COMAPARISON BETWEEN CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM) & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP)

PARAMETERS

CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER

Website

www.aafmindia.co.in

www.fpsbindia.org

Certificate Issuing
Body

American Academy of Financial Management, USA

Financial Planning Standard Board India

TM

CM

Remarks

Both are Global Boards based out of USA

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER

(CFP) is offered by FPSB Ltd which was
founded in 2004. Financial Planning
Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) is a nonprofit
association, having a global presence
operating in 24 countries including India.

AAFM is a 18 Year Old Body, FPSB is a 10

Year Old Body

Affiliation Body

The CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM) is

offered by American Academy of Financial
Management, US. The AAFM Board of Standards TM
was founded in 1996, is a nonprofit organization, an
independent Board of Standards and Accreditation
Council for professionals with presence in 150+
countries having its offices in 17 Countries offering
exclusive certifications to candidates who meet the
highest standards.

Recently Accredited

ACCREDITATION

The CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGERTM (CWM) has

been accredited by NISM under Regulation 7 (2) of
Securities Exchange Board of India (Investment
Advisers) Regulations, 2013. CWM was the First
Course Accredited under the SEBI Investment Adviser
Regualtions 2013

CWM was the First Certification to be

Accredited.
As of today both are accredited

No of Certificants

50,000+ CWM and 3,00,00 certificants for all

certifications taken together

1,50,000 Approx

Both are quite popular Globally

The CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER certification

is awarded directly by the parent body AAFM, US
which makes the CWM certification truly global and is
accepted globally without any territorial limitation.
The candidates do not have to undergo any additional
certification / examination if he / she want to pursue
their career in any other jurisdiction.

The CFP certification is awarded by the

Indian Chapter i.e. FPSB India which
restricts the certification to be global in
true sense and is recognized in India only.
The candidates will have to undergo
additional certification / examination, if he
/ she want to pursue their career in any
other country.

CWM Certification comes directly from AAFM

USA while CFP Certification is issued by
FPSB India.
The CWM Certification is globally acceptable
but to use CFP Outside India Students need
to give extra exams called "Cross Border
Exams"

The CWM certification is offered internationally

across the globe in 175+ Countries with classroom
training in 17 countries. Currently, CWM is offered in
United States, India, Brazil, Latin America, South
America, EU, Europe, United Kingdom, Middle East,
South Arabia, South Africa, West Indies, etc.

The CFP certification is offered in 24

countries including India.

AAFM has Exam Centers and CWM

Certificants in 175 Countries, CFP is offered
in 24 Countries

TM

Global
Certification in
True Sense

Global Presence

COMAPARISON BETWEEN CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM) & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP)
PARAMETERS

CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER

Output from
Certification

CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM ) is

unique and the Premier Certification in Wealth
Management certification Globally. CWM certification
is professional qualification for aspiring candidates
who want to establish their career in Wealth
Management and the professional who want to
upgrade and enhance their skill set as per the
mandatory requirement posted by the regulator and
the industry

CFP is a professional qualification for

aspiring & experienced Financial Planners.
CFP Certification covers all aspects of an
individuals personal finance needs like
insurance, retirement, tax & estate,
investment etc.

Wealth Management is a established

profession with most of the Banks already
having Wealth Management Divisions.
Financial Planning is a relatively new
concept.

The Courseware for the CWM certification is provided

by AAFM India approved from AAFM, US. The benefit
of courseware provided by the Board will helps in the
standardization amongst the industry and maintaing
the education standards and quality. The courseware
covers Global plus Indian content.

The Courseware for CFP certification is

not provided by the FPSB India. The
Education Providers themselves have to
develop the content for the certification
which creates discord amongst industry
from the perspective of standarization and
standard setting. Further, the students are
not clear about the nature of questions
asked in the exam. The courseware covers
Indian content only.

Standardized Courseware for CWM is

developed by the AAFM Board itself.

The curriculum of CWM certification have been

designed and developed in consultation with the
global academicians and industry experts with a
focus on Wealth Management and Financial Advisory
Services Industry. In the contemporary dynamic
environment of financial sector a Financial Advisor
has to be mandatorily equipped with the
Comprehensive knowledge and skill set to deliver at
the job. The curriculum of CWM is relevant, practical,
and exhaustible in nature and also covers Global
Financial System, Derivatives, Equity Analysis, PMS,
Real Estate Valuation, Loan & Debt Management,
Intergenerational Wealth Transfer, Internalnational
Taxation, Relationship Management, Behavioral
Finance, etc. The curriculum covers Global as well as
Indian Markets.

The curriculum of CFP Certification has

been adopted from its parent body FPSB
Ltd. which has been localized. The
curriculum is designed to focus on
Financial Planning Services Industry
which covers Introduction to Financial
Planning, Insurance Planning, Retirement
Planning, Indian Taxation, Investment
Planning and Estate Planning.The CFP
certification focuses on Financial Planning
Industry which is yet to evolve as a
business in India and develop a Fee Based
Advisory Model in the current financial
advisory services and it may take some
more years to establish such fee based
advisory model in India.

