There are many people in the marketplace calling themselves wealth coaches, abundance coaches, financial coaches, etc. Without dismissing their value, the Certified Financial Coach designation is intentionally created to be the standard bearer for anyone who coaches in the domain of money/wealth/finance.
Becoming a CFC-Pro or CFC-R means you are a financial professional who qualifies and has passed the standards and training to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL COACH with additional financial professional licensing and credentials that allow you to work with clients in the capacity of a coach AND a financial professional.
With this designation you are able to use specialized technology, advanced tools, give presentations, coach individuals/groups and be recognized as a financial professional who has passed the training and standards to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL COACH and have achieved additional knowledge to receive the highest Certified Financial Coach designation available -- the advanced CFC-Pro or CFC-R designation.
You will be able to help individuals...
- Transform their money personality and re-enroll their clients in the creative power of their own life
- Expand and deepen their own and their clients' understanding of and relationship to true wealth
The training to become a Certified Financial Coach is rigorous; the standards and ethics are the highest in the coaching and financial fields.
The Certified Financial Coach (CFC-I) and Certified Financial Coach-Pro (CFC-Pro) are licensed through two different divisions. The ICF Standards Division (CFC-I) and the Financial Professional/Registered Investment Advisor Division (CFC-Pro and CFC-R).
ICF Standards Division: Individuals training for the special CFC-I (ICF Standards Division Certification) must become financially aware and savvy so they know the world in which you must operate. They must be skilled at ontological coaching so they understand how to work with you to shift the observer you are with regards to money, wealth, and finances.
The Financial Professional/Registered Investment Advisor Division
The CFC-Professional (CFC-Pro) -- FInancial Professionals who have achieved CFC-I Certification but have special financial licensing or credentials in specific areas in finance (CPA's, financial planners and financial professionals with other specific expertise) take the WEALTH STRONG Affiliate training program and one additional ethics course to gain CFC-Pro Status. A person who is a Certified Financial Coach-Pro must be able to become an expert in coaching which means they must put away their advisor and planner cap to learn the rigors of how to relate to clients from an ontological coach perspective. The additional training and integration of their coaching and financial skills provides their coaching and financial clients with the benefits of having a Certified FInancial Coach who is trained and comfortable in both financial and coaching fields. It provides a great extra value to their clients.
THE CFC-Registered Investment Advisor (CFC-R): Individuals training for the special CFC-R Division Certification (Registered Investment Advisor Division) must become expertly trained coaches (receiving CFC-I status) PLUS they are specifically trained in the use of specific financial tools before they are granted licensing. A person who is a Certified Financial Coach-RIA Division must be able to become an expert in coaching which means they must put away their advisor and planner cap to learn the rigors of how to relate to clients from an ontological coach perspective. While individuals with a CFC-R license also recieve the right to use the CFC-Pro designation if they so desire, they are held to higher ethical standards then the typical financial professional and assume fiduciary responsibility in their relationships with clients.
These two divisions were developed out of a need to protect consumers. It became abundantly clear to both coaching and financial professionals that too many people without coaching or financial expertise were calling themselves Financial Coaches. The Certified Financial Coach certification was developed to set high standards and high benchmarks of knowledge, ethics and fairness to consumers.
It is through the Certified Financial Coach designation that you know you are getting the most trained, qualified, skilled and ethical coach to work with you on your relationship to money and wealth. Certified Financial Coaches are registered with the CFC-Board of Governors and proudly display an official licensing certificate which is renewed yearly.
The training and skills a Certified Financial Coach licensee receives helps them work with you and/or family members to become clear, focused and at ease with your money. Even people who already feel they have clarity with money will choose to work with a Certified Financial Coach because of the additional skills and training the Certified Financial Coach and Certified Financial Coach-Pro has around financial issues such as credit review, budgeting and unique training to help you raise your emotional effectiveness around money issues. But when working with you, you know a Certified Financial Coach comes from a place of concern for you first -- not one of judgement or feeling that you somehow have done something wrong. Both Certified Financial Coach and Certified Financial Coach-Pro licensees have special training and a special understanding around the world of finance and are able to help you look at your wealth and money from a NEW perspective -- one that helps you make great strides in your relationship with money.
To become licensed as a Certified Financial Coach or a Certified Financial Coach-Pro an individual must meet rigorous coaching standards and also financial training standards, detailed below.
Coach Training Standards
Each individual must pass strict coach training standards to demonstrate his/her expertise as a coach:
- To protect you as a consumer, the CFC-Board of Governors has mandated that anyone wishing to become a Certified Financial Coach must demonstrate their expertise and competency as a coach according to the criteria as established and defined by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
- Additionally, because our relationship to money is often filled with emotional baggage and emotional ineffectiveness, the Certified Financial Coach is trained in the BarOn EQ-i® instrument to become certified to administer, interpret and coach from this internationally recognized measure of emotional effectiveness. It has been said that you can't change a person's personality or their IQ but you can help a person with their emotional effectiveness through skill training. The BarON EQ-i training helps the Certified Financial Coach show you how to improve your emotional effectiveness around money.
