Which is Harder – the CFA or CFP® Exam?

But the other 83% of the exam material? Nope.

CFP® certification education

I signed up for the College for Financial Planning’s education remote learning-based program. I’ll just whip through these courses one per month, right? Wrong. To be fair, the investment course I whizzed through, so apparently some of my studies for the CFA exams stuck in my parenthood-addled brain. Also, I can use both the HP 12c financial calculator, which uses “reverse Polish” notation, and the HP bII+, which uses “infix notation,” which I learned is the name for what most (Western?) students are taught in school. In case my nerd cred was in doubt, that should convince you.

This is a lot of material. I am a mathy person and parts of the CFA program curriculum that intimidate some folks were much more approachable for me, but law makes no sense in my brain. Taxes, estate planning, and accounting are not intuitive at all, and learning about them by reading was also difficult for me. (There was a lot of me saying “wait, what?” and backing up the recorded lectures with my eyebrows all crunched together.) The stuff that was easiest to learn were the areas I had already applied to working with actual clients, and that was very exciting. Learning something I get to use in real time is totally my jam, which made both programs more enjoyable for me.

Do you just like taking tests?

But the CFA program has three tests and the CFP® certification just has one, so that’s easier, right? No. To be fair, I spent fewer total hours sitting in testing centers for the CFP® certification program. But both programs have very challenging exams. In the educational component of the CFP® certification, I took finals on each subject before moving onto the next one. The CFA exams each test all of the component subjects, but get progressively more difficult. (The Level II exam is famously hard to pass – I came out of that exam feeling like someone had replaced my brain with pudding.)

Not easier or harder, not better or worse, just different.

One reason that a dear friend and colleague asserted as to why I would probably pass the CFP® exam is that I was good at taking tests. This is a reasonable assertion – the master’s degree and the CFA program gave me a lot of practice. I am also well-constructed for taking exams – my brain loves puzzles and latches onto them like a kid in the grocery store candy aisle. But that doesn’t mean any of these exams were easy. It also doesn’t mean I’m a better investment analyst or financial planner than someone who struggles to pass exams. Anyone who has earned the CFA designation or the CFP® certification has demonstrated a level of competency in applying a broad curriculum of subject matter and a commitment to ethical practice in their field. This is much more important in hiring an advisor than whether they are good at taking tests.

Ethics

The professional conduct and regulation portion of these programs, which I vaguely refer to as “ethics,” is not just “don’t be a crook.” (I mean, please don’t. But there’s more.) There are regulations specific to each role, ethical guidelines about conflicts of interest and professional conduct, and both programs want to be sure you are going to use their designations correctly. (I can just imagine my intellectual property lawyer friend rubbing her hands together…) Even an “ethical to the point of annoying” person like me needs to review that material carefully.

Context matters

Lastly and most relevant is when I did each program relative to my own life. Here’s a quick comparison:

Thus, at risk of upsetting possibly everyone reading this: They are both very challenging and rewarding programs, and for me, in the context of my life circumstances, prior education, and particular intellectual talents, the CFP® certification was harder. But that does not mean the same would be true for the next person. Also, if you had a carbon copy of me and had her attempt the CFP® certification in 2003-2006 and the CFA program in 2018-2021, she might not feel the same way. (Also send her over here, I could use help wrangling the kids.)

How does this apply to you?

Any advice? Yes. If you are considering either of these programs, or trying to choose between them, please read the description of the curriculum on their respective websites. Does it look interesting? Do you want to know those things? Is that the sort of stuff that you go look up and say “oh, interesting!” when you find the answer? Because if not, please don’t do it. This is a lot of your life to spend on something you “need for work” or that looks impressive to you but isn’t your passion.

I knew I was on the right track when I found the CFA Level III exam fun, like a (really, really hard) jigsaw puzzle; and again in the CFP® certification coursework, when I realized one Saturday night at 10 PM, lying on my couch, eating peanut butter M&Ms and climbing down an internet hole of different types of dividend treatment in permanent-life insurance loan programs, that I was happy as a clam. I come from a long line of hard-core geeks. That made both programs well-suited to me.

If your job wants you to complete one of these programs – do you like your job? Do you find the reading in your job interesting or tedious? Are you excited to do at least a large portion of the things your job requires? If not, getting what amounts to a graduate degree in said field is not as helpful to your wellbeing as figuring out what you might like better. It’s very, very hard to excel in a field you don’t like. Yes, some people do. But they usually regret it.

Suzanne Highet is a financial advisor and investment specialist at Cultivating Wealth. Suzanne loves the intersection of finance and psychology found in financial advising. She hopes to empower her clients to experience financial clarity and peace of mind. After spending 15 years in the investment industry and feeling full service financial advising tugging at her sleeve, she made the switch in 2018 and has been having a blast.

Read more articles by Suzanne Highet