CWM Curricullum has much more depth and

includes all asset classes including Real
Estate, Alternative Investments etc. It covers
Client Relationship Management and
Behavioral Finance.CWM Program allows the
Certificant to manage Local Wealth as well as
Cross Border Wealth.CFP Curricullum is
restricted to Mutal Funds and Insurance as
asset classes and does not properly cover
Equity, Debt, Real Estate and Alternative
Assets

TM

Courseware for
the Certification

Curriculum

TM

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER

Remarks

COMAPARISON BETWEEN CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM) & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP)
PARAMETERS
Project Work

Duration

Career Avenues

Pathway to
Register

CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER

Remarks

There are 2 Project/Assignments which the Student

has to complete for acquiring the CWM Certification.

There is no project/assignment
Requirement

Project Work in Case of CWM ensures that

the Student learns to Create Wealth Plan and
is Job ready.

Candidates take an average of 6 months to complete

the entire program

Candidates take an average of 6 months

to complete the program

The time duration to cover both the programs

is Smillar.

Analyst, Research, KPO, Banking, Brokerage Firms,

Mutual Fund Houses, Private Banking, Wealth
Management firms, Financial Planning Outfits,
Insurance Companies, Corporate Training,
Educational Institutions, Independent Financial
Advisory

Mutual Fund Houses, Financial Planning

Outfits, Insurance Companies, Corporate
Training, Educational Institutions,
Independent Financial Advisory

As the CWM Program has more in depth and

Wider Curriculum it gives many more options
to the Certificants than CFP. Wealth
Management is a much more established
concept that Financial Planning

Compulsory Pathway : The eligibility criterion to

register for the CWM certification through
Compulsory Pathway is that the candidate must have
passed minimum 12th Standard but minimum a
graduate to hold the certification.

The eligibility criterion to register and hold

the CFP certification through Regular
Pathway is that the candidate must have
passed minimum 12th Standard.

It is necessary to be a Graduate to obtain the

CWM Certificant while a 12th Passed Student
can obtain the CFP Certificate.

Experience Pathway : The eligibility criterion to

register for the CWM certification through Experience
Pathway is that the candidate must have passed
Graduation with 3 years of minimum work experience.

The eligibility criterion to register for the

CFP certification through Challenge Status
Pathway is that the candidate must hold a
professional qualification with 3 years of
minimum work experience.

3 years relevant experience is required for

Exam Waiver both the Programs

Does not have any experience requirement.

Minimum 3 Year financial experience

Requirement.

There is no experience requirement to use the

CWM Designation once you have fullfilled the
Certification Process. There is a requirement
of 3 years of relevant work experience to get
the CFP Certification and Desigantion.

Compulsory Pathway - Rs. 10,000/ (Registration)- plus

Rs. 6,000/- (Courseware) plus Rs. 4,000/(Examination) = Rs. 20,000/- OR Experience pathway Rs. 10,000/- (Registration) plus Rs. 6,000/(Courseware) + Rs. 2000/- (Examination)= Rs. Rs.
18,000/-. Special Fee structure for Corporate Member
of Rs. 11,500/- including Registration Fee and Study
Material Fee

Regular Pathway - Rs. 10,000/ (Registration)

- plus Rs. 3,000/- (Courseware) plus Rs.
13,000/- (Examination) = Rs. 26,000/- OR
Challenge Status pathway - Rs. 20,000/(Registration) plus Rs. 3,000/- (Courseware)
+ Rs. 5000/- (Examination)= Rs. 28,000/-.
Special Fee structure for Charter Member of
Rs. 2,000/- only subject to conditions

CWM on a average is 28% less costly than

CFP

Experience
Requirement

Board Fee

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER

COMAPARISON BETWEEN CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER (CWM) & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP)
PARAMETERS
Registration
Mode
Certification Fee

Examination
Pattern

Training Cost Per

Student

CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER

Remarks

No Direct Student Registration Allowed with the

Board, the registration can be done only through
Authorized Education Providers

Direct Student Registration is Allowed with

the Board, the registration can be done
through Authorized Education Providers
and Board also

USD 100

Rs. 5,000/-

Certification directly from USA.

In CWM certification there are 2 levels of

examinations i.e. Level 1 and Level 2. The
examinations are online and are conducted on
Monthly basis across India. The duration of Level 1
examination is of 2.00 Hours and Level 2 is 3 Hours
and all the questions are MCQ in nature. The
Experience Pathway is exempted from Level 1
Examination

In CFP certification there are five

examinations. The examinations are
conducted only on daily basis across India
which loses the control of the Education
Provider in the batch formation and
conducting of classes. The Exam 1-4 are
of 2 Hours each and Exam 5 is of 4 Hours
and all the questions are MCQ in nature.
The total examination cost for the student
is Rs. 13,000/- for all the examinations.

CWM has 2 Exams for Regular Student and 1

exam for experienced Student.
CFP has 5 Exams for Regular Student and 1
exam for experience Student.

Ranging between Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000 for

classroom training and DLP Basic of Rs. 5,000/- is
mandatory to be paid by the Candidate to the
Education Provider

Ranging between Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000

for classroom training and DLP Basic of
Rs. 10,000 - 15,000/-

Class Room Training is priced approx same.

But Self Study option is cheaper for CWM.