FINRA's Professional Designations database lists 264 designations by our count of its A to Z index, and FINRA says it does not approve or endorse any of them (FINRA, Professional Designations, checked October 14, 2026).
Titles, licenses and designations are not the same thing
A title is what someone calls themselves. A license is government permission to sell or advise. A designation is letters granted by a private organization. They get blended together on business cards.
"Financial advisor," "wealth manager" and "retirement specialist" are generally job titles, not licenses. The Government Accountability Office found there is no specific, direct regulation of "financial planners" as such at the federal or state level; they are regulated for what they do, as investment advisers, brokers or insurance agents (GAO-11-235, January 18, 2011). The SEC and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) warn that the requirements behind titles range "from rigorous to nothing at all," and that some titles "may be simply purchased, or even made up" (SEC-NASAA Investor Bulletin: Making Sense of Financial Professional Titles, checked October 14, 2026).
There is one notable limit. Under Regulation Best Interest, the SEC presumes that a broker who is not also registered with an investment adviser violates its disclosure rule by using "adviser" or "advisor" in a name or title (SEC Release 34-86031, June 5, 2019). That rule covers securities brokers. It does not govern someone who holds only an insurance license.
Licenses: what the person may sell, and the duty they owe
Investment adviser representative (Series 65 or 66 exam). Advises for a fee through a registered investment adviser. The SEC says the adviser's fiduciary duty "applies to the entire relationship," but it also "follows the contours" of the relationship the client agrees to (SEC Release IA-5248, June 5, 2019). Read what the agreement covers.
Registered representative of a broker-dealer (Series 6 or 7). Sells securities and is held to Regulation Best Interest when recommending them, with compliance required from June 30, 2020 (SEC Release 34-86031, June 5, 2019). Best interest at the time of a recommendation is not the same as an ongoing fiduciary duty.
Insurance license. Issued by your state. It allows the sale of insurance products such as life insurance and fixed or indexed annuities. Variable annuities also require securities registration, so the seller may be regulated as both a broker's representative and an insurance agent (SEC-NASAA Investor Bulletin, checked October 14, 2026).
One person can hold several of these. That is why the question is not "are you a fiduciary" but "are you a fiduciary on this account, for this recommendation, in writing."
Designations: what earning the letters actually took
FINRA's database shows, for each designation, the prerequisites, the exam, continuing education and whether the issuer publishes a list of disciplined holders (FINRA, Professional Designations, checked October 14, 2026). The table below pulls from it.
Some credentials require a degree or years of experience, a proctored exam and ongoing education: the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Enrolled Agent (EA), which the IRS calls the highest credential it awards (IRS, Enrolled Agents, checked October 14, 2026). An attorney (law degree, or JD, plus a state bar license; some add a Master of Laws, or LLM, in taxation) is licensed by a state bar. A Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) requires three years of business experience and several proctored course exams.
Others have no prerequisites at all. Per FINRA's listings, the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) and the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) require no prior degree or experience; each requires a course or ethics module and a final exam. That training has value. It is simply not the same thing as a degree, thousands of hours of supervised experience and a published discipline record.
Senior designations come with extra rules
Designations that suggest special expertise with older clients drew regulators' attention. NASAA adopted a model rule on March 20, 2008 that treats misleading use of a senior designation as dishonest and unethical, including self-conferred titles and titles from organizations that mainly teach sales or lack reasonable standards for competency, discipline or continuing education (NASAA Model Rule on Senior-Specific Certifications, March 20, 2008). The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted a matching model for life insurance and annuity sales (NAIC Model Regulation 278, October 2008). Each state decides whether and how to adopt them, so ask your state securities regulator or insurance department.
California goes further for insurance sales. An agent may use a senior designation only if the Insurance Commissioner has approved it, the agent has held the relevant license for at least four years, and the designation is accredited and requires at least 75 hours of study for California candidates (California Insurance Code section 787.1, checked October 14, 2026).
The CFP mark: a real credential, with known limits
The CFP is a serious credential: a bachelor's degree, 6,000 hours of experience (or 4,000 as an apprentice), a proctored exam and 30 hours of continuing education every two years (FINRA, Professional Designations, checked October 14, 2026). Since October 1, 2019, CFP Board's code says that at all times when providing financial advice, a CFP professional must act as a fiduciary (CFP Board, Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, checked October 14, 2026).
Two limits are documented. In 2019 The Wall Street Journal reported on gaps in how CFP Board disclosed disciplined planners. CFP Board responded on July 30, 2019 that it had relied on planners to self-disclose and would now review BrokerCheck or the SEC's adviser database at each renewal (CFP Board Responds to The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2019). Its verification page still says regulator actions that did not lead to CFP Board discipline will not appear there (CFP Board, Verify a CFP Professional, checked October 14, 2026).
Second, the mark does not tell you how someone is paid. CFP Board allows the term "fee-only" only when the planner and firm receive no sales-related compensation (CFP Board, Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, checked October 14, 2026). A CFP professional who is not fee-only may also earn commissions. Ask.
How to check anyone in ten minutes
- Brokers: FINRA BrokerCheck, for licenses, employment history and disclosed complaints.
- Investment advisers: the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, including the firm's brochure, which must explain any professional title an employee lists (SEC-NASAA Investor Bulletin, checked October 14, 2026).
