CFP Certification Prep

CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification from FPSB (Financial Planning Standards Board) India is the primary professional credential for financial planners in India and is globally recognised across 27 territories. It demonstrates competency across the full financial planning domain and is one of the qualifications accepted for SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) registration.

The CFP certification in India requires completing six modules and passing the associated examinations:

1. Introduction to Financial Planning — the planning process, code of ethics, practice standards
2. Investment Planning — financial markets, securities, portfolio construction, mutual funds
3. Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits — EPF, PPF, NPS, gratuity, retirement corpus calculation
4. Risk Analysis and Insurance Planning — life, health, disability, property insurance need analysis
5. Tax Planning — income tax, capital gains, GST interaction with personal finance
6. Estate Planning — wills, trusts, nominations, HUF structure, succession

The examination structure: each module has a separate exam. After passing all six module exams, candidates must demonstrate 3 years of relevant work experience (or 1 year with an approved degree) and agree to the FPSB India code of ethics before receiving the certification.

Source: FPSB India CFP certification requirements and examination framework. Checked August 2026.

Module-aligned practice work

• Module 2: build an asset allocation model for a client with a 10-year horizon and moderate risk tolerance
• Module 3: calculate the NPS corpus at retirement for a 35-year-old contributing ₹5,000 per month in Tier 1
• Module 4: run a human life value calculation to determine the life insurance need for a client with two dependants
• Module 5: compute the tax saving from 80C, 80D and 80CCD for a client choosing the old regime
• Module 6: identify the estate distribution if a client dies intestate — what happens to financial assets without nominations?

Exam preparation

• Work through FPSB India mock exam papers across all six modules under timed conditions
• Practice case-study-format questions that require integrating multiple planning domains

Pune-context examples

• A Pune insurance agent converting to a fee-based planning practice: using CFP to obtain SEBI RIA registration
• A Hinjewadi IT professional's financial plan: cross-module case study covering all six planning areas
• A wealth management relationship manager at a Pune private bank: CFP as the qualification for the senior adviser role