CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Course: Full form, Admission 2023, Fees, Syllabus, Entrance Exam, & Career Scope

CFP or Certified Financial Planner is a certification given by the FPSB India to individuals who wish to take up financial planning as a profession. The CFP is recognized internationally and considered the best for financial planning training, education, and ethics to practice. The FPSB India defines financial planning as a “process of developing strategies to help people manage their financial affairs to meet life goals.” It includes analyzing the client’s financial status, developing a financial plan for the client, and implementing it for the client’s benefit.  

A Certified Financial Planner can find several career opportunities in financial advisory services as well as in the finance sector. A financial planner can offer services in the capacity of a consultant or represent his/her organization in offering financial planning services to individuals and organizations. To earn the CFP certification, professionals must fulfill certain eligibility criteria and complete the 6-module CFP Certification Education Programme. CFP Syllabus assists in the development of individuals trained in the fields of Investment Planning, Financial Counseling, Banking, and so on. The main topics taught in CFP include Financial planning, risk analysis, insurance planning, tax and estate planning.

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CFP Colleges in India

CFP Course Highlights

The below table includes important points related to this course:

Particulars	Details
Course Name	CFP
Course full form	Certified Financial Planner
Eligibility	For Regular Pathway Eligibility, the candidate must have passed Class 12 and should have cleared the five exams covering all six modules. For Fast Track Pathway Eligibility, the candidate must have cleared CA/Intermediate level, CFA, ICWA, PhD among others.
Exam pattern	Multiple Choice Questions
Main Subjects	Financial Planning, Risk Analysis, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, Tax Planning etc.
Top Colleges in India	ICICIdirect Centre for Financial Learning (ICFL), Indian School of Business Management and Administration, IMS ProSchool Pune, Financial Planning Academy, ICOFP Delhi, etc.

Latest Updates:

• Click on the link to read importance of Financial Planning
• How to become a certified Financial Planner?
• Complete CFP Syllabus 2023

All About CFP

Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) assist their customers in making investment selections, retirement plans, tax planning, and insurance policy selection. CFPs in India are primarily responsible for visiting with clients, investigating new investment options, and analyzing various sorts of financial data. Applicants for CFP in India must finish the Certified Financial Planner Course given by the FPSB India after passing five exams covering six modules. The CFP certification is a worldwide recognized Certificate in Finance that is available both online and offline.

Why pursue CFP?

CFP course teaches students how to create a solid and recurring financial planning foundation. It also enables each customer to offer a pure financial planning solution regularly. Besides, it helps readily to prove decisions, lowering your risk of non-compliance. It will boost client confidence and assist them in reaching their life objectives. A certified CFP student can work marvels and bring about a positive impact in the financial industry on attractive job profiles like those of a Financial Controller, Management Trainee, Project Manager, and Accounting Officer. A CFP professional can get a starting salary of INR 14 LPA.

Who should pursue CFP?

Professionals might take this course in addition to their current job to increase their earnings. Also, students who aspire to work as financial advisors in the future might enroll in this program. Students interested in financial studies can pursue a CFP. This professional learning will help the candidates get acceleration in their careers. They need to be persistent, energetic, and good at problem-solving abilities. Besides, they need to develop some organizational abilities.

Role of FPSB India in Providing CFP Education Courses

FPSB India, the leading financial planning body in India and the Indian subsidiary of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) Ltd. is the sole entity in the country that are authorized education provider offering CFP education courses, authorizes a CFP certification exam administrator in India, and award CFP certification to those who complete CFP education, CFP exam and other CFP certification requirements.

One can earn the CFP certification under two modes – Regular Pathway and Fast Track Pathway. Given below are the CFP eligibility criteria for both modes.

Regular Pathway Eligibility

The candidate must have passed Class 12 and should have cleared the five exams covering all six modules of the certification program to be certified as a CFP by the FPSB.

