The ChFC is a financial planning designation from The American College of Financial Services, earned with eight required courses and three years of experience, and kept with ongoing continuing education.
Candidates complete eight required courses in financial planning, each with its own final exam, and need three years of experience in financial planning or a related field before they can use the mark. There is no single comprehensive exam, which is the main difference from the CFP, where one exam covers the whole curriculum.
To keep it, client-facing designees complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years, including one hour of ethics, pay an annual recertification fee, and agree to the College's Code of Ethics. NASAA's model rule lists the ChFC among the five designations states can accept in place of the Series 65 exam for investment adviser representatives.
The ChFC doesn't tell you how an advisor is paid or whether they act as a fiduciary. Of the 24,501 fee-only advisors in the public graph, 673 list a ChFC (3%), making it the third most common credential after the CFP and CFA.
How to check
Search the advisor's name on The American College's Verify a Designation page at youradvisorguide.com/verify. Then check how they're paid and where they're registered on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.
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