by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC
The American College elevates the ChFC
As professional credentialing moves to the forefront in consumers vendor selection process, The American College announced February 2, 2009 that the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation program, will require a total of nine college-level courses for students starting the program on or after October 1, 2009. This will include all of the elements of the CFP certification plus additional specialized electives including a comprehensive case analysis course.
Said Larry Barton, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of The American College “ChFC® is the single strongest indication consumers have that a financial planner is well qualified to practice and exemplifies the highest standard of knowledge and trust. The new enhancement to the requirements for this designation continues to put more distance between this mark and other credentials in the field.”
How Long Has the ChFC been offered as a Professional Designation?
- The Chartered Financial Consultant® designation was established as a professional designation in 1982 and is conferred by The American College, a non-profit public educational institution with the highest level of academic accreditation and an 82-year history of raising professionalism in the financial services field.
- This author, John Darer. is one of more than 45,000 financial planners have earned this leading credential since its inception.
The ChFC® takes several years for the typical professional to earn, and it includes adherence to a strict code of ethics and requirements for continuing education throughout an advisor’s career. Each of the nine courses involves 50 hours or more of study time and has a detailed, proctored examination. The comprehensive curriculum covers the full range of financial planning topics, including ethical considerations in creating a financial plan; insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning; investments; and case analysis. It also includes the option for additional study in the areas of macro economic environment, estate planning applications, financial decisions for retirement, and executive compensation.
ChFC vs. CFP: What’s the Difference?
The services offered by chartered financial consultants and certified financial planners are broadly comparable in practice. The difference between ChFC and CFP is in the training required for each designation.
The CFP certification is administered and awarded by the nonprofit Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., also known as the CFP Board. The American College of Financial Services, an accredited private educational institution that offers both undergraduate and graduate training programs, awards the ChFC. It also supports the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) certification and prepares students to sit for CFP Board’s national certification exam.
A Message to Settlement Brokers and Settlement Planners
With all due respect to NSSTA and the Macombs School at The University of Texas at Austin, and the Registry of Settlement Planners (for the RSP), settlement professionals should not rest on their laurels with just a Certified Structured Settlement Consultant designation or Master Structured Settlement Consultant (MSSC). Obtaining the CSSC and MSSC should not be the end of your academic endeavours.
Challenge yourself and others. Elevate your industry. Take the Registered Settlement Planner designation program. Go for the ChFC® designation and/or the CFP®, or the the Chartered Special Needs Consultant Program (ChSNC). You can do it and if you “can’t” or are unwilling then how about mentoring someone else to do it?
Last updated April 12, 2026
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