Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Certification

Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB Board) is an American, nonprofit, Certifying Body, and standards-setting organization association that aims to manage, enhance and operate certifications, education and related programs for financial planning organizations. FPSB has members of 26 countries around the world

Certified Financial Planner – CFP is the most famous, desired, and respected globally certification for employers in the finance field. By taking this certification, you will understand the importance and benefits of the financial planning process and ensure your financial planning skills.

According to the Wall Street Journal, CFP certification is rated as Gold Standard. Moreover, it advances your career path, grows your income more, and enables to lower corporate risks and finance problems. So, you will have a positive impact on client and firm satisfaction. Furthermore, you will ensure your commitment to competent and ethical financial planning practice in real life situations.

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In order to pass the exam and strengthen your knowledge, FPSB has developed global content with various financial advice and financial planning education courses, which is updated on a regular basis. According to the official website of FPSB, this course divided into Four levels:

1. Level I– Client-Centric Financial Solutions
2. II– Financial Planning Strategies
3. III Course – Capstone-1: Developing Effective Financial Plans
4. III Course – Capstone-2: Engaging Clients for Life

CFP trains you to take tactical advice in the fields of investments, tax, insurance, and real estate. So that, the exam is measuring your cognitive levels of Knowledge, Application, Analysis, and finally evaluation. Also, it measures your critical thinking and ability to solve problems.

CFP exam covers eight domains of knowledge divided with different percentages:

• Professional Conduct and Regulation
• General Principles of Financial Planning.
• Education Planning
• Risk Management and Insurance Planning
• Investment Planning
• Tax Planning
• Retirement Savings and Income Planning
• Estate Planning

Certified Financial Planner Certification Requirements:

According to FPSB Website, the requirements are as following:

1. Create your CFP Board online account.
2. Complete education courses covering content outlined in FPSB’s Financial Planning Education Framework.
3. Achieve one year of supervised, or three years of unsupervised, work experience within 10 years prior to CFP certification.
4. Complete a financial plan to demonstrate mastery of the Fundamental Financial Planning Practices.
5. Pass a valid and reliable CFP certification exam .
6. Agree to abide by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct and consent to CFP Board’s authority to enforce those standards.
7. Attest to Fitness Requirements, verified by the territory’s FPSB member organization

Certified Financial Planner – CFP Exam Details:

• The CFP exam administered in a computer-based testing.
• Exam Structure: 170 questions that are divided into; two case studies, multiple mini-case problem sets, and stand-alone questions.
• Exam duration: is 6 hours; two 3-hour two sessions separated by a scheduled 40-minute break. 
• If you didn’t pass the exam, you should retake the entire exam in the next time that the exam window offers.
• Exam Fees: pay the exam fee for each retake with a maximum of 5 attempts through your life.

CFP Certification Renewal:

• Note that, you need to recertify your CFP credential by Completing at least 30 hours of CPDs every two years.
• Also, two of the 30 hours should address topics covered in FPSB’s Code of Ethics Financial Planning Standards.