The CFP Board announced Tuesday it was raising the annual cost of new CFP certification and renewal by $120 to $575 to help promote the license amid a “crowded field of designations.” CFPs who spoke with WealthManagement.com said they will pay the additional costs, although some questioned the value.
“Is it a good use of money? I’m not exactly sure,” said Joseph Conroy, financial advisor at Harford Retirement Planners in Bel Air, Md. “If the CFP board asked my opinion, I would say keep the fees and marketing budget the same. I don’t think I’ll see a return on the extra money I’m paying in renewal fees.”
Conroy, who got his CFP in 2010, remembers when the annual fee was $325, before subsequent hikes, including the most recent increase in 2022. He said he understands the push to increase awareness of the designation, but said no client has ever scheduled a meeting because they saw a CFP advertisement and went through the website to find him.
The CFP Board launched its first public awareness campaign in 2011. In an announcement of the increase, which will go into effect Oct. 1, the board said it heard “loud and clear that promoting the CFP brand should remain a top priority. The campaign has raised awareness in a big way, and now is the time to expand.”
Of the new $575 annual fee, $280 will fund the marketing campaign. That will equate to one-fourth of a fall media campaign costing $12.5 million, with the CFP Board paying the remainder through its investment reserve. By 2026, the CFP Board said the certification will fully support its campaign efforts.
Dann Ryan, managing partner at New York-based Sincerus Advisory, has held his CFP for 15 years and said he will renew despite the price hike. But he also worries the additional cost will have the opposite effect: eroding an already strong brand.
“I don’t think anybody will seriously consider giving up the designation on the increased cost alone, but I also think they’re opening themselves to a lot of pushback that will detract from the core focus,” he said. “Which is the last thing they need right now when the industry demographics are already so strained.”
CFP Board Chair Liz Miller, who also holds a CFP designation, said its annual certificant survey found that 90% of CFPs say promoting the brand is a top priority.
“The campaign keeps CFP certification front and center with consumers, builds trust and sets CFP professionals apart from the ‘alphabet soup’ of financial designations,” Miller said via email. “Every dollar of the fee increase is going directly to expanding the public awareness campaign to support CFP professionals throughout the year. The expanded campaign adds to our popular TV ads right as consumers are looking for advice with year-end tax planning, retirement contributions and holiday gifting.”
The CFP Board also shared survey results that showed a spike in unaided consumer awareness of the CFP brand from 17% in 2011 to 44% in 2024. Total awareness rose from 71% to 91%, and preference for working with a CFP as opposed to a non-CFP advisor jumped from 22% to 89%.
Alvin Carlos, who holds CFP and CFA designations, took the opposite view, saying he feels the money will be well spent.
“Close to half of the renewal fee will go toward their public awareness campaign,” he said via email. “This will help educate the public to look for the CFP designation when looking for a financial advisor.”
Carlos, a financial planner and managing partner with Washington, D.C.-based Distriact Capital Management, said he doesn’t “think this will be a deal-breaker for most advisors,” and that the designation is worth it even with the fee hike.
Another CFP-designated advisor was OK with the price hike, though he noted he doesn’t hold the designation for its brand recognition.
“I hold the certificate due to the stringent requirements in place to obtain it and the continuing education necessary to maintain the designation,” Filip Telibasa, owner and planner at Benzina Wealth, a Sarasota, Fla.-based fee-only advisory, said via email. “It also adds an additional level of security for clients in that I am required to act as a fiduciary as a certificate holder (in addition to the fiduciary standard as a registered investment advisor).”
Telibasa noted a 2024 advertisement aimed at students who may be interested in financial planning careers that drew backlash from some planners for portraying advisors as lax and having lots of free time. The CFP Board eventually pulled the campaign, which was separate from the public awareness campaign it is funding with the fee increase.
Telibasa said he can see a positive result from the fee hike if it raises awareness and positively impacts “the life of consumers and planners alike.”
On Reddit, a thread for CFPs drew similar skepticism about the marketing’s usefulness. Many anonymous commentators criticized the move, though they noted that they would likely still pay it.
The CFP Board characterized the campaign as helping to keep the designation “top of mind when consumers make financial decisions.” The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the advisor’s criticism.
There are currently more than 104,000 CFPs, up from the 62,000 it had when it started its first public awareness campaign in 2011.