The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) qualification is increasingly becoming the accreditation of choice for companies making top-level personal financial advice-related appointments, yet demand for the qualification continues to far outstrip supply, an industry expert says.

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, Managing Director of leading executive headhunting firm Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, says that due to the increased need for financial advisory firms to comply with regulations, a CFP qualification affords its holder “almost automatic” entry to prized positions, and will give one “a huge edge” in the industry.

“Demand for financial planners with a CFP accreditation far exceeds the number of qualified individuals. Those who hold the qualification are highly sought after in today’s personal financial planning and wealth management sectors,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

She says that at the most recent annual Financial Planning Institute (FPI) convention, held in Johannesburg in June, it was pointed out that the need for competent financial planners grew at a rate of six percent globally every year. But while South Africa boasts more than 3700 CFP professionals, making it one of the world’s financial planning hotspots, the need continues to grow unabated.

The FPI, which administers the CFP accreditation in South Africa, is an affiliate of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), which administers the accreditation worldwide. According to the FPSB, there are close to 134 000 Certified Financial Planners worldwide, with tremendous growth being recorded in China, Brazil, India and Indonesia. South Africa is ranked as the country with the 7th largest number of CFPs.

“The qualification is equal to a post-graduate qualification, and lends credibility to an individual in an industry where previously anyone was allowed to practice. But now that the financial environment has become much more heavily regulated, the CFP allows its holder access to a very elite ‘club’.”

Jack Hammer head-hunts only top-level executives, and Goodman-Bhyat says leading financial institutions in the private wealth management sector are without fail asking for candidates with a CFP.

“When organisations involved in private banking and wealth management expand, their first port of call is to cast their net for individuals who either have, or are almost qualified as, a CFP. Previously it was not uncommon for brokers to have barely scraped by with a matric. Now the industry is very tough to break into. She adds that a CFP does not automatically equate to securing the highest of salaries, but rather enables access to scarce opportunities.

“The candidate with the CFP will get the best region to work in, and be able to call the shots in organisations vying for market share of potential clients. What was previously a ‘personality and schmooze’ industry has now become a highly regulated professional environment.”

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