What is a registered financial consultant?
A registered financial consultant (RFC®) is a professional designation or title awarded by the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC). IARFC is a private non -profit members organization. If you want to get RFC®, the financial planner or financial advisor must pass the IARFC exam and meet other requirements, such as the financial planning title. Then the registered financial consultant must observe the IARFC Code and complete the courses of further education to maintain the designation. RFC® is just one type of professional title available to financial planners.
The financial planner who wants to be a registered financial consultant must undergo a IARFC test, which covers several areas such as annuity, real estate planning, securities and investment allocation. Before the applicant performs a test, he must already have a professional designation such as the subscriber of the rented life (clums), rented Financial Consultant (CHFC) or other IARF signC. American university grants the designation of the CLU and CHFC. If the applicant lacks professional designations, the title of financial planning from an accredited university or university is also acceptable. The applicant must also have four years of experience in financial planning.
The financial planner, which will become a registered financial consultant, must comply with the IARFC Code. The Code of Ethics has several mandates, such as compliance with the laws that apply to financial planning, the location of the client's interests over their own and charges adequate fees. The registered financial consultant must also take 40 hours of further education in financial planning annually. IARFC may cancel the RFC® designation if the planner fails to comply with its Code of Ethics, cannot maintain the requirements for education, or has a professional license, such as a license to sell securities or insurance canceled by another government agency.
The registered financial consultant is just one of the many designations available to financial planners. Examples of other designations include a certified financial planner (CFC), a registered financial planner (RFP), a certified investment consultant (CIMC) or a rented retirement consultant (CRPC). Given that financial planning is an unregulated industry, many private organizations have appeared and create professional designations. The organization sets its criteria and grants its designations to anyone who meets the requirements. Before hiring a financial planner, it is always best for consumers to do their homework by investigating a financial planner and organization that provided a professional designation.