Financial Guidance Has a Problem
Like financial advice? Need advice. Here is how.
Happy weekend!
Sharing a quick note with you about financial guidance and the seemingly ubiquitous CFP credential.
Very few universities include financial planning in their curriculum. Business schools are about business, and finance faculty remain siloed in their corporate finance or investment worlds.
Some universities offer a CFP certificate as a continuing education offering, and my university is one of them. It is an add-on to sell to the external community and not a degree problem vetted by the faculty or taught by them. Here is how it is advertised. “Certificate instructors use the financial planning topics as outlined by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. as a framework for teaching each course.” I haven’t done the research, but I expect that language is common among colleges and universities that sell the CFP certificate.
I know some of you might be thinking: “No faculty involvement. Sounds good to me. They have no idea how the real world works.” Some of us do.
But, if the CFP credential is THE credential and the CFP Board is the standard bearer for the industry, wouldn’t you think they would have a top-shelf advertising budget?
I'm sharing a note that I posted on my Substack feed yesterday. Notes appear on the Substack app.
Take care.
When I first enrolled in this class, I was discussing it with my parents and this class was the one they were most excited about for me. Everything I'm learning in the class (while I may sometimes struggle along the way) is already putting me steps ahead in life compared to those whose universities don't offer classes like this. This class is likely one of the most impactful classes I end up taking due to the material I'm learning. I think universities should offer financial planning everywhere as it's incredibly important!!