Passing the CFP Board Exam
CFP® Certificants in the News
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
This timeless quote well over two millennia ago was penned by one of the world’s greatest military tacticians. How can you use General Tzu’s insights to defeat your opponent, the CFP Board exam? We bring good news and bad news. First the bad—one in three examinees will fail the CFP Board exam. Here’s the good news—you can increase your chance of passing by adopting 3 straightforward strategies.
- Create a personalized study plan.
- Practice, practice, and then practice some more.
- Aim for understanding rather than excess memorization.
We’ll begin with the all-important study plan.
Personalized Study Plan
The average American spends a full 2 working days planning their vacation. The most important tool in your toolbox for passing the CFP® Exam is your study plan and it deserves at least as much time as planning for vacation. Your study plan should be informed by:
- Your individual technical strengths and weaknesses, and
- CFP Board average topical weighting.
Most review course providers offer an initial diagnostic exam that summarizes your strengths and weaknesses. The author also recommends taking the CFP Board-released practice exam. Intuitively, you’ll prioritize developing strengths in your weakest areas but also remember to study those questions you missed in your strongest areas.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Student feedback over the years leads the author to believe that it’s all academic until you test your understanding against the kinds of tough questions you’re likely to encounter on your CFP Board exam. Choose a review course provider that offers at least 2,000 test bank questions (more is better) with answer rationales and mock CFP Board exams. Keep taking the test bank questions until you score over 70%. Use the feedback from your review course test bank and mock exams to re-study the concepts that you answered incorrectly.
Aim for Understanding
Let’s say you’ve memorized all of the technical characteristics of college funding strategies but did not focus as much on how a client’s goals aligned with the strategies. For example, custodial accounts are easy to set up and administer but do not provide kiddie tax shelter or parental control. Once the child reaches the age of termination (18 to 25, depending upon the state) the child can control the account. A client with the goals of tax-free savings and control over the account would be ill-served by a custodial account recommendation. Your focus should be on understanding concepts rather than just rote memorization. Be aware that CFP Board provides formulae and tax tables to examinees for use during the exam.
Summary
Fully preparing for the CFP Board exam is a bit like losing weight. We know what we have to do but it’s not easy. We must focus on the disciplined commitment to our plan to succeed. While opinions differ, about 150-200 hours of self-study are recommended based on your strengths and weaknesses.
Financial advisors and planners need a sound understanding of the competitive edge of joining the ranks of highly-trusted financial professional. Get that sound understanding through our CFP® Curriculum when you consider CFP® certification. You’ll discover a select few of the reasons our student pass rates are much higher than the national averages.
