Initial Distrust

In a recent article published by the AARP, it was reported that there are more than 70 titles that financial pros use to lend authority to whatever they are telling and selling investors.

Jack Herstein, Assistant Director of Nebraska’s Department of Banking and Finance, says there are many designations that no one knows anything about. And he said that the standards vary widely in terms of what is required to obtain these designations. Many of the preparatory programs require years of experience and study; others only took hours and an open book exam. Some were more marketing and selling techniques than anything else.

So what Hernstein and his department did was review all the designations in the marketplace and have asked everyone doing business in Nebraska to drop designations that "state or imply a specialized knowledge of the needs of senior investors." The State has now deemed only five titles as acceptable: CFP, ChFC, PFS, CFA and CIC. While Hernstein says he won’t elaborate on titles that disappoint, he said: "If something's not on the list, people can draw their own conclusions."