United States
Hong KongDoes a CFA exempt you from the CFP coursework?
A CFA charter may satisfy the CFP coursework through transcript review under the accelerated path. The capstone generally remains, the exam certainly does, and six domains will be largely unfamiliar.
Partly, and the part it removes is not the part that determines whether you pass.
What the accelerated path removes
The Registered Program coursework, through transcript review - twelve to eighteen months and several thousand dollars.
Not the capstone in most cases. Not the exam, the degree, the experience or the ethics requirements.
What a CFA already covers
| Domain | Weight | CFA familiarity |
|---|---|---|
| Investment Planning | 17% | Strong, and deeper than required |
| General Principles | 15% | Partly - economics and quantitative methods |
| Professional Conduct | 8% | Familiar discipline, different rules entirely |
| Retirement | 18% | Little beyond portfolio construction |
| Tax Planning | 14% | Little on US individual tax |
| Risk Management and Insurance | 11% | Little |
| Estate Planning | 10% | Little |
| Psychology | 7% | Some behavioral finance, different application |
Retirement, tax, insurance and estate are 53 per cent between them and are largely new territory. That is where the study hours go.
A CFA charterholder has passed three of the hardest exams in finance and can reasonably assume the CFP will be manageable. It is manageable, and it is a different subject. Take a full mock cold before studying - the domain breakdown will be informative.
The conduct trap
CFA Institute has its own Code and Standards, and a charterholder knows them well. CFP Board's are different in content and structure.
Answering a CFP professional conduct question from CFA Institute standards produces a plausible wrong answer, and that is exactly how the domain catches charterholders.
Should you do it
If you advise households, yes. The CFA covers investment depth and almost nothing about the questions individual clients actually ask - Social Security claiming, estate structure, insurance need, retirement withdrawal order.
If you work in institutional asset management, probably not. The CFP is a household planning credential and it will sit unused.
How to prepare
Budget the full 250 to 300 hours, weighted heavily to retirement, tax, insurance and estate. Skim investment rather than revising it.
And consider a review course despite the accelerated path, because you will have no coursework to fall back on and four unfamiliar domains to cover.
CFP® is a registered mark of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, CFP Board. Confirm details against cfp.net, which is the authority.
Common questions
Does a CFA charter exempt you from the CFP coursework?
It may satisfy it through transcript review under the accelerated path, removing twelve to eighteen months. The capstone generally remains, and the exam certainly does.
How much of the CFP does a CFA already cover?
Investment planning strongly at 17 per cent, and parts of general principles. Retirement, tax, insurance and estate are 53 per cent between them and are largely new.
What is the specific trap for charterholders?
Professional conduct. CFA Institute has its own Code and Standards, and answering a CFP question from them produces a plausible wrong answer.
Should a CFA charterholder get the CFP?
If advising households, yes - the CFA covers almost nothing about Social Security claiming, estate structure, insurance need or withdrawal order. In institutional asset management, probably not.
How should a charterholder prepare?
Budget the full 250 to 300 hours weighted to retirement, tax, insurance and estate, skim investment, and consider a review course since there is no coursework to fall back on.