What Comes After CFP® Certification?
[Finding Your Niche or Specialization With Post-CFP® Designations]
via Mike Kitces of the Nerd’s Eye View
As the ranks of CFP certificants are on the rise, the CFP® certification is increasingly transitioning from a “nice to have” designation to the minimum standard for financial planners. Yet as the popularity and adoption of CFP® certification grows, simply having one is no longer the differentiator that it once was. Instead, advisors are increasingly faced with pressure to move beyond “just” the CFP® marks, and explore “post-CFP” education to truly demonstrate expertise and differentiate.
Fortunately, the reality is that just as there are a growing number of CFP educational programs, there is also a growing range of post-CFP educational programs available, too. Ironically, though, trying to navigate the ‘alphabet soup’ of available programs can be as difficult for advisors choosing a credible program as it is for consumers choosing a credible advisor! Nonetheless, from designations designed to deepen subject matter expertise, to those built outright to support a standalone niche unto itself, there are a large number of choices available to those who have completed CFP® certification and are now asking … what’s next?
And so, we look through the list of the more credible programs that are available, from advanced designations in financial planning, wealth management, investments, and retirement, to niche educational programs for working with doctors, divorcees, or the LGBT community, and more.
Have you considered what your next step will be in your post-CFP studies?
CERTIFIED MEDICAL PLANNER® – The CMP® designation was team-created by [physician-executive and university professor] Dr. David Edward Marcinko (Founding CEO of the Institute of Medical Business Advisors Inc., and Editor of the textbooks: “Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors“ (Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™) AND “Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors” (Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™). It is intended for financial advisors [attorneys, accountants, insurance agents and management consultants, etc.] who aim specifically to serve physicians and the medical community.
Content focuses not only on the insurance and investment issues relevant to physicians, but also provides an understanding of the business of medical practices themselves so advisors can help work with their physician clients to have more successful businesses as well.
-Michael E. Kitces CFP® MSFS MTAX CLU ChFC REBC CASL
[www.Kitces.com]
Certified Medical Planner® program 