Becoming a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) isn’t exactly easy. You will have to meet educational, work and experience requirements. But CFPs are expected to become important player in United States during 2020s. So if you are thinking about becoming a CFP here is a brief guide on how you can fulfill your career goal.
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Becoming a certified financial planner is a process that can take several years, depending on your current level of experience and your willingness to put in the hard work. You should also keep in mind that financial planning is not just about numbers—it’s also a way of thinking, so you’ll need to develop your skills as a thinker, as well as as an analyst.
There are four steps in the process:
- Get your bachelor’s degree in finance or business administration and get licensed in your state by passing the Series 66 exam, which is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
- Get your master’s degree from an accredited school of business administration or public policy, or from an accredited college or university with a major in finance or economics.
- Pass the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam. This can take anywhere from three months to one year, depending on how much time you have available for studying and practice tests. You must also have three years of professional experience before taking this exam (and two years if you’re applying online).
- Apply for certification through CFP Board of Standards Incorporated (CFP Board), which will require you to submit evidence that you’ve met certain requirements
How to become a certified financial planner
The first thing you should do is find out more about the job.
The first thing you should do is find out more about the job. Talk to CFPs about what they do, their day-to-day responsibilities, the work environment and anything else that interests you. Also ask them about their career path and how they got to where they are. Get an idea of whether it’s a profession that would be a good fit for your personality type and values before deciding if it’s something worth pursuing further.
Next, you’ll want to make sure you meet the education requirements.
The next thing to think about is how you want to get the education needed for your CFP certification. There are three paths:
- Path 1 — Four-year bachelor’s degree with classes in finance and economics, business, accounting and statistics
- Path 2 — Bachelor’s degree with 12 hours of financial planning coursework (6 hours in personal finance; 6 hours in advanced financial planning)
- Path 3 — Completion of the Certification Program for Financial Planners (CPFP)*
You’ll also need experience before you can become a CFP.
To become a CFP, you’ll need to have at least three years of verifiable experience in the financial planning industry.
You can work toward this in a number of ways. You can start by volunteering for an organization that helps people manage their money better and learn about financial planning. You could also intern at an investment firm or bank that offers advice on retirement savings or budgeting (or you could do both). If you attend college, many schools offer students the opportunity to take classes related to personal finance and investing while they’re still in school—this will give them some real-world experience under their belts before they graduate! Once they’ve completed their internships or graduated from college, they can begin applying for full-time jobs as financial planners.*
If none of these options appeal to you right now but you still want access to some experience before taking your CFP exam , consider getting certified as either a Personal Finance Coach or Financial Planner first (both certifications require four years’ worth)
You’ll need to pass an exam to earn the certification.
The exam is offered twice a year: April and October. You can register for the exam online on the American College of Financial Services website.
The exam consists of 240 multiple-choice questions, and you will have four hours to complete it. The test covers financial planning theory and practice, investment planning, estate planning, retirement income planning, insurance planning, tax considerations in financial planning and more.
A score of 75% is needed to pass; however, if you fail to pass on your first try within two years of taking the exam (i.e., by December 31), you’ll need to retake it without any additional study or preparation time before trying again—which means you’ll have even less time than usual before attempting another round!
To make sure you stay up-to-date, you’ll have to complete continuing education hours.
The CFP professional designation stands for Certified Financial Planner. CFP professionals help clients with their financial planning needs, including retirement planning, college funding and estate planning. To maintain the designation, you’ll have to complete 30 hours of continuing education credits every two years. Some examples of continuing education are attending seminars, taking university courses or reading industry publications such as the Journal of Financial Planning.
Becoming a CFP requires some time and effort, but it can help you build a great career.
Becoming a CFP can help you build a great career, and for good reason.
- It establishes you as an expert in the field of personal finance.
- It gives you access to high paying clients who trust your expertise and want to work with you.
- You’ll be able to earn more money than if you don’t have this certification.
