The CFP® certification has become the most adopted credential in financial services, with over 100,000 CFP® professionals in the United States and a record-breaking CFP® exam turnout of 10,000 individuals in 2024. The College’s CFP® Certification Education Program meets the ever-growing need for CFP® education by enabling students to earn their mark through flexible, on-demand learning instructed by industry experts. The program’s Net Promoter Score of 85, awarded by CFP® professionals, indicates a world-class level of satisfaction.

The College’s program provides financial professionals with the knowledge and skills to pass their exam the first time and begin meeting their clients’ complex needs; however, earning the CFP® mark is just one avenue for professionals looking to build a strong foundation for their careers. Designations like the Financial Services Certified Professional® (FSCP®), Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®), and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) can also further an individual's knowledge and strengthen their ability to serve their clients.

Manage Your Practice Like a Pro

The FSCP® Program is designed to provide new professionals with the financial planning knowledge they need to kick-start their careers. The curriculum is infused with powerful strategies to accelerate growth, including courses focused on running a functional and successful practice, understanding business ethics, and identifying and meeting client needs. Powered by insights from top thought leaders in financial services and backed by The College’s proven history of excellence in education, the FSCP® enables new professionals or career-changers to launch their careers in financial services.

The 2024 Designation Outcomes Study showcases the benefits College designations offer to financial professionals, and the results are telling. According to the study’s findings, FSCP® designees saw:

• 129% higher growth in client retention
• 44% higher growth in number of clients
• 17% higher growth in earnings
• 19% higher growth in production when compared to professionals with no designations¹

These numbers illustrate significant impact in key growth areas, indicating the expertise gained in business planning, product knowledge, and maintaining client relationships — an invaluable achievement for those early in their financial services career. The foundational knowledge found in the FSCP® curriculum can enhance a financial professional’s toolkit and power the organic growth of their practice.

Go Beyond Building Portfolios

The College’s WMCP® Program is tailored to professionals seeking foundational skills in wealth management. The program provides financial professionals with the practical, hands-on skills to build broadly diversified, tax-efficient portfolios that align with clients’ unique goals. With its focus on behavioral finance and informative courses on goal-based planning, efficient investment portfolios, and strategic wealth management, the WMCP® empowers professionals to become more valuable partners to clients.

With the valuable knowledge offered by the WMCP®, professionals can meet this in-demand need head-on.

According to Designation Outcomes Study findings, WMCP® designees reported:

• 144% higher growth in client retention
• 32% higher growth in earnings
• 28% higher growth in number of clients when compared to professionals with no designations¹

Additionally, of WMCP® designation holders, 74% reported improved client conversations, and 68% reported an improved ability to help clients with a greater number of goals.1 With the WMCP® under their belt, designees can expertly navigate complex client issues, and clients can trust them to build efficient portfolios, create wealth management strategies, and craft solutions to potential issues.

Gain Practical Knowledge and Prestige

For financial professionals who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree, the ChFC® Program serves as a worthwhile alternative to the CFP® Certification Education Program, which does require a degree. The program offers foundational knowledge that can be applied on day one through a flexible, on-demand learning path.

The ChFC® curriculum covers the essential areas of financial planning including insurance, taxation, retirement, and estate planning, but it also tackles more in-depth subjects such as behavioral finance, non-traditional family structures, and small business planning and features elaborate case studies to apply their knowledge. ChFC® students can gain the expertise and hands-on skills needed to start delivering efficient financial planning services no matter where they are in their career journey.

Based on real-life situations, the practical ChFC® curriculum prepares financial professionals to handle complex and unique client issues with ease. Of ChFC® designees:

• 72% reported improvement in client conversations
• 74% reported an improved ability to help clients with a greater number of goals
• 67% reported improvement in client satisfaction¹

Additionally, designees saw a 75% higher growth in client retention, 49% higher growth in number of clients, and 32% higher growth in earnings when compared to professionals with no designations.

The ChFC® is also ideal for those looking to work toward two prestigious professional achievements at once, as completion of the eight-course program qualifies designees to sit for the CFP® exam as well. Students can save time and money on their education, all while building their base of knowledge.

More From The College

• Browse Our Designations
• See the Full Designation Outcomes Study Results

Imagine a hypothetical scenario. A young person begins their professional career in one industry, however, after a few short years in the field, this person decides to shift roles. This person instead finds a role in financial services.

After finding some success in this new role, the individual decides this is a career worth pursuing and wants to support their goal by obtaining a professional designation. Unfortunately, there’s one problem — this person does not have a college degree. This puts this individual into a surprisingly large group. Though a bachelor’s degree may not seem like an exceedingly high mark to obtain, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 62.3% of Americans (or roughly five out of every eight Americans) do not have one.¹

Though not having a college degree does not restrict an individual from having a successful career, it does mean they cannot obtain what many view as the gold standard for a financial services mark, the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®). However, there are still options available to them, namely the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®).

