Ricp

[beachbum2012]

Anyone have any thoughts on this newer designation from The American College? I'm in the same boat as I'm sure many others here are: I focus mainly on medsupp, work as an independent agent with an insurance agency that has life insurance, annuities, LTC, etc. on the shelf, but training/mentoring is sorely lacking. We even have a 3rd party private wealth management firm we partner with to manage securities. I'm more passionate about being a retirement advisor that just a simple health insurance agent and this seems like a good path to get there.

I'd love to have some feedback here. I've thought about eventually getting a CFP but it seems like this RICP would be more appropriate since I work almost exclusively with folks 65+. I've also looked at getting the CRPC, and wondered if the RICP would be more valuable or both are pretty similar.

 

[DHK]

My first recommendation: Unless you have a firm willing to reimburse your costs (or they require obtaining various credentials), I'm not sure I would go down this road. And I'm talking from the vantage point that I already have my ChFC from The American College.

As far as the marketing of these designations:
CRPC - can probably be used as a TITLE: "Chartered Retirement Planning Consultant".

RICP - "Retirement Income Certified Professional" doesn't have the same 'ring' to me. This is a great "add-on" designation to their base of ChFC & CLU.

The American College SUCKS at marketing. However, they are not a marketing organization, but an educational institution.

If it were me, and I had a firm willing to reimburse my expenses, I would consider - for educational purposes - the following: ChFC, CLU, CASL, RICP

ChFC: 9 courses (This would be your CFP with 50% more course work)
CLU: +3 courses
CASL: +2 courses (depending on electives chosen for ChFC)
RICP: +3 courses

http://www.theamericancollege.edu/assets/pdfs/2013-Designation-Guide.pdf

Remember that the public doesn't know, nor do they really care, about designations. Having letters after your name may make you feel good.

Even John Savage said, "Get all the education you can, and then keep it to yourself... because nobody cares."

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Interesting article here focusing on the RICP:
A New Breed of Financial Advisor Takes Off - Forbes

 

[beachbum2012]

There's almost 0 chance I would be reimbursed for any designation. I would be doing it far more for the fact of learning about the proper uses of products, and how to combine them together to provide the desired guaranteed income and legacy while minimizing risk and taxation, rather than simply having some extra letters to put after my name on my business card.

It seems the RICP would apply more to helping people in the demographic I work with, 65 and older. They're usually retired, drawing Social Security, and in the decumulation phase of their nest egg. The CRPC, and especially the CFP/ChFC, seem to be geared towards a bit younger demographic who can still plan for a retirement that is a little ways off yet. I could be wrong here though.

I'm really looking for something to help when it comes to upselling. It seems like with a designation like those mentioned above, it makes the process a lot more structured and recommendations more appropriate. My thoughts are that going thru the required coursework would teach me the right thought process and strategies for the various products, rather than saying "oh you don't want to be in the market anymore, you should move it all into this FIA". Right now my agency's training philosophy for upselling is "here's a brochure, figure out how to sell it". Learning a structured process would make the sales of annuities, life insurance, etc. more natural, rather than simply offering a one size-fits all solution.

I don't know, maybe this is just overkill. But I'm uncomfortable making suggestions of moving money into an annuity, for example, when I'm unsure of how to handle other related variables like: how much Social Security income does he get, how big is his pension, how much do you put in an annuity and how much should stay in securities, should he get the income rider, etc.

So DHK, do you find the knowledge you gained from the ChFC make selling these financial products easier? I'm not sure exactly what products you specialize in selling. It would seem like the increased commissions would more than justify the tuition costs. Was it worth it for you? If you wouldn't "go down this road", what would you recommend for me?

 

[DHK]

The reasons I obtained the ChFC was because of firm reimbursement and to have a credential that was well-recognized by the financial media. The ChFC gave me a broad overview and foundation of the various facets of financial planning. If you had a client that was reading "Money Magazine", they would ask you if you had a CFP or ChFC... and I wanted to be able to say "yes, I hold the ChFC designation."