- Each potential licensee is also trained to recognize how certain perceptions and personality trait labels can get in the way of a person's effectiveness with money. Coaches are trained to put aside their own structure of knowing around money so they can coach you in a positive, non-judging way.
- Based on the work of Bernard Lietaer, co-designer and one of the implementers of the convergence mechanism (ECU) to the single European currency system and author of Of Human Wealth and The Future of Money, trainees learn the early origins of the monetary system and the inherent scarcity of the system. The beliefs, values and assumptions we all make about money impacts our capacity to deal with it in our personal and professional lives. Understanding these and the cultural conversations in a healthy, positive and liberating way. The specialized learning trainees receive in the CFC-CoachPLUS program is shared with you to help you look at your relationship with money from a new perspective.
- Each potential licensee is also trained and must sign an oath regarding the practice of coaching ethics and standards regarding privacy, disclosure, client rights and ethics in working with affiliates and other financial professionals. Ethical standards are of utmost importance and are developed and regulated by the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors. This has been developed to protect the consumer and help you have a partner in understanding the rules and regulations around the financial profession.
Financial Training Standards
Each Certified Financial Coach and Certified Financial Coach-Pro must become knowledgeable and certified to work with you and your family regarding specific areas which help you in your relationship with money. The first and most important part of working with a Certified Financial Coach or Certified Financial Coach-Pro is learning to tell the truth about money. This can be difficult if you are worried about how your coach might react. But you can feel confident that your coach knows how to help you through the difficulty of being brutally honest with yourself about your financial situation or your fears or concerns about your relationship with money.
When it comes to waking up to your financial life, it is important for you to know how your use of credit affects your access to financial opportunities. The Certified Financial Coach and Certified Financial Coach-Pro become knowledgable and certified to work with clients to observe their use of credit. Unlike a credit specialist who may do some of the same type of work, however, these coaching professionals are trained to work with you from a place of support and comfort instead of judgement. You will review your credit report and learn what it means. This is without judgement or shame - it is about moving forward with the help of someone on your side to make this process less confusing so you can take control.
As part of this specialized credit reviewer training, the Certified Financial Coach and Certified Financial Coach-Pro receives additional training to become qualified as an Identity Theft Prevention Specialist. Knowing that you are working with a professional knowledgeable about protecting your identity is of great value in this decade when identity theft is rapidly on the rise.
When it comes to understanding your finances, one of the first things any financial person will tell you to do is create a budget. Licensed Certified Financial Coaches and Certified Financial Coach-Pros are trained to use a proprietary budget program to help you stop the fear of developing, looking at or living on some kind of a budget. These trained coaches have specific tools to help you when you are ready -- and you may be ready sooner than you think because of your partnership with your Certified Financial Coach or Certified Financial Coach-Pro. You will be pleased to see each professional use their coaching skills to help you approach budgeting from a different perspective.
When people start to tell the truth around money, they have breakthroughs and start to change habits. They are no longer bound to old patterns because they have new skills and observations around their actions. Working with a CFC-Pro allows you to find space and clarity around money. The purpose of working with a budget becomes helping you find a way to harvest the energy of money instead of having money drive you.
All CFC-Pros are required to pass the CFC-CoachPLUS Financial Benchmarks Exam. The training provides a benchmark of financial information and terms for the CFC-Pro so they are aware of how financial investments work, they have general knowledge of various terms, and understand the various aspects of what a financial professional does. While this exam might be difficult for the average consumer, the level of general knowledge necessary for the CFC-Pro is important to see the pitfalls that you may possibly encounter in the future. The CFC-Pro takes this exam (and the training for the exam) so they can help you find the right professional when the need arises or as a preventative measure. The CFC-Pro will help you become ready to be open and honest with a financial professional who fits your needs, eliminating the frustration many people have in finding and working with the right financial professional.
The Two Certified Financial Coach Divisions:
How They Relate to a Consumer
There are two divisions in the Certified Financial Coach community. These are defined below. While the coach training, budgeting, credit and financial definition training is the same for both groups, training for the Certified Financial Coach Financial/RIA Division goes one step further
- CFC-I DIVISION: The CFC-Pro who has taken the CFC-CoachPLUS program of coach training and examination along with specificed CFC-CoachPLUS financial training and testing to become a CFC-I (ICF Standards Division)
- Certified Financial Coach Financial Professional/RIA DIVISION: The CFC-I who is already a licensed financial professional, has completed the rigors of the CFC-I training, attends training on specific financial tools and strategies meeting an additional set of professional standards to become a CFC-R (Registered Investment Advisor Division)
THE STEP BY STEP PROCESS OF BECOMING A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL COACH:
The FIRST STEP: Developing the skills of an expert coach.
