ChFC® Program Requirements

RequirementsTo earn the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation, the following are required:

• Complete ChFC® coursework within five years from the date of initial enrollment (or five years from the date of January 1, 2006, if previously enrolled in the ChFC® program).
• Pass the exams for all required and elective courses. You must achieve a minimum score of 70% to pass.
• Meet the experience requirements: Three years of business experience immediately preceding the date of use of the designation are required. An undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited educational institution qualifies as one year of business experience.
• Take the Professional Ethics Pledge.
• When you achieve your ChFC® designation, you must earn your recertification every two years.

ChFC® Exam Information

InformationChFC® exams are administered electronically at nationwide testing centers throughout the year by The American College via the Pearson VUE testing center network. The exam consists of 100 objective questions based on the curriculum and is two hours in length. Typically, there are three types of questions in the ChFC® exam—straight-answer, multiple-option, and all-except questions. Your results will be provided immediately upon exam completion.

The exam consists of 100 objective questions based on the curriculum and is two hours in length. Typically, there are three types of questions included in the ChFC exam—straight-answer, multiple-option, and all-except questions.

Your results will be provided immediately upon exam completion.

ChFC® Curriculum

You will need to pass eight examinations, one for each of the following six required courses and two elective courses, to earn the ChFC designation:

Required Courses

300: Financial Planning: Process and Environment

Provides an overview of the financial planning process, including communication techniques, ethics, risk tolerance, time-value-of-money concepts, financial planning applications, regulatory issues, and the legal and economic environment for financial planning. Offers an understanding of the role and responsibilities of a financial planner along with some analytical skills to aid in financial decision-making.

311: Fundamentals of Insurance Planning

Focuses on the role of planning for insurance needs. Covers basic concepts in risk management and insurance, insurance industry operations, legal principles pertaining to the industry, and regulation of insurers. Examines social insurance, life insurance and annuities, medical and disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, and personal property and liability insurance. Concludes with an overview of commercial property and liability insurance and a case study.

321: Income Taxation

Examines the federal income tax system with particular reference to the taxation of individuals. Covers such items as items of gross income, exclusions from gross income, deductions, tax credits, capital gains and losses, taxation of life insurance and annuities, income taxation of partners, partnerships, corporations, and shareholders.

326: Planning for Retirement Needs

Focuses on retirement planning for the business, the business owner, and the individual. Covers qualified plans, nonqualified plans, and IRAs, and deals with retirement needs for individual clients. Emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for choosing the best retirement plan and designing a plan that will meet a client's needs. Discusses personal retirement planning and retirement distribution planning.

328: Investments

Covers various aspects of the principles of investments and their application to financial planning. Discusses risk analysis and risk and return computations. Looks at stocks, bonds, investment companies, options, and futures contracts. Includes an extended discussion of tax issues in investing, as well as issues in the practice of portfolio management, including strategic and tactical asset allocation. Provides many examples of ethical and practical issues in managing a client's portfolio.

330: Fundamentals of Estate Planning

Covers various aspects of estate and gift tax planning, including the nature, valuation, transfer, administration, and taxation of property. Provides a basic understanding of the estate and gift tax system, including strategies of estate planning. Discusses gratuitous transfers of property outright or with trusts, wills, and powers of appointment; use of the marital deduction; valuation of assets; and buy-sell agreements. Covers the client interview, fact-finding, ethical standards, and development of personal estate plans.

332: Financial Planning Applications

Focuses on providing students with experience in preparing financial plans; asks students to pull their knowledge base from the core courses in the ChFC® curriculum to analyze case studies and develop appropriate recommendations for individual and business clients in the areas of estate planning, business planning, retirement planning, insurance, and investments.

Elective Courses (Two are required)

322: The Financial System In the Economy

Presents an overview of the global financial system and its influence on the financial services industry. Examines financial markets, their principal institutions, and their economic functions, products, and services. Examines the rapidly changing regulatory and competitive environment and major trends that shape the industry.

324: Estate Planning Applications

Covers estate and gift tax principles with emphasis on life insurance planning applications. Discusses forecasting the gross estate, life insurance trusts, valuation principles, the use of charitable contributions as an estate planning technique, planning opportunities stemming from the marital relationship, the taxation of trusts, implications of employee benefits, and estate freezes. Includes a case study reflecting procedural aspects of estate planning.

352: Financial Decisions for Retirement

Focuses on financial decisions clients face as they approach, reach, and pass retirement age and on the tools and techniques financial advisers may employ to assist their clients with these decisions. The course covers sources of income, retirement calculations, investment considerations, annuities, housing decisions, insurance needs of the older client, and estate planning concerns. Especially valuable for practitioners who advise retirees in decisions on rolling over lump-sum pension distributions to IRAs. Provides extensive perspectives on dealing with aging and retired clients and their families.

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