The Value of a Professional Designation
A few years ago, I conducted some research and wrote a paper that showed that people who were successful in one of the professional designation courses offered at The College for Financial Planning were also highly likely to be successful in the CFP® program. This demonstrates the value of a designation in preparing people for professional development and career advancement.
If you are relatively new to the profession, I encourage you to check out the designations we offer and take one or two of those to see if you are ready to take on the CFP® program. There are two advantages to taking this approach. First, our designations take 8 weeks or less to complete as compared to over a year for the CFP® program. Second, many of our designations also articulate into the CFP® program, so you reduce your costs having to take fewer courses in the CFP® program.
If you've been in the profession for a while, professional designations are a great way to show your clients and prospective clients that you are committed to your profession and that you are much more well-informed than an advisor who only has a Series 7 and 63. This kind of commitment to professionalism will give you the edge when a prospective client is shopping for an advisor or financial planner.
If you are already a CFP® professional, designations are also fantastic options for maintaining one's CFP®certification because our many of our designations are eligible for 28 hours of CE credit for the CFP Board. If you take a designation every two years and attend the Ethics CE course, you get all the CE you need for the two-year period. And, along the way, you learn more about the various topics our designations cover like retirement plans and planning, client behavior, investments, and the unique needs of high and ultra-high net worth clients.
So go to www.cffp.edu and take a look at the courses we offer to help you become the financial professional your clients will appreciate!
