Like I say, the only reason I would do the CFP is for marketability purposes.
You don’t see CFAI running a 1st quarter Super Bowl ad, do you? You don’t hear Dave Ramsey saying, “Ask your advisor if he’s a CFA.” You don’t see many CFA Charterholders quoted in Kiplingers.
Nope - I agree. They recently doubled our CFP fees to start their marketing campaign. I see it every once in a while I suppose. None of my clients know what a CFA is. All my mutual fund marketing reps do, but they don’t pay me either…
^So…if you were a CFA+CPA, would you do it for just the marketing purposes? Do you think it matters in your business?
I actually suggested this idea through email.
In retail I think it helps - especially if your competitors have it & proudly hold it out there. Especially being a CFA & CPA as well on top of that. If you were going to spend $1-$2k on marketing that would be a decent ROI compared to sponsoring a golf tournament or something. The way I felt was that if it helped me pick up one extra client it payed for itself (excluding the study time). I wish more people knew about the CFA in the retail space. If I was on the client side I would choose a CFA over a CFP any day though.