What is the ChFC^®?

The ChFC®, similar to the CFP®, demonstrates a familiarity with several core competencies involved in the field of financial services. Those who complete the ChFC® program become versed in the essentials of financial planning, including:

• Investments and insurance
• Taxation
• Retirement and estate planning
• Special needs planning
• Small business planning

In many ways, the ChFC® fills the same function to the CFP®, differing in a few key areas such as the focus on behavioral finance. However, the fundamental differences between the two are the prerequisites. The ChFC® only requires a high school diploma to obtain, whereas a CFP® requires a college degree. This key difference makes the ChFC® the preferable option for financial services professionals who may have taken unconventional career paths to arrive where they are today.

How Can the ChFC^® Help an Advisor Get Ahead?

The main purpose for designations like the CFP® and ChFC® is the credibility, competency, and strong knowledge bases they offer to financial professionals that may be starting out their careers in the financial services industry. These designations serve as indicators of knowledge and trustworthiness and can be the difference in securing clients for some advisors.

FUSE Research Network found data supporting this trend in the 2024 Designation Outcomes Study. The study highlights how designations can help advisors to grow and thrive in their chosen field.

When looking at the data included in the 2024 Designation Outcomes Study, one can find that the ChFC® provides a significant career boost to the advisors who obtain it. According to the study, based on self-reported growth over the past three years compared to financial professionals with no designations, ChFC® designees demonstrate:

• 30% higher growth in production
• 32% higher growth in earnings
• 49% higher growth in number of clients
• 75% higher growth in client retention²

These numbers indicate positive trends for those who want to obtain a ChFC®. The growth in key statistics suggest that holders of the ChFC® designation can achieve significant levels of career success, even without the need for a college degree.

Trends De-Emphasizing College

Another trend emerging in the financial services industry is skill-based hiring. Skill-based hiring de-emphasizes the formal credentials such as academic degrees and experience, and instead evaluates individuals based off of assessments that measure abilities that are crucial to the role.

Skill-based hiring is particularly popular in financial services, as 87% of finance employers have adopted some form of skill-based hiring in their recruitment process.³

This level of implementation across the industry suggests that financial services as a whole may be willing to do away with the common notion that individuals seeking a professional career need to start with a college degree and could instead be shifting their focus towards fluency in core competencies.

Due to this shift and the flexibility it offers, the ChFC® may be more desirable than any point in its history, as it aligns with where the industry is headed as it looks to focus on capabilities rather than credentials. The ChFC® also offers financial professionals a clear path forward when approaching a second, more specialized designation. The RICP® program requires only two additional classes for ChFC® designees, allowing financial professionals to earn a specialized education that helps them grow in their chosen field of expertise. For many, the shift from credential-based hiring to skills-based hiring will be a welcome one.

More From The College

• Explore the ChFC®
• Read the 2024 Designation Outcomes Study
• Browse Designations

In this episode of the Shares podcast, Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®) Program Director Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® joins Jean Chatzky for a conversation on how financial professionals can specifically tailor their client approach to suit women at any stage of life, including planning with their spouse, as single individuals, or in divorced or widowed situations. In addition, they examine how making financial planning more personable and making client goals central to the planning process can create better outcomes for both advisors and clients while building more trusting planning relationships.

Jean Chatzky is the founder and CEO of HerMoney, as well as the coaching programs FinanceFixx and InvestingFixx. She’s the host of the podcast "HerMoney With Jean Chatzky" and appears on the PBS TV show Opportunity Knock$. She is a columnist for AARP and an education fellow for The Alliance for Lifetime Income. She was also the financial editor on NBC's Today Show for 25 years. Chatzky is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and a fierce advocate for financial literacy. Her latest books include Money Rules, Women with Money, and How To Money. Find her at HerMoney.com or @JeanChatzky everywhere.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.

More From The College

• Visit our Center for Women in Financial Services
• Get more from Jean Chatzky through Knowledge Hub+
   

Financial Advisor | Helping Clients Who Want to Age at Home
February 20, 2025

This article about helping clients prepare for the expenses involved in retiring at home features engaging insights from Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program Director Eric Ludwig, PhD, CFP® and Professor of Practice Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®.

ThinkAdvisor | American College Launches AI Retirement Planning Tools, Consumer Ed Course
March 5, 2025

This article details the exciting announcements made by The College at Horizons, the sold-out inaugural retirement planning conference, including a new AI retirement planning tool based on the RICP® Program curriculum and the consumer-focused Retirement Course™.

Financial Advisor | Are The Experts Worried About Social Security's Solvency?
March 5, 2025

Based on insights from Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®) Program Director Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® and other thought leaders’ discussion at Horizons, this article unpacks the potential downfall of Social Security.

