
Alphabet Soup: Navigating Financial Professional Designations
FINRA lists over 200 professional designations and 10 accredited designations used by the financial representatives it oversees. They cover nearly all manner of specializations, from retirement income management and divorce planning to money coach and business exit planning.
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Alphabet Soup: Navigating Financial Professional Designations
Financial professionals’ names are often followed by a dizzying array of designations. In fact, FINRA (the self-regulatory body for member brokerage firms and exchange markets) lists over 200 professional designations and 10 accredited designations used by the financial representatives it oversees.
These can range from the well known (e.g., Certified Financial Planner) to the obscure (Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional) and cover nearly all manner of specializations, from retirement income management and divorce planning to money coach and business exit planning.
Let’s take a look at how some of the more popular designations to compare.
Major Professional Designations | ||||
Designation | Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) | Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) | Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) | Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) |
Focus | Broad range of financial planning topics | Broad range of financial planning topics | Investment analysis, portfolio construction, consulting process and fundamentals | Security analysis, financial analysis, corporate finance, alternative investments, portfolio management |
Prerequisite(s) | 1. Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college
2. Three years of full-time personal financial planning experience or equivalent part-time experience
|
1.Three years of full-time business experience within the five years preceding award of designation
2.High school diploma or equivalent |
1. Three years of financial services experience
2. A satisfactory record of ethical conduct, as determined by the Investment & Wealth Institute Admissions Committee |
1.A bachelor’s degree from a college or university
2.Have 4,000 hours of qualified work experience in the investment decision-making process 3.Two or three professional reference letters |
Training Requirements | Complete a CFP-board registered program or hold one of the following: CPA, ChFC, CLU, CFA, Ph.D in economics or business, or attorney’s license | Eight online, self-study courses | Education offered by one of the approved Registered Education Providers
OR
In-class program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania or online through Yale School of Management |
Self-study program |
Continuing Education Requirement | 30 hours every two years | 30 hours every two years | 40 hours every two years | None |
Major Accredited Designations | ||||
Designation | Certification for Long-Term Care (CLTC) | Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) | Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) | Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) |
Focus | Focuses on the discipline of extended care planning and the consequences of longevity on an individual’s family and finances | Specializes in the financial aspects of divorce | Covers all retirement income styles and strategies to build sustainable retirement income plans | Retirement planning concepts from Social Security and income planning to health care and retirement transition issues |
Prerequisite(s) | Open to professionals in the fields of insurance, financial services, law and accounting
|
A bachelor’s degree with three years of experience
OR
Five years of experience without a bachelor’s degree
(Experience is defined as financial planning or family law practice)
|
High school diploma or equivalent
AND
Three years of experience in financial planning or related profession |
None |
Training Requirements | Two-day Master Class or online learning program | Self-study, e-learning and virtual classroom options | Three-course program offered online; must be completed within 12 months | Live online classes or self-study program |
Continuing Education Requirement | CLTC renewal course or completion of the state mandated Long-Term Care training | 30 hours of divorce-related courses every two years | Annual recertification requirement | 16 hours every two years |
Sources: Sponsor websites
https://www.theamericancollege.edu/
Please reference disclosures at: https://blog.americanportfolios.com/disclosures/