CFP vs. CFA

Both the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) are both very supreme finance designations. CFP is a professional designation for financial planners and the CFA is a professional designation for financial analysts. Both these designations have to go through a challenging course to be able to achieve and pass. The goal of this post is to compare subject matter, exam/qualifications, amount of professionals, benefits of designation holders, and key differences!

Subject Matter

Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

• Professional Conduct and Regulation 
• General Principles of Financial Planning 
• Risk Management and Insurance Planning 
• Investment Planning 
• Tax Planning 
• Retirement Savings and Income Planning
• Estate Planning
• Psychology of Financial Planning 

(CFP Exam Candidate Handbook - March 2025)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) 

• Ethical and Professional Standards
• Quantitative Methods
• Economics
• Financial Statement and Analysis
• Corporate Issuers
• Equity Investments 
• Fixed Income
• Derivatives
• Alternative Investments
• Portfolio Management 
• Asset Allocation
• Portfolio Construction
• Performance Measurement
• Risk Management 
• Pathways (Portfolio Management or Private Markets or Private Wealth)

(CFA Program Exam Information)

Exam/Qualifications 

Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

• The Test is split into two sections on the same day of testing.
• 3 hours for the first 85 questions, a 40-minute break, and then 3 hours for the last 85 questions.
• Questions types: Stand-alone Questions, Short Scenario Questions, and Case Study Questions.
• You must have 6000 hours of work experience that falls under one or more of the primary elements of the apprenticeship pathway.
• Primary Elements: Understanding the client's personal and financial circumstances, Identifying and selecting goals, analyzing the client's current course of action and potential alternative course of action, developing the financial planning recommendations, presenting the financial planning recommendations, and monitoring progress and updating. 
• The apprenticeship pathway must have 4000 hours of job experience in all 7 primary elements. 
• After passing the exam and professional experience (Standard pathway or Apprenticeship) you finally have the designation. 

(CFP Board - Exam Format and The Paths to Experience)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) 

• There are three sections in the CFA exam
• Section 1 consists of 180 multiple-choice questions, split between two 135-minute sessions (Three answer choices a,b,c)
• Section 2 consists of 22 item sets associated with 88 accompanying multiple-choice questions.
• Section 2 is 4 hours and 24 minutes, split into two equal sessions, with an optional break in between. 
• Section 3 consists of item sets with essay responses, item sets with multiple-choice answers. 
• Section 3 is 4 hours and 24 minutes, split into two equal sessions, with an optional break in between. 
• Once you pass all three sections you will finally have the designation. 

(CFA Program Exam Information - Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3)

Amount of Professional/Benefits of Holding Designation

Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

• 103,223 CFP Professionals 
• 76.2% of CFP holders are Male, 23.8% Female, and <0.1% Non-Binary
• Holding CFP professionals earn 10% more than other financial planners
• 85% of CFP professionals experience a high to very high sense of personal fulfillment 

(CFP Board - Financial Planners with CFP Certification Earn More and Love Their Careers, Study Shows)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

• Currently more than 190,000+ CFA professionals 
• Having CFA Charter increases the average salary by 57%
• 84% of CFA holders are White, 5% Black/African American, 9% Asian, and 8% Hispanic/Latin

(CFA Institute Research & Policy Center - Types of Diversity in Finance)

(300 Hours - CFA Salary: How Much Does a CFA Charter Increase Your Pay By?)

Key Differences 

• CFA's work for brokers or big banking institutions (Investopedia) 
• CFA and CFP designation is not a legal requirement (Investopedia)
• CFPs are usually for those who want to work directly with individual clients (Investopedia)
• Neither a CFA nor a CFP is better than the other (Investopedia)

If you have any questions on either designation please feel free to email (awbrendtke@gmail.com). I can help you are lead you in the right direction. 

"Wealth is obtainable, you just have to go a little westward"

Cites:

Loper, John. “Exam-Candidate-Handbook-March-2025. ...” CFP® EXAM CANDIDATE HANDBOOK MARCH 2025, 2024, www.cfp.net/-/media/files/cfp-board/cfp-certification/exam/exam-candidate-handbook-march-2025.pdf.

“CFA® Program Exam Information.” CFA Institute, 2025, www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa-program/exam.

CFP. “Exam Format.” CFP Board, 2025, www.cfp.net/get-certified/certification-process/exam-requirement/about-the-cfp-exam/exam-format.

CFP. “The Paths to Experience.” CFP Board, 2025, www.cfp.net/get-certified/certification-process/experience-requirement/the-paths-to-experience.

CFA. “CFA® Program Level I Exam.” CFA Institute, 2025, www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa-program/candidate-resources/level-i-exam#question-format.

CFA. “CFA® Program Level II Exam.” CFA Institute, 2025, www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa-program/candidate-resources/level-ii-exam#question-format.

CFA. “CFA® Program Level III Exam.” CFA Institute, 2025, www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa-program/candidate-resources/level-iii-exam#important-information-about-essay-question-structure.

CFP. “Financial Planners with CFP® Certification Earn More and Love Their Careers, Study Shows.” CFP Board, 5 Sept. 2024, www.cfp.net/news/2024/09/financial-planners-with-cfp-certification-earn-more-and-love-their-careers-study-shows.

CFP. “CFP® Professional Demographics.” CFP Board, 1 Feb. 2025, www.cfp.net/knowledge/reports-and-statistics/professional-demographics.

CFA. “Types of Diversity in Finance.” CFA Institute Research and Policy Center, 2024, rpc.cfainstitute.org/topics/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/types.

Tan, Zee, et al. “CFA Salary: How Much Does a CFA Charter Increase Your Pay By?” 300Hours, 10 Sept. 2024, 300hours.com/cfa-salary-increase/.

Myers, Daniel. “CPA, CFA, or CFP®: Pick Your Abbreviation Wisely.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 28 Aug. 2024, www.investopedia.com/articles/professionaleducation/08/cfa-cpa-cfp-how-to-choose.asp.