The CFP Board introduced Tuesday it was elevating the annual price of latest CFP certification and renewal by $120 to $575 to assist promote the license amid a “crowded area of designations.” CFPs who spoke with WealthManagement.com mentioned they’ll pay the extra prices, though some questioned the worth.
“Is it use of cash? I’m not precisely certain,” mentioned Joseph Conroy, monetary advisor at Harford Retirement Planners in Bel Air, Md. “If the CFP board requested my opinion, I’d say maintain the charges and advertising and marketing funds the identical. I don’t assume I’ll see a return on the additional cash I’m paying in renewal charges.”
Conroy, who obtained his CFP in 2010, remembers when the annual charge was $325, earlier than subsequent hikes, together with the most up-to-date improve in 2022. He mentioned he understands the push to extend consciousness of the designation, however mentioned no consumer has ever scheduled a gathering as a result of they noticed a CFP commercial and went by means of the web site to seek out him.
The CFP Board launched its first public consciousness marketing campaign in 2011. In an announcement of the rise, which is able to go into impact Oct. 1, the board mentioned it heard “loud and clear that selling the CFP model ought to stay a high precedence. The marketing campaign has raised consciousness in an enormous means, and now’s the time to develop.”
Of the brand new $575 annual charge, $280 will fund the advertising and marketing marketing campaign. That can equate to one-fourth of a fall media marketing campaign costing $12.5 million, with the CFP Board paying the rest by means of its funding reserve. By 2026, the CFP Board mentioned the certification will absolutely assist its marketing campaign efforts.
Dann Ryan, managing accomplice at New York-based Sincerus Advisory, has held his CFP for 15 years and mentioned he’ll renew regardless of the value hike. However he additionally worries the extra price can have the other impact: eroding an already robust model.
“I don’t assume anyone will significantly take into account giving up the designation on the elevated price alone, however I additionally assume they’re opening themselves to lots of pushback that can detract from the core focus,” he mentioned. “Which is the very last thing they want proper now when the business demographics are already so strained.”
CFP Board Chair Liz Miller, who additionally holds a CFP designation, mentioned its annual certificant survey discovered that 90% of CFPs say selling the model is a high precedence.
“The marketing campaign retains CFP certification entrance and middle with shoppers, builds belief and units CFP professionals other than the ‘alphabet soup’ of economic designations,” Miller mentioned by way of e-mail. “Each greenback of the charge improve goes on to increasing the general public consciousness marketing campaign to assist CFP professionals all year long. The expanded marketing campaign provides to our well-liked TV adverts proper as shoppers are in search of recommendation with year-end tax planning, retirement contributions and vacation gifting.”
The CFP Board additionally shared survey outcomes that confirmed a spike in unaided client consciousness of the CFP model from 17% in 2011 to 44% in 2024. Complete consciousness rose from 71% to 91%, and choice for working with a CFP versus a non-CFP advisor jumped from 22% to 89%.
Alvin Carlos, who holds CFP and CFA designations, took the other view, saying he feels the cash might be properly spent.
“Near half of the renewal charge will go towards their public consciousness marketing campaign,” he mentioned by way of e-mail. “It will assist educate the general public to search for the CFP designation when in search of a monetary advisor.”
Carlos, a monetary planner and managing accomplice with Washington, D.C.-based Distriact Capital Administration, mentioned he doesn’t “assume this might be a deal-breaker for many advisors,” and that the designation is price it even with the charge hike.
One other CFP-designated advisor was OK with the value hike, although he famous he doesn’t maintain the designation for its model recognition.
“I maintain the certificates because of the stringent necessities in place to acquire it and the persevering with training needed to keep up the designation,” Filip Telibasa, proprietor and planner at Benzina Wealth, a Sarasota, Fla.-based fee-only advisory, mentioned by way of e-mail. “It additionally provides an extra stage of safety for shoppers in that I’m required to behave as a fiduciary as a certificates holder (along with the fiduciary normal as a registered funding advisor).”
Telibasa famous a 2024 commercial geared toward college students who could also be occupied with monetary planning careers that drew backlash from some planners for portraying advisors as lax and having plenty of free time. The CFP Board ultimately pulled the marketing campaign, which was separate from the general public consciousness marketing campaign it’s funding with the charge improve.
Telibasa mentioned he can see a optimistic outcome from the charge hike if it raises consciousness and positively impacts “the lifetime of shoppers and planners alike.”
On Reddit, a thread for CFPs drew related skepticism concerning the advertising and marketing’s usefulness. Many nameless commentators criticized the transfer, although they famous that they might probably nonetheless pay it.
The CFP Board characterised the marketing campaign as serving to to maintain the designation “high of thoughts when shoppers make monetary choices.” The group didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the advisor’s criticism.
There are at the moment greater than 104,000 CFPs, up from the 62,000 it had when it began its first public consciousness marketing campaign in 2011.