Certifications
About the CFP® Certification
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification is a Professional Designation in financial planning. CFP® professionals meet rigorous education, training, and ethical standards, and are committed to serving their clients' best interests to prepare them for a more secure tomorrow. CFP® holders are required to complete 30 hours for continuing education credits annually and recommit to the standard of ethics as outlined by the CFP® board.
There is a 7-step Financial Planning process to be followed which is: understand the circumstances, gather data, analyze, develop recommendations, present recommendations, implement and monitor.
The CFP® certification is considered the gold standard in financial planning.
About the RICP® Certification
The Retirement Income Certified Professional designation is offered through the American College of Financial Services. It is a deeper dive into the aspects of planning for Retirement such as Social Security claiming strategies, Medicare and other healthcare choices, planning for potential long-term care needs and how to tax efficiently distribute retirement income and savings while in retirement.
The RICP® designation provides comprehensive instruction on building integrated and comprehensive retirement financial plans. A key focus is understanding and choosing a sustainable retirement income strategy from available resources—whether that means using systematic withdrawals from a portfolio, building an retirement income floor with bonds or annuities, or using a bucket strategy.
The program was developed by more than 45 of the nation's top financial retirement advisors. RICP® designation holders are required to complete 15 hours of continuing education every two years and adhere to the Board of Trustees adopted a Code of Ethics and Professional Pledge.