All Certified Financial Coaches start by attaining CFC-I Certification Status (ICF Standards Division)
The CFC-Board of Governors realized there was a need for a high level of expertise for those who became a Certified Financial Coach. The first standard for any Certified Financial Coach is their expertise in COACHING.
Applicants to the CFC-CoachPLUS program come from all walks of life.
Individuals with financial background: Individuals with financial background are drawn to the Certified Financial Coach program because of its high standards in COACHING (allowing this professional to work with their clients as a real coach -- from a new perspective and with a set of coaching skills that will help them in all areas of their life) combined with knowledge that they will receive a set of financial tools and strategies which are unique in the financial industry. Once accepted into the CFC-CoachPLUS program on the CFC-Pro or CFC-R track, the financial professional is put through a CFC-CoachPLUS program specially designed to help them pass Coach Training modules to earn their CFC-I designation. It is imparitive that the financial professional learn the skills and new ways of relating to clients from the role of Coach prior to moving on to the additional training and certification provided in the CFC-Pro or CFC-R division.
Individuals without financial background:
Individuals with coaching expertise are drawn to the Certified Financial Coach certification because they have found such a great need with their coaching clientele. Professionally trained coaches are attracted to the Certified Financial Coach program because of the additional skills and expertise they receive through the CFC-CoachPLUS training. Participants gain financial understanding and sophistication they cannot find anywhere else. The certification is a distinction backed with the high quality standards and training the CFC-CoachPLUS program provides. Those individuals who start as professional coaches are given additional training to have a foundational understanding of the financial investment world. This specialized training opens their eyes to the world of finance and their new found knowledge is tested through examination. All Certified FInancial Coaches are expertly coached to overcome their fear in the financial arena. CFC-CoachPLUS modules have been specifically designed to help coaches learn a base of financial knowledge that allows them to understand the financial world in a way they never believed was possible. Training modules are specifically designed to help attendees integrate financial knowledge into their vocabulary and coaching. All Certified Financial Coaches are specifically trained to a sophisticated, informed consumer level. Attendees who have entered the CFC-CoachPLUS training without CFC-R track aspirations, are trained to know their limitations. They understand they are not advisors, planners or investment professionals.
To ensure that the Certified Financial Coach in the ICF Standards Division does not venture into being tempted to act as an investment advisor or investment consultant, every CFC-I is required to be affiliated with one or more approved financial professional. We call these the WEALTH STRONG Affliliates.
Certified Financial Coaches in the Financial Professional/Registered Investment Advisor Division
Financial Professionals passing CFC-I requirements and wishing to become certified in the Certified FInancial Coach Financial Professional/Registered Investment Advisor Division, are required by the CFC-Board of Governors to undergo a Consultant Assessment Questionnaire examination from an Accredited Investment Fiduciary to analyze their use of prudent investment practices as determined by the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies.
Certified Financial Coaches Work as Part of an Expert Team
Each CFC-Pro renews his/her oath yearly to uphold the standards set by the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors. Procedures for affiliation with licensed financial professionals are dictated by the Board for the purpose of keeping advice and strategic planning performed by the affiliate in the best interest of the client. Certified FInancial Coaches are specially trained to understand the payout structures and costs of financial and debt services so they work in the public interest. Meeting the yearly continuing education requirements is mandatory to ensure the Certified Financial Coach can continue to educate their clients regarding the state of the financial industry.
Certified Financial Coaches are trained in the process of interviewing and developing affiliation with financial professionals who are experts in investment strategies and debt solutions. In developing affiliations, they are required to interview at least three financial professionals with specific licensing and training.
Certified Financial Coaches have specific training on how and when to refer their clients to financial and debt professionals. The Certified Financial Coach does not pretend to be a financial professional, estate attorney or tax expert. They are trained to know what they do not know. Their main purpose is to help their client find clarity and strength in the client's relationship to money. The Certified FInancial Coach works only with qualified, licensed affiliates who meet the highest standards and whose qualifications have been verified by the CFC-Board of Governors.
Are you ready to find a Certified FInancial Coach in your area? Contact us and we will send you contact information for the Certified Financial Coach closest to you.
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BEFORE YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THE FULL CERTIFIED FINANCIAL COACH TRAINING FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS YOU MUST FIRST COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING PREREQUISITE COURSE:
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE PREREQUISITE COURSE: Coaching Skills for the Financial Professional
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE ALREADY TAKEN OR SIGNED UP FOR THE PREREQUISITE COURSEWORK NECESSARY FOR THIS TRAINING: I ALREADY HAVE REGISTERED FOR COACHING SKILLS FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS AND AM COMMITTED TO TAKING THE FULL CFC-R or CFC-PRO TRAINING --REGISTER HERE*
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