With Level 6 qualifications seen as the next big differentiator in financial advice, an age-old debate has been re-ignited. So, which is better in 2013: Chartered or Certified?
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"With the CFP particularly, I've come on in leaps and bounds. I didn't used to write a lot of financial plans, but the CFP has given me the confidence and knowledge and now I'm working a lot more with clients on financial planning rather than just the transactional parts of the advice process," he said.
In addition to being more practically valuable, both Jones and Reynolds claimed the CFP was more difficult to pass than the advanced diploma exams that led to Chartered status.
Which is better in 2013: Chartered or Certified?
"I did the CFP as my last qualification, thinking it would be easier because financial planning is what I do every day, but in fact it was significantly more work and took significantly longer than sitting an exam," said Jones. "The exams weren't too bad, the CFP was a struggle", added Reynolds.
Communications director at the IFP, Sue Whitbread, said the CFP is designed to be particularly challenging, which is why only 3% to 5% of advisers pass first time.
"[The] CFP is a far more technical approach: everything is put into this one case study. It's not like: ‘Oh, I'm just going to do my taxation and trusts exam, or my pensions exam', it's not like that", she said.
Richards is also quick to point out the differences between the CFP and the CII exams, and to dismiss any assertion that the CII's advanced diploma exams are ‘easier' than the CFP.
Advanced
"The [advanced diploma and the CFP] have been designed completely differently. The standards that the CII have put in place are the most used and most recognised in the UK. There are differences in the way the exams are structured, but both are absolutely appropriate," he said.
Richards added the CII is "constantly reviewing the appropriateness of the qualification structure". The body announced recently it is reviewing the standards and eligibility criteria for corporate Chartered status.
"There is some concern because we're seeing an increasing number of firms going towards Chartered," Richards explained, adding the CII may change the rule allowing firms to be Chartered if 50% of their directors hold Chartered status.
He also claimed there are a number of initiatives in place for different exam structures, though he was unable to confirm details. "What I can tell you," he added, "is our exam structure is deemed to be, in the whole, entirely appropriate. In fact, it is seen in other parts of the world as the benchmark."
