{"id":13106,"date":"2025-05-18T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltalktexas.hammerle.com\/?p=13106"},"modified":"2025-06-18T11:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T16:52:13","slug":"checking-professional-certifications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/legal-talk\/checking-professional-certifications\/","title":{"rendered":"The ABCs of Credentials: Checking Up on Professional Certifications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recently met someone who said he was a financial advisor and asked if I would refer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/lawyer-client-engagement-agreements\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clients<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to him. He handed me a business card that listed all sorts of certifications. At first glance, it looked impressive\u2013unless you knew enough to distinguish between bona fide and bogus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certifications are, admittedly, confusing. Some certifications require a state-issued license to practice, while others are merely awarded by an industry association. The meaningful certifications require exams, experience, and high professional standards. The so-so certifications just require a three-hour course or an application. The worthless certifications just require payment of a fee. But how to distinguish between them?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distinguishing Professional Designations<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are some authoritative sources that have databases of professional designations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ANAB, the ANSI National Accreditation Board<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NCCA, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.finra.org\/investors\/professional-designations\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FINRA database<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is especially user-friendly. It contains a description of 253 designations, and references credentials by the letters that follow the financial professional\u2019s name, the required training, the issuing organization,\u00a0 required continuing education, and how to confirm if an individual actually holds that credential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FINRA also carries a disclaimer that it does not approve or endorse any professional credential or designation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Types of Certifications<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few certifications are well-known and carry immense clout. They require at least a college degree, successful completion of one or more difficult professional exams, adherence to a strict code of ethics, and ongoing education:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CFP (Certified Financial Planner)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CPA (Certified Public Accountant)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some financial advisors advertise that they are registered under FINRA. What does that mean?\u00a0 FINRA is responsible for regulating brokers and dealers in the securities industry, but the conditions for registration are a bit surprising. A college degree is not required. Registrants do need to pass the required FINRA exams, such as the Securities Industry Essentials exam. The Series 7 and Series 65 are more advanced exams. Individuals must also be associated with a FINRA member firm to take the exams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Common Credentials<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some other common credentials and their meanings:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AEP \u2013 Accredited Estate Planner<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Must be an attorney, accountant, insurance professional and financial planner, or trust officer with 15 or more years\u2019 experience as an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning-probate\/estate-planning\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">estate planner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or successful completion of two graduate-level courses, take a proctored final exam, and participate in continuing education.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CTFA \u2013 Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisory\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Must have experience in wealth management and complete a multiple-choice proctored exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CAPP \u2013 Certified Asset Protection Planner\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Registrants complete a 16-part course and take an open-book, online exam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RAA \u2013 Registered Annuity Advisor\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has no meaning.\u00a0 FINRA cannot verify that this still exists.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">APFI \u2013 Accredited Personal Finance Instructor <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This credential is issued by the National Financial Educators Council and requires completion of an online training course and an online closed-book exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AIF \u2013 Accredited Investment Fiduciary\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Complete training from the issuing organization and pass that organization\u2019s test.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ATA \u2013 Accredited Tax Advisor\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Must have 3 years\u2019 experience in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/legal-talk\/estate-taxes-government-inefficiency-fraud\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tax<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> planning, consulting, and preparation, and take a closed-book proctored exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CDFA \u2013 Certified Divorce Financial Analyst\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was formerly known as a CDP, or Certified Divorce Planner. Must have a bachelor\u2019s degree with three years\u2019 experience, but if no degree, can still be certified if they have five years\u2019 experience. Requires online courses and a proctored final exam.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always Check the Credentials and Certifications<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t be fooled by the credentials behind a name. Look up the meaning and then verify that the individual indeed holds that credential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I did. Guess who did not make it onto my referral list?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Hammerle is an accredited estate planner and represents clients in estate planning, probate, guardianship, and contested litigation. She may be reached at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:legaltalktexas@hammerle.com\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">legaltalktexas@hammerle.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This blog contains general information only and does not constitute legal advice.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently met someone who said he was a financial advisor and asked if I would refer clients to him. He handed me a business card that listed all sorts of certifications. At first glance, it looked impressive\u2013unless you knew enough to distinguish between bona fide and bogus.\u00a0 Certifications are, admittedly, confusing. Some certifications require [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-legal-talk"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Checking Professional Certifications | Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not all credentials are created equal. 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