Financial Advisor | Ed Slott: Traditional IRAs Are The Worst Possible Asset To Own
March 6, 2025

This article shares key takeaways from the Horizons session, “The Great Debate: Is the Traditional IRA Dead?” by Professors of Practice Ed Slott, CPA and Jeffrey Levine, CFP®, CPA/PFS, ChFC®, RICP®, CWS, AIF, BFA™, MSA. 
 

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — March 5, 2025 - The American College of Financial Services is proud to announce the launch of The Retirement Course™.

The course aims to address the significant knowledge gap that research, such as The College’s Retirement Income Literacy Study, consistently finds among American consumers when it comes to financial literacy related to retirement planning. The Retirement Course™ is available to learners free of charge and focuses on key retirement topics, such as income strategies, goal-setting, health care, housing options, and the psychological aspects of retirement. The course was unveiled at Horizons, The College’s sold-out retirement planning conference taking place this week in Coronado, California.

“The more we can empower individuals with knowledge, the better prepared they’ll be to achieve positive retirement outcomes, including the ability to ask the right questions when engaging with financial professionals,” said President and CEO George Nichols III, CAP®. “At The American College of Financial Services, we have a long-standing tradition of providing unbiased, high-quality education. With The Retirement Course™, we are offering a unique opportunity for individuals who are planning to retire within the next 10 to 15 years or are already retired to gain the critical knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their retirement.”

The Retirement Course™ is designed specifically for “mass affluent” individuals, ages 50 to 67, with a household annual income of over $75,000 and investable assets of at least $100,000. These individuals tend to have complex retirement income sources and needs. They are typically within a few years of retirement, yet still have enough time to adjust their strategies for optimal retirement outcomes. The course provides unbiased, non-commercial educational content, ensuring that learners receive accurate, reliable information without a sales pitch.

The course is divided into 14 modules, covering a range of retirement topics, such as:

• Retirement psychology and finding purpose
• Income sourcing and distribution sequencing
• Long-term care, health insurance, and Medicare considerations
• Legacy planning

Each module is designed for completion in about 30 minutes or less.

“The integrity of The Retirement Course^TM lies in its unbiased content. Unlike other retirement education programs that may be linked to specific products, our course is entirely focused on helping people make better-informed decisions based on their unique needs,” said Sandy Herzlich, vice president of retirement strategy at The American College of Financial Services.

In addition to the benefits for pre- and current retirees, The Retirement Course™ offers financial advisors an invaluable tool to build and strengthen relationships with their clients and prospects. Advisors can leverage the course’s educational content to provide value to those considering their retirement options or seeking to adjust their current plans.

The course is delivered through The American College of Financial Services’ robust online platform, which ensures ease of use and access to professional, high-quality production. Those who enroll can expect an engaging and informative learning experience that is both accessible and actionable.

“By improving retirement literacy on a large scale, we aim to increase awareness around retirement planning and the pivotal decisions consumers must make as they approach or are squarely in this phase of their lives,” Nichols said. “Ultimately, our goal is twofold: to help financial professionals perform the ever-important task of educating their clients and to foster a better retirement experience for individuals, no matter how they choose to manage their retirement finances.”

For more information about The Retirement Course™, visit our course page or contact:

Sarah Tremallo
908-967-0381 / Stremallo@jconnelly.com

Jared Trexler
610-526-1268 / jared.trexler@theamericancollege.edu

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

Founded in 1927, The American College of Financial Services is the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to financial services professionals. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has educated over 200,000 professionals across the United States through certificate, designation, and graduate degree programs. Its portfolio of applied knowledge also includes just-in-time learning and consumer financial education programs. The College’s faculty represents some of the foremost thought leaders in the financial services industry. Visit TheAmericanCollege.edu and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Discover all the ways you can expand your opportunities with us.

With the increasing popularity of donor-advised funds (DAFs) as flexible philanthropic planning vehicles, it’s important to understand when they are — and when they aren’t — an appropriate charitable strategy.

Join industry experts Andrew Grumet from Holland & Knight LLP and Corey Ziegler from Greater Horizons for an engaging and informative discussion, including an overview defining DAFs, an exploration of their potential as a philanthropic planning strategy, and an in-depth look into the implications of possible legislative proposals on their functionality. See how you can meet a growing need and expand the services you offer clients!

This on-demand webcast is only available in Knowledge Hub+. Knowledge Hub+ is a robust, just-in-time learning platform delivering over 80 hours of on-demand CFP Board-approved CE by leading academics, practitioners, and thought leaders. Learn more about Knowledge Hub+ and subscribe today! College designees can access Knowledge Hub+ as a benefit of the Professional Recertification Program without having to subscribe via My Learning Hub.