Hiring a CFP professional to create a financial plan will improve your financial situation and give you peace of mind. I’ve always believed in that statement and observe the results daily in our practice, but there wasn’t any statistical evidence to back up my claim. Now, there’s plenty.
The Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) began interviewing 7,383 Canadians for their 5-year Value of Financial Planning study in 2009 and now the first round of results have been published.
The study covers financial well being, emotional well being and the impact of working with a CFP Professional. A detailed summary of the study is available in the Spring edition of FP Standard but here are a few key findings that really show the impact of planning for both clients and advisors.
Results of interest for clients:
Again we have a huge opportunity to make an impact, this time on our clients’ financial well being, by focusing on financial planning.
Study participants were also asked to identify goals that were meaningful to them and with every financial goal identified (taking a vacation, paying down debt) the percentage of those who felt they were close to reaching their goals was significantly higher amongst those working with a CFP Professional.
Much of our focus during reviews in our practice is on helping our clients achieve their goals. We show our clients their progress towards each goal on our Client Dashboard in much the same way that the United Way uses 20-foot high thermometers to show the progress of their annual fundraising campaigns. Last year a client went to the base camp at Everest and another client recently started saving to build a well in Africa.
Results of interest for advisors:
- CFP professionals spend almost 25% more time with their clients and speak with their clients more frequently than non-certified advisors (advisors without CFP certification).
The FPSC study also found fewer than one-in-five Canadians have a comprehensive financial plan. Herein exists a massive opportunity for us to grow our practices by offering clients the planning they need and want.
marcwb.arthrell.6
I’m also sorry… I somewhat agree with you William, but do have a couple of questions…
Would you go and get medical help from someone who says he has read all the medical books, or would you seek the person who has a medical Dr degree? I think we all know the answer to that. So my question is simply if you have the knowledge and have acquired it, why would you not get a designation?
It likely will make you better at your job (since when has deepening your knowledge every been a bad thing… I think you’ll learn more stuff which will likely make you more $$, if not certainly more informed) which will only benefit your clients.
Of course we should all have the clients best interest at heart (that is exactly why we should be required to have designations)and doing your due diligence involves deepening your knowledge and staying current.
Of course this study is self serving… but saying a designation is really not necessary is certainly (in my opinion) not serving your clients. I would much rather (as a client) deal with someone who believes that adding knowledge will benefit his/her clientele assuming of course all other things being equal.
Friday, July 29 @ 3:56 pm //////
william.snodgrass
I’m sorry, but it seems to me that it is a self-serving study. Considering that the study was paid for by the Financial Planning Standards Council. I have seen non-profit organizations do the same thing, and have the same results.
Having a designation doesn’t give you more of the tools to do a better job, but doing what we are all trained to do is what is going to make us better advisors and giving clients the care and due diligence they deserve.
Thursday, July 07 @ 9:35 am //////