- CFP professionals: CFP Board's verify tool, then BrokerCheck as well.
- EAs, CPAs and attorneys: the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials (linked from IRS, Choosing a tax professional), your state board of accountancy or state bar.
- Insurance agents: your state insurance department's license lookup, and the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search for complaint data on insurers.
- Any designation: look it up in FINRA's database and confirm with the issuer.
A plain example: ten designations side by side
All rows come from FINRA's Professional Designations database entries, checked October 14, 2026. "Public discipline list" means the issuer publishes disciplined holders, as FINRA reports it. Requirements change, so confirm with the issuer.
| Designation | Issuer | Before you start | Exam | Continuing education | Public discipline list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFP | CFP Board | Bachelor's degree plus 6,000 hours experience (or 4,000 apprenticeship) | Proctored certification exam | 30 hours every 2 years | Yes |
| CPA | State boards of accountancy | Set by each state | Set by each state | Set by each state | No central list; ask the state board |
| EA | Internal Revenue Service | Background and tax compliance check | Proctored exams (some former IRS staff exempt) | 72 hours every 3 years, 16 minimum a year | None listed |
| CFA | CFA Institute | Degree or equivalent; 4,000 hours investment experience | Three proctored, closed-book exams | None listed by FINRA | Yes |
| PFS | AICPA | Must be a licensed CPA and member | Proctored exam | 120 hours every 3 years | Yes |
| ChFC | The American College of Financial Services | High school diploma; 3 years business experience | Proctored course exams | 30 hours every 2 years (client-facing) | None |
| RICP | The American College of Financial Services | High school diploma; 3 years relevant experience | Proctored course exams | 30 hours every 2 years (client-facing) | None |
| CRPC | College for Financial Planning | None | Online closed-book final exam | 16 hours every 2 years | None |
| CSA | Society of Certified Senior Advisors | None | Proctored exam after ethics module | 30 hours every 3 years | Yes |
| CAA | Financial Planning Institute | Two of: degree or 2 years experience, a license, another designation | Online proctored exam | 6 credits a year | None |
Spelled out: PFS is Personal Financial Specialist, issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA); RICP is Retirement Income Certified Professional; CAA is Certified Annuity Advisor. Hypothetical use: a couple with $1.2 million saved meets two people. One lists CFP and shows a clean BrokerCheck record. The other lists three designations with no prerequisites and no public discipline list. The letters alone do not decide it, but the second set tells you much less, so the six questions below matter more.
Red flags
- A title like "retirement specialist" or "senior advisor" offered as if it were a license.
- Letters you cannot find in FINRA's designations database or on the issuer's website.
- A senior-sounding designation from an organization that mainly teaches sales techniques.
- "I'm a fiduciary" said out loud, but not in the written agreement for the account you are opening.
- Only an insurance license, but advice offered on your whole investment portfolio.
- Reluctance to say how much they earn, in dollars, on what they recommend.
- A BrokerCheck or adviser database record with disclosures they did not mention first.
- A designation earned recently, with no prior degree or experience required, presented as deep expertise.
- Several sets of letters but no public way to verify any of them.
- Pressure to move money before you have looked them up.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How are you paid, in dollars, for what you are recommending to me?
- Are you a fiduciary at all times, on all of my accounts, and will you put that in writing?
- What licenses do you hold: Series 65 or 66, Series 6 or 7, an insurance license?
- Do you have any disciplinary history, complaints or regulatory actions, and where can I look them up?
- What do you earn on what you recommend compared with the alternatives you are not recommending?
- Who holds my money, and in whose name are the accounts?
- Who issued each of your designations, and what did it take to earn them?
- Does the organization that issued your designation publish a list of disciplined holders?
- Is your senior designation approved for use in my state?
- Which hat are you wearing for this recommendation: adviser, broker or insurance agent?
Read This Before You Sign
A one-page checklist: the red flags in annuity and indexed universal life (IUL) sales, and the questions to ask before you sign anything. An advisor-vetting checklist: the six questions to ask, and where to verify licenses, designations and discipline. We’ll email it to you.
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Sources
- FINRA: Professional Designations database (checked October 14, 2026)
- SEC and NASAA: Investor Bulletin, Making Sense of Financial Professional Titles (checked October 14, 2026)
- GAO-11-235: Regulatory Coverage Generally Exists for Financial Planners, but Consumer Protection Issues Remain (January 18, 2011)
- SEC: Regulation Best Interest, Release No. 34-86031 (June 5, 2019)
- SEC: Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers, Release No. IA-5248 (June 5, 2019)
- NASAA: Model Rule on the Use of Senior-Specific Certifications and Professional Designations (March 20, 2008)
- California Insurance Code section 787.1 (checked October 14, 2026)
- CFP Board: Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (checked October 14, 2026)
- CFP Board: CFP Board Responds to The Wall Street Journal (July 30, 2019)
- CFP Board: Verify a CFP Professional (checked October 14, 2026)
- IRS: Choosing a tax professional, with the Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers (checked October 14, 2026)
- IRS: Enrolled Agents (checked October 14, 2026)
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This page is general education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Nothing is sold here, no product is recommended, and RLF accepts no funding from financial companies. Rules and figures change; each one above shows its source and date. Check anything you plan to act on with your state insurance department or a qualified professional who is not paid on the product.