FNS50615 Diploma in Financial Planning | Kaplan Professional (2023)

FAQs

Is College for Financial Planning legit? ›

About the College for Financial Planning

CFFP graduates are consistently ranked among the top financial advisors in the nation. Graduates report increases in earnings, client numbers and job satisfaction. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.

A full-time student with a clear study plan could progress through all six units in 6 – 9 months. A student working alongside their study might take 12 – 18 months. A student working with weekly study leave may achieve this in 9 months.

The Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning is delivered 100% online with six study intakes per year. This gives you the flexibility to manage your study around your career and personal commitments. The qualification can be completed in 1.25 years full-time, 2.5 years part-time or 10 months accelerated full-time.

College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company (CFFP) remains a separate institution, owned by Kaplan and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

The CFP^® exam is not easy. It requires a significant investment of time to be successful. But most of the time, failure on the exam is the result of poor preparation. Investing in exam preparation is a way to avoid that.

Earning your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification is the most important step you can take to accelerate your career and serve your clients. As a CFP® professional, you'll enjoy a rewarding, in-demand career while helping people achieve their financial dreams.

These can be taken at universities which award degrees, or specialist schools which do not offer degrees, but offer vocational courses. The level 4 course gives 120 credits towards your university. A higher apprenticeship will give a level 4 qualification.

The CFP designation is the highest professional standard in the financial planning industry. CFP denotes that a financial planner has extensive training and knowledge, as there are rigorous education requirements and a lengthy certification exam to earn the certification.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute regulates and awards the CFA qualification, which is the highest level of qualification in the investment management profession.

While you still don't quite get the prestige of master's degree, a graduate diploma is still "higher" than a bachelor degree (it's a postgrad qualification after all) and it delivers more in-depth knowledge than a graduate certificate.

What is the difference between diploma and grad dip? ›

The main difference between a graduate certificate vs graduate diploma is the time it takes to complete each. Compared to the four-five months it takes to finish a graduate certificate, it takes up to 12 months of full-time study to complete the eight units required in a graduate diploma.

Honours, graduate certificates and graduate diplomas are classed as postgraduate degrees. In order to study a postgraduate degree, you must first hold an undergraduate degree. Postgraduate degrees give you more in-depth theoretical knowledge of a particular study area.

What percentage of financial advisors are CFP® professionals? About 29% of financial advisors in the United States are CFP® professionals. There are approximately 617,549 registered representatives eligible to sell securities in the United States, according to FINRA.

Seventy percent of millionaire households used some sort of financial adviser, and the average length of that relationship spanned 10 years, the survey found.

If you are considering taking the CFP exam, you've probably wondered how many hours are required to study, in order to be ready to pass the CFP exam. Well, to be truly “exam ready”, you should expect to study about 200 hours to prepare for the exam.

Candidates will find that creating a structured study schedule is critical for successfully preparing to take the exam. The general recommendation is to devote at least 10 hours per week, with a total of 150-250 hours (which means approximately 4-6 months of preparation), to study for the CFP exam.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

The CFA designation is reputed to be the most difficult certification to obtain, which works to the benefit of those who succeed. The focus of the program is on investment analysis and portfolio management.

Individuals may attempt the exam a maximum of three times within a 24-month period. If an individual fails the exam 3 times in a 24-month period, they must sit-out three exam administrations before registering for another attempt.

The salaries of Certified Financial Planner (CFP)s in the US range from $39,300 to $187,200 , with a median salary of $124,870 . The middle 50% of Certified Financial Planner (CFP)s makes between $110,336 and $124,580, with the top 83% making $187,200.

Can you make good money as a financial planner? ›

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for personal financial advisors was $94,170 in May 2021. It means half of the financial advisors earned more than that, and half earned less. One in ten earned less than $47,570, while one in ten made more than $208,000. A fun fact!

Overview: Diploma vs Degree

A degree is a credential granted by a college or university upon satisfactory completion of study at a specific level in a chosen stream. A diploma is a certificate awarded by an educational institution to a student for completing a specific course and passing the examination.

The Professional Diploma is accredited by Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin and the award is placed at Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

A Diploma qualification succeeds a Certificate IV, and dives further into the technical skills required for an individual's role. They help provide a more thorough understanding of an industry and its associated standards, practices, and responsibilities.

Successful advisers with five-to-10 years of experience can earn in excess of $300k. A decade or more in, hockey-stick growth in take-home pay is not unheard of.

In this type of fee arrangement, a financial advisor makes their money from commissions. Advisors earn these fees when they recommend and sell specific financial products, such as mutual funds or annuities, to a client. These are often payable in addition to the above client fees.

80-90% of financial advisors fail and close their firm within the first three years of business. This means only 10-20% of financial advisors are ultimately successful.

The major can vary, but most are in finance, marketing, or business. A Master's in Business Administration (MBA) is not required but certainly adds to the financial advisor's resume.

Financial Planner Job Growth in the Next Decade

From now to 2031, job opportunities for personal financial advisors are expected to grow much faster than employment in other occupations, at a rate of 15 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an increase of 50,900 jobs.

While both offer guidance on investments, taxes and other financial matters, financial advisors generally focus on managing an individual's investment portfolios, while financial planners take a look at the entire financial picture and an individual's long-term goals.

