Professional designations that help serve your needs

An MBA provides recipients with several invaluable attributes, including strategic thinking, problem-solving ability, decision-making, research and risk management skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

Strategic thinking

An MBA teaches you how to assess economic trends, look at the market forces at play, identify impending threats and opportunities, and create changes to remain competitive. It involves questioning one’s own biases and assumptions, seeking out relevant information to make informed decisions, and taking the time to reflect to find the right course of action.

Problem-solving

An MBA teaches you how to find solutions to complex problems by digging beyond the surface, factoring in different viewpoints and keeping the bigger picture in mind.

Decision-making

An MBA teaches you to review, scrutinize and evaluate data and other sources of information to make calculated decisions based on available metrics.

Analysis, research and risk management skills

An MBA teaches you to make information-based assessments. It sharpens your ability to filter important information from the unimportant, identify potential pitfalls, change focus as necessary and respond to a crisis.

An entrepreneurial mindset

An MBA teaches you to identify gaps in the market, make sense of trends and think ahead of the curve – enabling innovation and fresh ideas to drive the business forward.

The Master of Science in Financial Services (MSFS) is an accredited degree program that provides financial advisors with the tools needed to analyze, plan and implement integrated financial and life strategies; work effectively with high-net-worth clients on how to better integrate ethical considerations into the financial planning process; work with business owners to develop compensation, succession planning and retirement strategies; and guide individuals in the areas of tax mitigation, retirement planning and estate planning.

Most people think that all financial planners are “certified,” but this isn’t true. Anyone can call himself or herself a “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of CFP Board can display the CFP^® certification marks.

Individuals certified by the CFP Board have taken the extra step to demonstrate their professionalism by voluntarily submitting to the rigorous CFP^® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience and ethical requirements. These standards are called “the four E’s,” and they are four important reasons why the financial planning practitioner you select should display the CFP^® certification marks.

When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical. The CFP^® certification provides that sense of security by allowing only those who meet the following requirements the right to use the CFP^® certification marks.

CFP^® certification requirements: the four E’s.

Education: CFP^® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a robust course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by the CFP Board. Other options for satisfying the education component include submitting a transcript review or previous financial planning-related coursework to the CFP Board for review and credit, or showing the attainment of certain professional designations or academic degrees.

Examination: CFP^® practitioners must pass a two-day, six-hour CFP^® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.

Experience: CFP^® professionals must have three years’ minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP^® certification marks. As a result, CFP^® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.

Ethics: As a final step to certification, CFP^® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. The CFP Board also performs a background check during this process, and each individual must disclose any investigations or legal proceedings related to their professional or business conduct.

How does the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics benefit me?

Through the Code of Ethics, CFP^® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP^® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering you professional services that are objective and based on your needs. They are required to provide you with information about their sources of compensation and conflicts of interest in writing.

Ongoing certification requirements

Once certified, CFP^® practitioners are required to maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations. Every two years, they must complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve clients. Two of these hours are spent studying or discussing the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics or Practice Standards. In addition to the biennial continuing education requirement, all CFP^® practitioners voluntarily disclose any public, civil, criminal or disciplinary actions that may have been taken against them during the previous two years as part of the renewal process.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner™, (with plaque design) and CFP^® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

A Certified Wealth Strategist^® (CWS^®) is a professional who has attained a higher level of education and training in financial planning. As the name suggests, they specialize in working with high-net-worth clients – typically those who have at least $1 million in liquid assets.

Because high-net-worth individuals tend to have other outside advisors, a CWS^® has the knowledge and communication skills to act as a client’s point person in most wealth-related matters.

In addition to addressing investment and insurance needs, a CWS^® can advise clients on liabilities, estate planning, executive compensation and business succession, among other related concerns.

Advanced financial planning for every person and every need: that’s the credo of the Chartered Financial Consultant^® (ChFC^®) designation. The ChFC^® program covers a must-have list of requirements for financial advisors, from knowledge on tax and retirement planning to special needs advising, wealth management, insurance, and specialized planning for blended families and divorcees.

A Chartered Life Underwriter^® (CLU^®) is a financial professional with extensive knowledge, centered on the complexities of life insurance underwriting for both individuals and small businesses. This designation is widely regarded as the gold standard of life insurance professionals and insurance planning.

Skill sets include providing guidance on types and amounts of life insurance; advising on annuities; helping clients handle issues of risk management associated with human capital, liabilities, property and financial wealth; guiding clients through decisions on estate planning; advising business owners on succession planning; and transferring a family business.

An Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® (AIF^®) has expertise in investment fiduciary standards of care. They have extensive knowledge in key areas such as plan distributions, plan design and implementation, plan establishment and operation, and fiduciary issues.

AIF^® designees can demonstrate that they have met educational, competence, conduct and ethical standards to serve the best interests of their clients and carry out a fiduciary standard of care throughout the financial planning engagement.

The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy^® (CAP^®) designation provides fundraisers and advisors with a common body of knowledge and a shared credential, enabling them to collaborate effectively with clients on legacy planning. The cross-disciplinary curriculum spans and synthesizes the arts and sciences of philanthropic planning, including taxation, finance, fundraising, purposeful planning, family dynamics, psychology, and strategic philanthropy. CAP^® designation holders are able to integrate charitable planning with the donor’s or client’s overall estate and business plan and help them achieve a positive impact for themselves, heirs and their community.