Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional℠ - ABFP®

The Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional℠, or ABFP®, program explores the field of behavioral finance – the study of psychological explanations for economic behavior exhibited by individuals, institutions, and nations. The program is devoted to understanding the nature and role of psychological biases, heuristics, and emotions in influencing financial decision-making under uncertainty. After program completion, you’ll be able to recognize and mitigate client financial behaviors, helping deepen client relationships.

Best Suited for:

Mid and advanced career financial planners interested in exploring the field of behavioral finance – the study of psychological explanations for economic behavior exhibited by individuals, institutions, and nations in order to learn to recognize and mitigate client financial behaviors.

Course Topics:

• Behavioral Finance Theory and Implications
• Emotions in the Financial Markets
• Emotions in Investors
• Risk Detection and Debiasing
• Behavioral Investing
• Investor Bias Mitigation and Neurofinance
• Puzzles and Frontiers in Behavioral Finance

What You Earn:

Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional™ (ABFP®) designation

Stackable Credit:

Program graduates earn credit for one elective course in the College’s Master of Science Degree Program in Personal Financial Planning

Continuing Education Credit:

Program graduates earn:

• CFP® Certification CE: 28 hours
• College for Financial Planning Designation CE: 16 hours

Time to Complete:

120 days

The ABFP® Designation Package Includes*:

• OnDemand Professional Designation Classes: You receive full access to OnDemand classes, allowing you the flexibility to complete your professional designation program at your own pace and on your schedule. Your online learning platform will guide you through all your course-related activities, from reading assignments and recorded video lectures to module quizzes and your final exam. Because this option is self-paced, you can begin the program at your convenience.
• eBook: Enrollment includes the course's textbook. Students will receive a voucher to apply to their Amazon account for use toward their choice of a print or electronic textbook.
• Module Quizzes: Located at the end of each unit in your program, are designed to gauge your comprehension of the material. You must complete the 30-question quiz for each module before moving to the next module. For questions answered incorrectly, correct answers with detailed rationales are provided to help improve your comprehension.
• Practice Exam: The Practice Exam is designed to closely replicate the Final Exam experience in terms of the degree of difficulty, timing, format, and topical coverage. This exam can be taken twice and provides unique practice questions that you haven’t seen at this point in your studies. The Practice Exam is a sound indicator of how you will perform on your Final Exam, and it allows you to see areas of strength and weakness on your Performance Tracker.
• Final Exam: To pass the designation program, you must achieve a score of 70% or higher on the Final Exam. You have an allotted time of 2 hours to take the exam and a maximum of two attempts to pass. The grade earned on the Final Exam reflects your overall grade for the designation program.
• Community Forum: You’ll have access to a private community forum, providing an online space to collaborate and engage with your instructor and fellow students. After you complete your program, you’ll gain access to our alumni and financial planners professional communities.

Top Benefits of Earning the ABFP® Designation

1. Apply Skills That Strengthen Client Relationships: Through understanding the psychology of investor behaviors, you will understand what drives the markets and investors' motivations and decision-making behaviors to better inform your relationships with clients. You’ll be able to apply behavioral concepts in client interactions, enhancing the financial planning advice you provide and deepening your client relationships.
2. Greater Confidence With Clients: 86% of professionals surveyed with specialized financial designations such as the ABFP® designation are more confident in speaking with clients after earning their most recent financial credential.
3. Stackable Credits: ABFP® designees receive course credit for an elective in our MS Degree in Personal Financial Planning program. This allows you to save both time and money to earn your next degree.
4. Fulfill Continuing Education Requirements: ABFP® designees earn CE hours toward renewing their CFP® certification and/or a professional designation they currently hold with the College.