Top Benefits of Earning the ADPA^® Designation

Learn how you can become an expert in working with clients in domestic partnerships and advance your career with the ADPA^® designation program.

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Reinforce Credibility With an Industry-Recognized Designation

Reinforce credibility with clients in domestic partnerships who have unique financial planning needs by earning an industry-recognized designation. The ADPA^®designation is an industry-recognized designation encouraged by top firms.

Gain Specialized Knowledge That Benefits Your Clients

Gain specialized knowledge about planning differences compared to legally married couples and solutions-based techniques to benefit clients who are in domestic partnerships.

Tangible Career Benefits:

72% of professionals surveyed with specialized financial designations such as the ADPA^® designation reported an increase in their client base after earning their most recent professional designation.

Financial planning professionals working in a financial planning role both the year before and year after receiving their most recent specialized professional designation such as the ADPA^® designation reported an average 16% earnings increase in the year after earning that professional designation.

Distinguish Yourself From Other Advisors

As the only program of its kind focused specifically on domestic partnerships, you’ll gain skills that help distinguish yourself from other advisors and expand your client base.

Fulfill Continuing Education Requirements

For CFP^® professionals who must complete continuing education requirements as part of certification renewal, ADPA^®program completion fulfills the following: 28 hours (live online program) or 22.5 hours (ondemand program) of continuing education

If you currently hold a professional designation from the College, completion of a new professional designation program fulfills 16 hours of continuing education as part of the renewal of your current designation.

72% Client Base Increase: Increase in client base is dependent on numerous factors other than, or in addition to, completion of the specialized financial designation including specific employment conditions and individual experience. The College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company does not guarantee any increase in clients resulting directly from such designation. Results are the findings of a quantitative survey conducted by the College for Financial Planning between June 27 and August 7, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 951 2022 and 2023 graduates of the College for Financial Planning was interviewed online in English. The sample includes 300 graduates whose most recent professional designation earned was a specialized financial designation (AAMS^®, ABFP^®, ADPA^®, APMA^®, AWMA^®, CRPC^®, CRPS^®, CSRIC^®, FPQP^®, SE-AWMA^®, WMS^℠); worked in a financial planning role both the year before and year after receiving their most recent professional designation; and answered this question.

16% Earnings Increase: Earnings increases are dependent on numerous factors other than, or in addition to, completion of the specialized financial designation including specific employment conditions and individual experience. The College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company does not guarantee any earnings increase resulting directly from such designation. Results are the findings of a quantitative survey conducted by the College for Financial Planning between June 27 and August 7, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 951 2022 and 2023 graduates of the College for Financial Planning was interviewed online in English. This earnings increase was based on 366 graduates with a specialized financial designation (AAMS^®, ABFP^®, ADPA^®, APMA^®, AWMA^®, CRPC^®, CRPS^®, CSRIC^®, FPQP^®, SE-AWMA^®, WMS^℠) who were employed in a financial planning role both the year before and year after receiving their most recent professional designation.