Fast Track Pathway Eligibility

To be eligible to undertake the course through Fast Track Pathway the candidates should have approved qualifications/professional certifications:

1. Chartered Financial Analyst, from CFA Institute (USA)
2. Certified Public Accountant, from AICPA (USA), CMA, ACCA
3. Chartered Accountant, from ICAI, CA(Inter) with 3-year Articleship+B.Com
4. Fellow Member of the Insurance Institute of India (Life/General)
5. CAIIB + Graduation in any discipline
6. Postgraduate degree in Economics, Commerce, Finance/Financial Planning from a UGC approved University
7. MBA (all streams) and PGDM (all streams) from an AICTE-approved institution/Ministry of Education-approved institution/such other Indian or Foreign institution or business school.

Type of CFP Courses

A CFP certification is available in two forms, depending on the candidate's eligibility and qualification: Normal Pathway and Fast Track Pathway.

Regular Pathway:

• Students pursuing a Bachelor's degree often apply for CFP via the normal Route.
• Students who pass exams 1, 2, 3, and 4 are qualified to take exam 5, Advanced Financial Planning.
• Fast Track Pathway:
  Students must only pass the final exam, Advanced Financial Planning, to acquire CFP certification.
• Before taking Exam 5 under the Fast Track pathway, a candidate must have this relevant work experience.

CFP Exams 2024

The CFP certification program includes five exams for six modules. There is no separate exam for the first module. Its weightage is added to the rest five modules (20% each). The six modules are listed below:

Name of Module	Details
Module 1	Introduction To Financial Planning
Module 2	Risk Analysis & Insurance Planning
Module 3	Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits
Module 4	Investment Planning

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Entrance Exams for CFP

CFP Fees

CFP fee structure is different for Regular Pathway and Fast Track Pathway. Take a look at the registration, exam, and certification fees of both:

Fee Structure: Regular Pathway

Description	Fee
Student Registration	INR 18,000
Annual Subscription	INR 11,500
Course Material IPS/RTPS/REPS (For each of the three specialist courses)	INR 6,500
Exam IPS/RTPS/REPS (For each of the three specialist courses)	INR 6,750
Specialist Certification - IPS+RTPS+REPS	INR 10,500
Course Material IFP	INR 13,000
Financial Plan Assessment + CFP Exam (Bundled Price)	INR 23,500
Financial Plan Assessment (Standalone)	INR 10,500
CFP Exam (Standalone)	INR 13,000
CFP Certification	INR 10,500
Annual Renewal Fee CFP Certification/Specialist Certification	INR 10,500

Fee Details: Fast Track Pathway 

Description	Fee
Document Verification	INR 5000
Registration + Full Course Material (IPS/RTPS/REPS/IFP)	INR 34,000
Financial Plan Assessment + CFP Exam	INR 23,500
Financial Plan Assessment (Standalone)	INR 10,500
CFP Exam (Standalone)	INR 13,000
CFP Certification	INR 10,500
Annual Renewal Fee CFP Certification	INR 10,500

CFP Syllabus and Topics

The syllabus of FPSB’s financial planning program includes eight topics that cover all the aspects, right from the fundamentals of the program to the application of skills in the real world. Take a look at the CFP syllabus below:

