The fast development of financial services in China has made financial planners a highly demanded profession due to a large talent supply gap. As a result, training classes and certifications for financial planners have sprung up. Which ones are the most authoritative and worth the money for candidates?

According to a survey by a newspaper in China, the following four are officially recognized and the popular qualifications for financial planners:

Certified Financial Planner (CFP), sponsored by Financial Planning Standard Boards Ltd (FPSB) in the United States and its China affiliate. Successful candidates must meet FPSB¡¯s requirements in education, examination, experience, and ethics. CFP is perceived as the most internationally recognized among the four.

Associate Financial Planner (AFP), is the Level 1 of the CFP certification. According to the official website of FPSB China, By the end of 2008, 3,218 professionals had obtained CFP? certification, 26,463 professionals had obtained Associate Financial Planner or AFP certification (level 1 of the CFP? certification program), and 699 professionals had obtained Executive Financial Planner or EFP certification (designed for Financial Planning Managers).?

Registered Financial Planner (RFP). Currently there are two RFP certifications available in the market, one provided by the Registered Financial Planners Institute (RFPI) of the United States, and the other by RFPI Hongkong. The two institutes are closely related, teachers for both RFP courses are mostly from Hong Kong.

China Financial Planner (ChFP), is a certificate for financial planners issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China. In 2002, the Ministry drafted the national standards for financial planners and enlisted financial planners into the National Occupation List the following year. In 2006, ChFP is officially enlisted into the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) framework. However, it is only an entry-level certificate for the financial planning occupation and is not regarded as a professional designation.

Sources:
http://www.cnxz.com.cn/epaper/xzrb/html/2009-08/28/content_321304.htm

https://www.fpsbcommunity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300:fpsb-china-ltd&catid=97:pressreleases&Itemid=261