Alphabet Soup / Unregulated Credentials

What are all those initials behind a financial professionals name?

One of the greatest difficulties for persons seeking advise from financial professionals today is knowing if the advisor is qualified to assist them. It seems the industry only compounds this confusion by continually coming up with new certifications for those persons working in the industry. Many of these “so-called” certifications are nothing

more than deceptive credentialing. This is because many of these “so-called” credentials are given out to almost anyone in the industry. The training classes are filled with techniques on selling rather than money management and the test are little more than a formality. Most financial professionals are simply unwitting victims of the industry caught up in the selling process spiral. You’ll find when looking some of these credentials only require a few hours of training which is hardly enough to make someone a financial expert in a given area.

There are some exceptions to this deceptive credentialing practice. The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation (See Self Regulated Credentials) and a few others such as the Accredited Estate Planner (AEP) should be differentiated. One should still be aware that regardless of the education a financial professional can be subject to biasing depending upon how they are compensated. (See ?) When evaluating the listing pay careful attention to two areas which are the Prerequisite Section and the Public Disciplinary section. If the prerequisite section requires someone to be a CPA, CFP, MBA, or attorney it is most likely a solid credential with true requirements for completion. The other section to evaluate carefully is the Public Disciplinary Process. If there is no process the organization granting the designation does not self regulate and as most people are aware even educated professionals can act dishonestly.