The knowledge helps you when doing fact-finding... if you know how to do a proper fact-find as an advisor would conduct.

There are two areas I would recommend to pursue instead:
1) Learn how to do a thorough fact-find. I would HIGHLY recommend The Insurance Pro Shop with Lew Nason to obtain this training. You could either buy his DVDs on Advanced Fact-Finding... or join his member's only website for $25/month (currently) and view an older series of video segments there. I have NEVER received better training in how to actually INTERACT with a client than I have received from Lew Nason. He keeps it simple and client focused.

2) The other idea I might recommend to you, is the Institute of Business & Finance designation programs. Now, I have NOT yet done these, but I'm strongly considering them in the near future. They are highly regarded by most b/d's - particularly for their CFS or Certified Funds Specialist designation.

They have 4 designation programs that are LOWER in cost (compared to The American College), better marketing names, and probably more applicable to what you do:
- Certified Annuity Specialist (CAS)
- Certified Income Specialist (CIS)
- Certified Estate & Trust Specialist (CES)
- Certified Tax Specialist (CTS)

These are good marketing titles and much lower in cost compared to The American College. I also think they're a little less in 'acadamia' and more into transferrable skills... but that's only an impression based on their "Reference Sheets" available every year as you renew your designations.

 

[beachbum2012]

Thanks for that Forbes article; these are exactly the reasons why it seems like the RICP would be perfect. It seems like the decumulation phase is all about turning a nest egg into an income stream with as little risk as possible, minimizing taxes, and maximizing what's left for beneficiaries. I looked up the IBF website and their Certified Income Specialist designation is still over $1200, only $300 less than the RICP.

 

[scagnt83]

CRPC is more affordable than RICP. But American College sold CRPC to the College for Financial Planning.


ChFC and CFP are different than the others. Many states recognize those as "Financial Planning" designations, and allow you to call yourself a Financial Planner or Financial Advisor if you have one of those two. In SC you can have one of those two instead of a 65. CFA also falls into that category in most states.

Imo, that would be a reason to acquire ChFC or CFP. Even on your own dime.

 

[DHK]

That's right. The American College is still doing a special 'bundle' deal for the RICP. Otherwise their courses are about $650 each.

Pursue whatever works for you.

 

[scagnt83]

Pursue whatever works for you.

Most definitely. There are lots of agents who make lots of money with no credentials behind their name at all.

It sounds like this guy is looking for the knowledge more so than the letters. The knowledge can be found for free through various avenues. But not always as consolidated as a designation.

IMO a designation should serve to help make you more money. Either through enhanced trust or enhanced knowledge, or both. There is no one size fits all answer to this.

 

[DHK]

It sounds like this guy is looking for the knowledge more so than the letters. The knowledge can be found for free through various avenues. But not always as consolidated as a designation.

IMO a designation should serve to help make you more money.

Based on the eight courses I took through The American College, they dump a lot of information into your head, but don't help you to frame it for a productive conversation with a client. That's the difference between good training... and education.

It's not enough to just 'have the knowledge'. You've got to be able to use it to increase your effectiveness for your clients... and make more money and get more referrals.

Information in an unusable form, means that you are left to your own devices to figure out how to put it to use. Granted, the RICP is 100% online and is in a different format than the other courses that I took. I hope you find it useable and easily transferrable into your practice.

To me, the ChFC/CFP courses are foundational in nature. Generally one that has these designations will be of better service to clients and be a good compliance risk for firms. They did expose me to other areas in financial planning that I would not have otherwise known about... but they are still 'fundamental' in nature.

 

[beachbum2012]

... The knowledge can be found for free through various avenues. But not always as consolidated as a designation...

Any favorites (links, resources, etc.) you'd like to share? I know the American College has lots of short vids for free at retirement . theamericancollege . edu . I've been watching a lot these.