Certification Falling from Grace – Deserved or Not?
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
[Publisher-in-Chief] 
The Premise
In the summer [2008], we sent a random email blast to the first 200 Certified Financial Planners® on our list-serve. These were folks who had previously contacted us, and/or purchased our textbooks, handbooks, tools and/or dictionaries that assist accountants, financial advisors, attorneys, medical management consultants and all those working to assist physicians and medical professionals on business and economics matters.
The “Straw-Poll” Query
Our email blast asked the simple question:
“Did you ever voluntarily resign your license to use the CFP® mark?”
First Round Results
We received four positive responses [2%]. We then followed up to learn that 2 of the 4 were CPAs, one was a CFA and another was an MBA. Now, what do these results signify – probably nothing – or maybe an emerging trend?
www.HealthDictionarySeries.com
Repeat
So, last summer [2009], after the continuing Wall Street collapse, and the Somnath Basu PhD article on “CFP Trust” in Financial Advisor magazine and this blog, we sent out a follow-up email to the exact same 200 Certified Financial Planners® as before; but carved-out and replaced the 4 CFPs who had resigned the mark, with 4 others.
Link: http://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/i-jealously-shake-my-fist-at-somnath-basu/
This time we asked the question:
“Have you recently considered allowing your CFP mark to lapse; or resigning it?”
Second Round Results
This time we received exactly eight positive replies [4%] or double the number from the first round. One CFP® said:
“I am rethinking my entire business and marketing philosophy. This includes separation from any taint left over from recent industry scandals – and yes – even including my CFP® mark”
Assessment
This little experiment was not statistically significant by any means. And, again it probably is indicative of nothing. Yet, these types of questions must be boldly asked today; even if they were not even timidly asked yesterday.
Nevertheless, cited plausible reasons for the increased negative CFP® mark response may be:
- CFP BoS lacks modernity and membership alliance.
- SEC mismanagement.
- NASD/FINRA impotence.
- Wall Street greed.
- Lack of true fiduciary accountability.
- Client anger and public distrust.
- Advisor frustration at lost income.
- College for Financial Planning and American College credibility.
- ME-P operations in the medical niche advisory space.
- CFP® mark and related industry certification taint.
- Alternative degrees and available designations.
- Rise of RIAs and the fiduciary CMP™ mark for healthcare specificity.
- Resigning [doing] and considering [thinking] are not equivalent;
- etc, etc.
It is interesting to note that no CFP® resigned their mark who did not hold either another graduate degree [MBA, MSFS, MA, MS, PhD], or more rigorous industry [CFA and CPA] certification.
Assessment
So, is CFP mark allegiance just a union-like mentality of “united we stand – divided we fall”, by those with little to no gravitation pull of their own – or something else; ie., industry group think? You decide; and do tell us what you think.
www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com
Note: I am the founder of the CMP™ online education and certification program for financial advisors and consultants interested in the health economics, finance and medical practice management space, and a former [resigned] certified financial planner.
Conclusion
And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated? Is this an emerging trend? Is the financial services industry collapsing; like the AMA, or is this just a temporary situation until the next bull market? What about the “certification mark” condundrum; quasi-fiduciary status, etc?
Link: http://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/rip-retail-financial-services-industry/
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Dr. Jesse B. Arman
Vice President, Academic Affairs
College for Financial Planning
Thank you for your recent phone contact and civility. We would be pleased to address your concerns if sent to us in writing so we can post them for our readers and subscribers. Accuracy and transparency is a laudable goal.
Corrections and Complaints:
http://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/me-p-complaints-corrections/
Best.
Ann Miller; RN, MHA
[Executive Director]
I am a CFP® mark holder [is “certificant” actually a word in the English language?] and have been in the planning business for twenty years. But, I am relatively new to this blog and may have missed something. Nevertheless, Dr. Marcinko and Dr. Basu are correct about the CFP® marks.
The CFP® trade mark is voluntary and the CFP BoS has no power or authority to fine or censor an errant planner or to permanently remove an inept or dishonest one from the field. And, so-called “professional regulation” by means of trademark and intellectual property law is unique, yet pretty much meaningless to this non-professional sales field.
Academics like Dr. Basu, and pundits like the logical Dr. Marcinko, provide a valuable reflection that we as a community should fully consider. Their opinions do not sound like condemnations of the marks, or CFP Board, at all to me.
Rather, consider their observations as “opportunities” to improve. And, as the Wall Street collapse in 2009 demonstrates, there is so very much room for same in the retail financial product and services sales sector.
The CFP® mark is just plain marketing hype; pure and simple. We know it, and the public knows it. Stop pretending otherwise.
Jones
To Jones,
Well said; eloquent in fact. I agree completely and am no longer a CFP® by choice.
Geoff
Geoff,
Did you know that jurisdiction for consumer financial products is scattered over an array of federal agencies, none of which concentrates primarily on consumers and all of which delegate it to a backwater area of regulatory responsibility.
As this group of consumer law professors put it:
“Our review of the regulatory approaches at the existing agencies, whose jurisdiction includes but does not focus on consumer financial products, leads us to conclude that on balance they place a higher value on protecting the interest of financial product vendors who promote complex debt instruments using aggressive sales practices, than they do on protecting the interests of consumers in transparent, safe, and fair financial products.”
http://law.hofstra.edu/NewsAndEvents/PressReleases/pressreleases_20090928_consumer.html
I agree; don’t you?
Hank
I have read with amusement about FAs on other blogs and websites who brag about how they studied 100-200 hours for the “tough” CFP® examination. Yet, the CFP® required only a HS diploma until 2007, or so! What’s up with that?
In “Outliers”, a non-fiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell, the author examines the factors for high levels of success. Throughout the publication, Gladwell repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of studying/practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.
FAs, CFP®s and stock-brokers are experts … yeah, sure!
Montgomery