Finance and sat for the CFA Level 1 this June. I think I stand a chance in passing the exam, but will have to wait and see.
I was debating on sitting for the CFP or CAIA… but I would value CFP more at this time based on my preferences.
Your help in answering this question would be of great help to me.
Thanks,
VT
 
Thomas, You have an MBA and you want to do some fake certification to become a financial planner?
How many financial planners have a degree? Have a look at the Personal Finance section of the New York Times, there was an excellent piece on financial planners last weekend.
In my view you do not need any qualification to be a financial planner given your background, neither membership of CFP. Their former president is being indicted of malpractice, and that is their benchmark. (The author of that article mentions that the letters CFP do not mean much as CFA or CPA after your name)
By the way what qulification has Suze Orman done?
A certificate in Marriage Counselling would be more useful - they are closely related.
 
Speaking of which, has any one ever noticed an apparent bias against men in Suze Orman’s show? I am not a big fan of hers but every time I watch she comes across as biased.
 
I don’t particularly care for the douche who wears the fru fru bow ties.
 
JOE2010 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Speaking of which, has any one ever noticed an
> apparent bias against men in Suze Orman’s show? I
> am not a big fan of hers but every time I watch
> she comes across as biased.
not surprising as she bats for the other team, if you know what I mean
 
Suze Orman does have her CFP.
You only need a bachelors degree as your education requirement for the CFP designation. I would ask you what the purpose of getting that designation is though. That is for more of the sales side of the finance business, someone who wants to advise people on how to invest their money.
 
It is actually very hard to get a CFP (when I looked it up, surprisingly). You need almost as much experience in the field of financial planning as you do for the CFA. As well the CFP focuses on personal taxation, insurance, state planning I would be very surprised if you ever came across any of those courses in an MBA. Likewise with the section on family in law in the CFP program. Also how about real estate planning, do you know the differences in personal taxation for someone who owns 2 homes? Do you know when it is advantageous to buy a third investment home?
 
I’m a CFA and CFP. To sit for the CFP you need to have a bachelors and complete a CFP board-registered education program (6 classes on fundamentals, insurance, income tax, investments, retirement, and estate planning). Some of the online programs can be done in about 6 months I think.
Or you can apply for a waiver if you have CFA, CPA, or JD. I took the CFA first and went the waiver route.
I’d definitely recommend CFP if you want to work in PWM.
 
Thank you guys for sharing your perspectives about the CFP certification.
So my understanding from the information you have given above is that - To sit for the exam one HAS to meet the education requirement either trough having the CFP board-registered education program or through waiver from CFA, CPA, JD, or PH.D.
I dont view the value of the CFP program in isolation, but I think it would add value along with CFA.
Like “The Unit Root” said - it would be valuable when working with High-Net worth individuals and for also fee based investment advising. I know that CFP would be of no help to Institutional investors, but would be useful for individuals.
Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
 
vthomas Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Thank you guys for sharing your perspectives about
> the CFP certification.
>
> So my understanding from the information you have
> given above is that - To sit for the exam one HAS
> to meet the education requirement either trough
> having the CFP board-registered education program
> or through waiver from CFA, CPA, JD, or PH.D.
>
> I dont view the value of the CFP program in
> isolation, but I think it would add value along
> with CFA.
>
> Like “The Unit Root” said - it would be valuable
> when working with High-Net worth individuals and
> for also fee based investment advising. I know
> that CFP would be of no help to Institutional
> investors, but would be useful for individuals.
>
> Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
Vthomas:
I work in PWM and have my CFP and CIMA. I am only sitting for CFA as “gravy” in my industry…by no means is it necessary BUT almost no one has the designation on this side of the biz. I want to stand out and if it helps me land one extra UHNW client, it will have paid for itself many times over.
I wouldn’t listen to JOE2010…pretty ignorant statements. In my industry, CFP is more valuable than a CFA as it provides background/testing on issues relevant to my clients. CFA helps, but CFP DOES serve a purpose on my side. In no way am I suggesting the CFA is easier or that the CFP is more important…each designation is designed for different industries. Just get them all.
DjM
 
Thanks DJM for the information… that helps.
Do you know is there any way to take the exam without doing the board certified programs. My only problem is time constraint. I do not want to spend 6-9 months on doing some courses spending time and money given the benefit from it.. rather read books myself and clear the exam. I just have an MBA finance and maybe level 1 CFA.
My decision was… if its going to take time more than 6 months for the CFP, then I planned to postpone the CFP and take CAIA for now.
 
I took classes through DePaul in Chicago…I would not recommend. I think you can study on your own but you have to pass individual tests on all the modules before sitting for the final. It will probably take you 8-10 months since you have to take tests along the way. If you obtain a waiver and don’t need to complete each module, 6 months is doable although if you have work, etc then it will be tough.
This is who I used for the final review…when I took the exam, there were 101 topics you needed to know. http://www.keirfinancial.com/ Highly recommended by me.
Be prepared, I don’t think the MBA finance and CFA studying will help you on 60-70% of the exam. You will study tax code, estate planning, insurance, employee comp/benefits etc. in great detail which will probably be new information to you. If not, rock on.
 
i am also pursuing the CFA CFP combo. it is definitely looked upon as positive in the industry, but the CFP is much easier than the CFA. with the CFP, if you fail its not a big deal because you can just take it again in a few months. took me two shots to get it.
cfp is certainly not a “fake” certification. a “fake” cert to me is something like the AAMS or CRPC. The FA industry definitely needs an “industry standard” designation and the CFP has assumed that role. definitely recommended in PWM (which is what i do). i will also say it is not fake because i have it! lol..
if you have never worked in an FA role before though, you may want to seriously consider how dedicated you are.
CFA= more introvertish
CFP= more extrovertish
CFP=more salesy
CFA= more academic
CFP -P +A= CFA
 
In Canada there is a number of courses listed as “approved education” on the CFP website. Check with the CFP board were you live to see what qualifies you to write the exam.
Here the CSI offers a two course program that qualifies. Each course has two exams and is supposed to last a year long but you could do them in less than a month if you wanted to.
The title “Financial Planner” is actually regulated were I live. As long as you complete one of the approved CFP education streams you can use “Financial Planner” without sitting the CFP exam.
Either take the approved educational stream (I have not heard that a degree was a requirement) or have a prior credential and 3 years experience
Professional accountants (CA, CGA, CMA)
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
Members of provincial law society
PhD in finance, business or economics
 
As an aside the co I work with requires retail sales people to get the CFP.
Execpt the gave me an exemption.
 
I have my MBA and CFP and just sat for Level 3 of the CFA….the self study part is very time consuming…took me a couple of years to do that before I sat for the comprehensive. You will save some time by completing the CFA first, applying for the waiver and sitting for the exam.
I know some people that took a class at Georgetown university as a quicker way of satisfing the requirement. It met every other weekend (Friday night and Saturday) for 9 months.
 
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