TRAIL OF LETTERS behind someone’s name on a business card offers added
weight in the credentials department, but
any sense of comfort sparked in a casual
observer is often coupled with confusion.
What do all those initials mean? Making
sense of the alphabet soup is not easy for
the uninitiated.
Here are a few samples: CFA, CFP,
CIM, FMA, RFP. These letters, and others, are often found after a financial planner’s name.
The designations do two things. First,
the letters (hopefully) let clients and oth-
ers know what type of expertise a planner
has. “Each designation is distinct in the
role it does to prepare a financial profes-
sional to play within the industry,” said
Tom Robinson (Ph.D., CFA), managing di-
rector of education with the CFA Institute
in Toronto, an international association of
investment professionals that awards the
CFA and CIPM designations.
WHAT THOSE
INITIALS MEAN
Accountants
looking to add
credentials after
their names have a
diverse array of
letters to choose
from. Among the
more common
designations for
financial advisors,
planners and
specialists in
Canada are the
follo wing — in
alphabetical
order:
CIM
CANADIAN
INVESTMENT
MANAGER (CIM)
If you want to sell
mutual funds, this
designation may be
of interest to you.
Awarded by the
Canadian Securities
Institute, the letters
come only after
candidates complete
courses in Canadian
securities, investment
and portfolio
management.
CFP
CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL
PLANNER (CFP)
According to the
Financial Planners
Standards Council
that awards this
designation, CFP is
“the industry gold
standard” in financial
planning with
more than 17,500
individuals qualified
to use these letters
in this country alone.
Candidates must
successfully complete
standardized exams
as well as have
financial planning
work experience.
