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Experience earned by working directly with clients in the financial planning industry is a key criterion to attaining CFP Certification.  Candidates’ work experience will be reflected in their expertise in financial planning.  Experience is essential to complement the financial planning knowledge as Candidates practice their trade.

To ensure the high standards of CFP certificants, the IFPHK will only award the CFP Certification to those who have qualified work experience, defined as experience working in the financial services industry.  It is envisaged that Candidates employed in the financial services industry will meet the experience requirement.  These include those having worked in accounting firms, banks, financial planning companies, insurance companies, law firms and related legal services, mutual fund companies, securities and brokerage houses, trust companies, and universities.  If necessary, the IFPHK will include additional types of employment or business to the definition of financial services industry.

To qualify as a CFP certificant, Candidates must possess THREE years full-time qualified work experience or the equivalent part-time (2,000 hours part-time equals one year full-time).

Experience may be gained up to ten years before or eight years after the CFP Certification Examination date. If the work experience requirement is not fulfilled within this time frame, the Candidacy for certification may be terminated.

The submitted experience record must be verified and attested by the Candidate's current supervisor, or a member of the senior management, or the human resources manager of the Candidate's current employer. If the Candidate is a sole proprietor, a third party product provider may verify his or her experience.

For complete information on how the IFPHK defines Qualified Work Experience, please refer HERE.