Financial Woman Ditches her CFP Credentials

[mickeyd]

I suppose financial folks ditch their hard-earned credentials and designations all of the time, but this tale explains just how this woman feels about the entire deal and how it is no longer important to her.

Especially when I left the comfort of my office, I faced incorrect assumptions. At industry events, people would ask if I was someone's wife or assistant.
Handing colleagues a business card with those three letters followed by the little ® added the instant credibility that I wasn't being afforded on my merit.
For a decade, I've kept the designation for credibility. This year, I finally realized I no longer need that boost. I have built a business using my unique set of skills, I have a strong and supportive network, and I have found my authentic voice. I don't need outside credentials to bolster my credibility. I have my own.
The date I officially relinquished the credentials happened to fall on my 40th birthday. That coincidence feels significant; I'm now ready to step out on my own merit.

https://www.financial-planning.com/...HBrV3vfo6OSD73Wo6yZC8L4Az&bt_ts=1581368750207

 

[Murf2]

Yeah either that or she didn’t want to follow their guidelines.[emoji42]

ETA https://www.cfp.net/ethics/code-of-ethics-and-standards-of-conduct

 

[Gumby]

Does maintaining the CFP credential cost money?

ETA: Found my own answer. Yes, it requires an annual fee, although I could not determine how much it is by reading the CFB Board website. It is at least $145 per year. So, I can see that if you have a good business going, you may feel you don't need the credential and may want to save some money.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Yes, it's about $350 for the annual renewal plus a lot of continuing ed courses.

 

[Jerry1]

Yes, it's about $350 for the annual renewal plus a lot of continuing ed courses.

The continuing education is, for me, the big thing she’s giving up. Sure, you can do it voluntarily, but that certification is a good certification of the education and keeping up to date.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I held the highest designation in my industry. I got it relatively young and couldn't wait to use it. I got new cards, signs, letterhead and put it on everything I could think of. It did give me some credibility within my industry since I was young and didn't go to a prestigious college like most did. After a few years I earned a few more designations and had a whole bunch of letters behind my name. I saw someone similar using all of their designations and said to myself, "If I have to tell people how much I know, I'm not showing them how much I know".


I dropped all of the designations except one, and only used that within the industry.


My clients could not have cared less either way. My code of ethics was the same before I became a member of the C#&@ Society so it didn't change a thing anyway. I still paid the dues til I FIRE'd. FIRE is my favorite designation, and I don't use that in public either.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

The continuing education is, for me, the big thing she’s giving up. Sure, you can do it voluntarily, but that certification is a good certification of the education and keeping up to date.

Most of the continuing ed I've done has been a waste of time. I get my industry knowledge other ways and could have passed the continuing education test without taking the course.

Like Stormy, most of my clients don't know what the designation is- and don't care.

 

[splitwdw]

Murf2, There's nothing in the original link that says she didn't want to follow the guidelines so don't know why you'd post that.
Gumby, It says in the original link that the dues at the time that she gave up her credentials were $355.
Jerry1, She was only a financial planner for a year before going back to concentrating on a different aspect of the business she was working for. For the work she was doing she didn't need the continuing education. She says more than once in the article that she got and kept the credentials for credibility.

 

[Gumby]

I didn't read the initial link, because it wanted me to register. I agree that if one didn't need the designation to build and maintain a business, then it would be a waste of money to pay that much every year and do the continuing education. Heck, I retired from the bar so I wouldn't have to do those things.

 

[Murf2]

Murf2, There's nothing in the original link that says she didn't want to follow the guidelines so don't know why you'd post that.
Gumby, It says in the original link that the dues at the time that she gave up her credentials were $355.
Jerry1, She was only a financial planner for a year before going back to concentrating on a different aspect of the business she was working for. For the work she was doing she didn't need the continuing education. She says more than once in the article that she got and kept the credentials for credibility.

Thanks for posting. After reading your post, I registered to read the full link. From the quote in the original post I didn’t pick up on the fact that she was no longer a financial planner.
Now I see the story has nothing to do with finance and was more a story of a woman finding her confidence in a male dominated
business.

 

[splitwdw]

I'm not registered on original link either. It said I had 2 more articles I could read before I'd have to register. I don't like being forced to register or subscribe to a web site that I may only look at once a year.