Econ 101

Qualifications in financial planning

// July 30th, 2010 // Uncategorized

To become a certified financial planner, you will almost certainly need to complete a certified financial planners course and achieve a qualification related to the financial planning field. A complete list of qualifications acceptable is listed on the Certified Financial Planners Board web site (http://www.cfp.net), although credentials acceptable include being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a licensed attorney, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Doctor of Business Administration, a Chartered Financial Consultant, a Ph. D in business or economics or a Chartered Life Underwriter. If you do not already hold one of the qualifications or credentials required to sit the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards examination, you will need to complete a course in one of the CFP’s approved programs. A number of courses are available, from short certificate courses (containing just enough course material needed to pass the Certified Financial Planners’ Board of Standards examination) to degrees which may offer further employment opportunities. A complete list of the programs acceptable, broken down by state, is available at http://www.cfp.net/become/programs.asp. However, it is often possible to complete a certificate specifically designed to conform to the Certified Financial Planners’ Board’s specifications.

For example, The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania allows students to complete the ‘CFP Certification Curriculum’, whilst Barry University in Florida offers a ‘CFP Certification Professional Education Program’. The above URL should be consulted when looking for a program to complete. It is possible to complete the Certified Financial Planners’ Board certification curriculum through a distance education program. However, those looking to pursue a career in financial planning should consult the URL above to find distance education programs, as many ‘online universities’ that claim to offer approved financial planning certificates are nothing more than diploma mills. Certificates from such online universities may not be valid if you try to use the credentials gained to sit the Certified Financial Planners’ Board of Standards examination. However, it should be noted that not all online universities are diploma mills – there are some respectable offerings available, often from universities that also have a physical presence, although the URL listed above should be consulted instead of accepting claims of ‘accreditation’ by any online university. Of course. if you don’t want to learn about financial planning yourself, you can always hire a professional. My advice to you would be to seek someone in your hometown such as houston financial planners. They’re most definitely the best people for the job.