Is a degree higher than a diploma? ›

Diplomas: Usually take about 1 – 2 years | Degrees: Usually take 3 – 4 years. Diplomas: Start at Level 5 | Degrees: Also start at Level 5. Diplomas: Have an exit point, so you can graduate with a qualification sooner | Degrees: You'll dedicate to 3 years to become qualified with a bachelors degree.

The Higher Diploma is an award equivalent to fourth or third year of bachelor's degree, it's a one-year course with 30 credit hours after achieving the diploma.

The number of learning credits you get for a diploma depends on the level of the diploma you complete. For example, a Level 2 diploma can be worth 60 credits, whereas a Level 7 diploma might be worth 120 credits.

If you've got a Bachelor's degree and want to continue your studies, a Master's degree is the logical next step. Pursue a Master's degree to enhance your skills and employability and to become an expert in your subject. It can also lead to further study, such as a PhD.

What does Dip mean? Diploma (Dip) is a certificate awarded by an educational institution to show that someone has successfully completed a course of study.

Degrees typically provide individuals with a greater depth of knowledge than certificates. Certificate programs usually focus on teaching students specific and practical skills related to that career field.

You can normally convert your Higher Education Diploma to a full degree with an extra year of study if the subjects are closely related, meaning you simply join the degree programme at the start of its third year.

Double Use of Courses (Double Dipping)

Postgraduate qualifications are structured as follows:

Postgraduate diploma. Master's degree (coursework) Master's degree (research) Doctoral degree.

Who is the youngest CFP professional? ›

Then there's Andrew Damcevski. Damcevski, 24, is among the youngest planners in America with a CFP designation. He became a certified financial planner in March 2017 and co-founded a fee-only practice the following month.

Unlike some certificates that are worth little more than the paper they're printed on, the CFP designation is one of the most prestigious financial certificates around.

Financial advisors who sail past low six figures and enter high six figures (and sometimes seven figures) have mastered two things: leverage and scale. Leverage is all about having things work separately from your time.

Generally, having between $50,000 and $500,000 of liquid assets to invest can be a good point to start looking at hiring a financial advisor. You do not need a much higher net worth in order to invest with a financial advisor.

While 1.5% is on the higher end for financial advisor services, if that's what it takes to get the returns you want then it's not overpaying, so to speak. Staying around 1% for your fee may be standard but it certainly isn't the high end. You need to decide what you're willing to pay for what you're receiving.

Typically, it takes 18-24 months to become a CFP® professional, but the certification process offers flexibility so you can make it work for you.

Is the CFP exam harder than the CPA Exam? CPA is more challenging than CFP. The historical pass rate has been greater than sixty percent, indicating that the tests are moderately difficult. The total pass rate for 2019 was 62%, while the pass rate for first-time test-takers was 66%.

That said, becoming a CFP is no cake walk. The certified financial planner exam is likely the hardest test you'll ever take, Dorsainvil says. "Think of the hardest exam you took in college then times it by 10." Preparing to take the CFP exam begins months or even years before you actually sit to take the test.

An advisor who believes in having a long-term relationship with you—and not merely a series of commission-generating transactions—can be considered trustworthy. Ask for referrals and then run a background check on the advisors that you narrow down such as from FINRA's free BrokerCheck service.

While there is some overlap between the two credentials, they have different focus areas. A CFP® professional focuses on helping individuals with their personal investments, whereas a CFA charter holder generally specializes in selecting investments for institutional investors.

How long does it take to get the CRPS designation? ›

Students must complete the CRPS^® program in 120 days, and there is a final exam. The final exam contains 80 questions, and the passing score is 70 percent.

The term Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) refers to a financial professional who specializes in retirement income planning. Financial professionals earn the RICP designation after following the program for retirement income professionals.

The Most Common Reasons That Stockbrokers and Financial Advisors Are Sued. Stockbrokers and financial advisors fail to live up to their professional duties in a variety of ways. In some cases, investor lawsuits and arbitration claims involve allegations of outright theft or forgery of documents.

– The CFA Institute says a CFA charter holder can earn between $126,000 and $177,000. – Comparably.com data from Feb. 2023 shows the average CFP salary in the U.S. is $121,099. The total range is between $39,300 and $187,200.

Salaries can vary widely for both CFAs and CPAs based on location, experience level, and company size. That being said, according to Payscale the average salary for a CFA is $102,000 and the average salary for a CPA is $94,000.

Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS)

The final qualifying exam is a closed-book, online exam. The candidates who complete the process earn the right to use the CRPC designation, which is valid for two years. After this, CRPC professionals must complete 16 hours of continuing education and a minimal fee to continue earning the designation.

A Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP) has a proven expertise in financial planning, which helps them better advise their clients. They are different than most paraplanners because the average paraplanner rarely has a formal certification.

CRPCs are not the same as certified financial planners (CFP). The CFP provides advisory services across all aspects of an individual's personal financial affairs while CRPCs are focused on retirement planning. The CRPC program is developed with a focus on client-centered problem-solving.

However, before receiving the RICP designation, applicants must gain three years of experience in financial planning or a related profession. They must also: Complete three in-depth courses in the RICP curriculum. Agree to abide by a code of ethics.

What is a CFP compared to a CPA? ›

A CPA is a certified public accountant who performs audits or prepares complex tax returns for an organization. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) has expertise in the areas of financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and so forth.