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All designations in our industry are marketing gimmicks. And that’s ok.
The real question you should ask yourself is what do you want the public to see you as? Then go get the letters that help you tell that story.
If you want to tell a story about being a “fiduciary”, go get the AIF (fiduciary is in the name). Want to tell people you are a “planner” go get the CFP (again, in the name). So on an so forth.
Reality is, none of those designations mean anything to the industry. If they did, they would be required by FINRA or the SEC.
CFP, ChFC, CLU. Everything else is a marketing gimmick, and anyone who says otherwise is lying and part of the problem.
Take a look at RICP maybe.
I agree with VP1 and EJ. If you are going to go for a designation, don’t half ass it and get one of those “take a weekend class designations” Do it for the knowledge and go with one of the big 3.
If you are more insurance based go with CLU.
The CFP and the ChFC cover the same 6 initial topics. The CFP them requires you to pass a fairly rigorous exam to use the Mark.
The ChFC has 3 additional advanced topics you must pass to use that Mark.
Good luck!
You should only get a designation to increase your professional knowledge, not get business because as has been stated above, designations do not bring people in the door. A friend of mine, a million dollar producer never earned one designation. He used to say, “ CFP stands for - Can’t F_____ Produce
The CFP and ChFC are full blown financial planning designations. They are the industry standards and what people look for. The rest are concentration designations. Since you must do continuing education to keep the designations active you might as well earn the others afterwards, AAMS, CASL, AIF, etc. If you have to take time to study might as well get something out of it.
I would recommend don’t get the letters just to have letters. As you have probably figured out our industry isn’t a huge walk-in business just because you hang out your name with some letters behind it. Improve your knowledge, improve how you help your clients and that will serve you best in the long run.
I have my CLU. I like having a designation to distinguish myself from others. Also you learn a lot that I actually use on a regular basis. I went thru The American College
Some good stuff on this thread. I am a CFP and CLU, 17 years in the business.
We all know MBA’s that are killing it in the business world, and MBA’s that are baristas. The designation/degree means nothing. I have a CFP on my staff who Can’t F*ing Produce. But he is good at running plans and is comfortable with a salary and annual bonus.
That’s not for me. I produced $1.4M last year on $160M AUM. There are MUCH larger fish on this app, but I’m comfortable.
Point is, who you are at your core reveals so much more about ones’ financial trajectory in life. But having people find me online when searching for those designations certainly helps. Probably happens to me 3-5 times per year. Icing on the cake.
There is a guy near me, works at a wirehouse. Sold cars for 15 years, his commercials were all over TV. Somehow got into this business. No letters, no designations. But he can talk to people, uncover problems, build trust, and provide solutions. He’s not a CFP but I’m fairly confident he CAN F*ing Produce. He doesn’t need a weekend class of participation ribbons/nonsense designations to point that out to anyone.
RICP is quick; only 3 courses. I found it interesting and relevant.
Letters are BS. I can’t imagine my gross being near what it is now if I had to bury my head in a book vs prospecting for clients. Surround yourself with a good team of advisors (Cpa, estate attorney, etc) to confidently refer to and it’s all your clients will ever want. Not to mention the referrals you will receive in return. The cfp school will not give you clients nor referrals in return. Just one mans opinion but a very strong one.
Consider this . . . Most prospects are in there 50s or 60s now. Born on in the middle 1950s to 1060s. So when they decide they need a financial planner, they will go to Google to search. Which destination will get you in more searchs? I’m working on the CFP because I believe that a lot of people will search for “CFP in my town.” I want to be included in the search results.
You learn a lot going through the CFP course. Time to time something comes up I wouldn't have known if I did not take the classes. Letters don't guarantee more money but they certainly don't hurt.
Go with the CRPC. It’s a few months and has been very valuable info for my practice over the last 7 years.