By Rick Kahler via Iris.xyz
If you’re in search of financial advisers, pay attention to the designations behind their names. For a financial planner, look for a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant), or MSFP (masters in financial planning). For an investment adviser, add a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation.
This is advice I’ve given readers forever. (Advice which may seem self-serving, since I hold most of these designations.) But is there any evidence that financial planning designations really matter? Professionals who hold them will say yes; those who don’t hold them will tell you they don’t make much difference.
A new study by financial planner Jeff Camarda, published as “Do professional designations matter?” in Financial Planning on May 26, 2017, finds that designations do matter when it comes to finding someone with a high probability of delivering competent financial planning advice to consumers.
It may seem intuitive that someone who has had to complete a series of educational courses, meet minimal experience requirements, and pass a rigorous exam would probably deliver more competent advice than someone who has not.
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