CERTIFIED WEALTH STRATEGIST, or CWS for short, is yet another addition to the quickly growing world of alphabets soup options available to the financial services industry. I was told that there are now over 100 designations available to financial advisors and the wealth management industry. Obviously, if I’ve spent the time the money, I believe that the CWS (Certified Wealth Strategist) is a valuable designation to own, but those that have spent the time and money on other designations believe that those initials are valuable. Many of them aren’t. So why have I chosen the Certified Wealth Strategist (CWS) designation as well as the CTC (Certified Tax Coach) designations when I could’ve gotten the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, which today is the best marketed of the designations.
Unfortunately, the financial services industry has not done what the accounting industry has done with the CPA or Certified Public Accountant designation. The accounting industry has managed to create a uniform designation. I don’t know if this was by design or by accident, but the financial services industry does not have the same situation (although there is a war for designation supremacy in the financial industry and to the victor goes dollars that come with it). I chose the Certified Wealth Strategist designation because it had the greatest impact on how I serve my clients, I could’ve chosen to become a CFP and still can, but I have found a CFP designation lacked the real world applicability, the CFP was more like a college degree, lots of information and knowledge very little wisdom. I have interviewed many CFP’s, under condition of anonymity, everyone told me not to waste my time or money. However, since I teach the importance of ongoing education to my clients, it is wise for me to follow that advice.
So, instead of just gaining knowledge that seems to be the goal of the CFP designation, as well as many other designations, I thought I should look to gain wisdom. The Certified Wealth Strategist course is infused with wisdom.
One of the cornerstones of the curriculum is the idea that wealth management issues are like balancing scales. Once you do something to one side it impacts or tips the other. It is vital that you have a thorough understanding of your overall financial picture and intentions and in order to accomplish this, one must understand the 13 wealth management issues. Our Investor Peace Planning Process™ integrates these 13 wealth management issues into the overall unique process that we have built to help our clients.
As I’ve mentioned in my book The Nest Egg Cookbook, Your Recipe for a Comfortable Retirement,the initials a financial advisor has are less important than the business model that the initials (and the retirement planner) are operating under. For more on this see my blogs or sign up for the 12 Steps to Investor Peace.
