CFP (Certified Financial Planner)

CFP or Certified Financial Planner is a certification given by the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) to individuals who wish to take up financial planning as a profession. The CFP is recognized internationally and considered the best for financial planning training, education and ethics to practice. The FPSB defines financial planning as a “process of developing strategies to help people manage their financial affairs to meet life goals.” It includes analyzing the client’s financial status, developing a financial plan for the client and implementing it for the client’s benefit.  

A Certified Financial Planner can find several career opportunities in financial advisory services as well as in the finance sector. A financial planner can offer services in the capacity of a consultant or represent his/her organization for offering financial planning services to individuals and organisations.

To earn the CFP certification, professionals must fulfil certain eligibility criteria and complete the 6-module CFP Certification Education Programme.

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CFP Colleges in India

CFP Eligibility Criteria

One can earn the CFP certification under two modes – Regular Pathway and Challenge Status Pathway. Given below is the CFP eligibility criteria of both modes.

Regular Pathway Eligibility:

The candidate must have passed class 12^th and should have cleared the five exams covering all six modules of the certification programme to be certified as a CFP by the FPSB.

Challenge Status Pathway Eligibility:

Candidate who have cleared CA/Intermediate level, CFA, ICWA, CAIIB, CS, LLB, PhD, MPhil, PG, Licentiate/Associate/ Fellowship of Life Insurance, Actuary, FFSI & FLMI from LOMA, Civil Service Examinations by UPSC can apply through Challenge Status Pathway. In this mode, the candidates are required to clear only the fifth exam (Advanced Financial Planning) to earn the certification.

CFP Exams

The CFP certification programme includes five exams for six modules. There is no separate exam for the first module. Its weightage is added to the rest five modules (20% each). The six modules are listed below:

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Entrance Exams for CFP

CFP Required Skillset

Students who are interested in pursuing course in financial planning must possess the below-mentioned skills:

• Persistent
• Energetic
• Stress Management Skills
• Problem-Solving
• Organisational Abilities
• Inter-personal Skills
• Communication Skills

CFP Fees

CFP fee structure is different for Regular Pathway and Challenge Status Pathway. Take a look at registration, exam and certification fees of both:

Fee Structure: Regular Pathway

Fee Details: Challenge Status Pathway

CFP Syllabus and Topics

The syllabus of FPSB’s financial planning programme includes eight topics that cover all the aspects, right from the fundamentals of the programme to the application of skills in the real world. Take a look at the CFP syllabus below:

CFP Job Role

The job role of a Certified Financial Planner includes essentially four tasks.

1. Identifying the client:  Interviewing individuals or companies to understand their financial goals, the purpose of investment and related concerns.

2. Assessing the client’s financial status:  Analyzing the client’s area of income, flow of income, assets, debts and problem areas. Foreseeing the future to the basis of historical and present status.

3. Making a financial plan for the client: After analyzing the status of the client’s financial goals and status, the CFP makes an investment plan for the client.

4. Implementing the plan and reviewing it periodically: If the plan is approved by the client, the CFP implements the plan and reviews it periodically to ensure that the client receives maximum benefit.

CFP Salary

The average salary of a certified financial planner is INR 3.5 lakh per year in India. There is a lot of scope for CFP’s to earn over and above the fixed salary in the form of bonus (INR 50,000 in average), profit sharing (INR 22,000 on average), or commission (INR 75,000 on average).

*Salary data has been obtained from Payscale.com

CFP Top Recruiters

Students can find employment in Law firms, Banking and Insurance sectors after completing the course in financial planning . Some of the top recruiters are:

• Axis Bank
• Yes Bank
• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Standard Chartered Bank
• SBI
• J P Morgan
• Post Offices
• Max Life
• LIC

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Syllabus for CFP