The mission of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning.
Certified Financial Planners must meet stringent examination, education, experience and ethics requirements. There are 55,000 CFP® certificate holders in the U.S.
The CFA Institute is a global, not-for-profit association of investment professionals. CFA Institute administers the CFA program to promote the highest ethical standards and offer a range of educational opportunities around the world.
The CFA designation is the global standard for measuring portfolio management and investment analysis competence and integrity. There are more than 90,000 voting members and 135 societies worldwide. All agree to abide by the association’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
A Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance is sought by those who seek a graduate level of understanding, research and analytical capability and practice of business marketing, management, finance, law, information systems and strategy. Completing an MBA requires a substantial time commitment and typically requires the candidate to dedicate more than 2,000 hours to their studies over several years.