CFP certification programme components	Details
1. Financial Planning Principles, Process and Skills	Financial planning process
	Financial planning practice and ethics
	Professional Skills
	Regulatory, economic and political environments that affect personal financial planning
	Law and compliance
	Time value of money
	Client characteristics
	Client risk profile
	Client engagement and communications
	Critical thinking
2. Financial Management	Principles of financial management
	Personal and small business balance sheet (net worth statement)
	Use and non-use assets
	Cash flow statement
	Budget preparation and management
	Savings analysis and strategy
	Emergency fund
	Credit and debt management
	Financial ratio analysis
	Specific purpose planning
3. Tax Principles and Optimisation	Taxation principles
	Tax planning objectives
	Tax planning principles
	Tax planning law and policy
	Tax analysis and calculations
	Tax planning strategies
	Tax planning for asset location
4. Investment Planning / Asset Management	Investment principles
	Investment objectives, constraints, capacity and suitability
	Investment time horizon
	Behavioral finance
	Asset classes
	Investment theory
	Performance measurement
	Asset allocation and performance
	Investment products – evaluation, selection and monitoring
5. Risk Management and Insurance Planning	Risk management principles
	Insurance planning objectives
	Analysis and evaluation of risk exposures
	Risk strategies
	Risk management products
	Insurance law and claims process
	Product, company and adviser selection and due diligence
6. Retirement Planning	Retirement principles
	Retirement objectives
	Retirement needs analysis and forecasts
	Potential sources of retirement income
	Retirement income and withdrawal projections and strategies
	Retirement planning and funding products
7. Estate Planning and Wealth transfer	Estate planning principles
	Estate planning objectives
	Legal related issues
	Asset ownership and its implications
	Estate planning documents
	Succession planning
	Special family situation
	The projected financial situation at death
	Estate planning strategies
	Philanthropy and charitable giving
	Management in the event of incapacity (i.e., living estate planning)
8. Integrated Financial Planning	Client engagement, communication, and financial planning process
	Collection and data
	Attitudes, goals and objectives
	Issues and problems
	Analysis
	Strategies
	Synthesis and recommendations
	Implementation
	Periodic review

Top CFP Colleges

The list of popular CFP Colleges includes the names of:

CFP Colleges in India	Tuition Fee
IMS ProSchool, Pune	INR 25,000 - 50,000
Indian School of Business Management and Administration, Bangalore	INR 20,900
IMS Proschool, Chennai	INR 25,000 - 35,000
Indian School of Business Management and Administration, Ahmedabad	INR 20,900
IMS Proschool, Navi Mumbai	INR 25,000 - 50,000
IMS Proschool, Bangalore	INR 25,000 - 50,000
IMS Proschool, Andheri West	INR 50,000
ICOFP Delhi	INR 37,500

Note: The information is sourced from the official body and may vary.

CFP Scope: Job Profiles & Recruiters

There is a great need for financial planning given the nation's expanding population and the yearly wages it generates. As a result, CFP specialists can be seen collaborating with people, corporations, banks, wealth management businesses, insurance companies, and accounting firms on problems about financial administration, estate preparation, taxes, insurance and retirement. The job role of a Certified Financial Planner includes essentially four tasks.

1. Identifying the client:  Interviewing individuals or companies to understand their financial goals, the purpose of investment and related concerns.

2. Assessing the client’s financial status:  Analyzing the client’s area of income, flow of income, assets, debts and problem areas. Foreseeing the future to the basis of historical and present status.

3. Making a financial plan for the client: After analyzing the status of the client’s financial goals and status, the CFP makes an investment plan for the client.

4. Implementing the plan and reviewing it periodically: If the plan is approved by the client, the CFP implements the plan and reviews it periodically to ensure that the client receives maximum benefit.

CFP Salary

The average salary of a certified financial planner is INR 14 lakh per year in India. There is a lot of scope for CFP’s to earn over and above the fixed salary in the form of bonus (INR 50,000 in average), profit sharing (INR 22,000 on average), or commission (INR 75,000 on average).

*Salary data has been obtained from Payscale.com

CFP Top Recruiters

Students can find employment in Law firms, Banking and Insurance sectors after completing the course in financial planning. Some of the top recruiters are:

• Axis Bank
• Yes Bank
• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Standard Chartered Bank
• SBI
• J P Morgan
• Post Offices
• Max Life
• LIC

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Click to know other Finance courses

Following are the most popular CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Colleges in India. Learn more about these CFP (Certified Financial Planner) colleges (Courses, Reviews, Answers & more) by downloading the Brochure.

Following are the most popular CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Specializations . You can explore the top Colleges offering these Specializations by clicking the links below.