Did CFP Board Shorten Exams to Lure Certificants?

But a number of CFPs were quick to post comments on Kitces' blog with their thoughts about the shift. One CFP opined that "it just seems to me that asking fewer questions, by its very nature, makes for a less rigorous and comprehensive exam and serves to dilute the qualifications of CFP practitioners in the name of increasing the numbers." As a fairly recent CFP certificant, the commenter was "not amused by this change — not because I care that others after me will have a shorter exam but I truly feel it undermines the exclusivity and accomplishment of those who did it the way it's been since 1991."

Kitces told ThinkAdvisor that while the transition to computer-based testing is "definitely a plus overall … and if just having more convenient computer-based testing (CBT) with more testing locations grows the CFP headcount, that's great." However, he said that "the issue of why it has to be a 6-hour CBT instead of a 10-hour CBT is less clear." The CFP Board "maintains it wasn't making the exam easier; the gut response of the community seems to disagree, and the initial reaction of test-takers who are excited about the shorter exam would certainly confirm at least the PERCEPTION that it's going to be easier."

Said Kitces: "The feedback seems to be skewing negative, though there are certainly some who are supportive of the change — notably, especially those who haven't taken the exam yet but plan to do so and are looking forward to the shorter one-day 6-hour version!"

Yet another CFP posted this comment to Kitces' blog: "The test is now 35% fewer questions than the Series 7 with the same amount of allotted time to complete it. It's definitely going to be easier, but the public isn't going to care one way or the other. Most don't even know what a CFP is, much less the fact that the bar to become one has been lowered dramatically."

One CFP believes that the wirehouses are behind the changes. "Obviously Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are behind this. They know this is the direction things are going but their guys can't pass the 10-hour version of the exam."

Then there was this comment from a CFP who believes the change is indeed a watering down of the CFP credential. "More and more I 'sell' my degree in financial planning and neglect to mention the CFP," the advisor said. "This move [to modify exams] certainly does not help the way I view the exam and designation, which in my opinion barely scratched the surface of what one needs to know as an entry level planner–watering the exam down waters down the marks. I guess the Board is looking to expand revenue."

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Check out Top 3 Issues Advisors Will Face in 2014, Part 1: Robo-Advisors by Michael Kitces on ThinkAdvisor.