A number of CFP practitioners are up in arms over the campaign , which depicts next-generation prospective CFPs as sleeping , taking a bubble bath or entering a burrito-eating contest . The ads are intended to underscore the benefits of the career ’ s work-life balance and income potential .

The “ Perfect Job ” campaign launched on September 16 and has since been blasted across social media platforms . The campaign was meant to address the “ supply-demand imbalance ” of qualified , competent planners by encouraging high school and college students to consider and potentially choose

a career as a CFP-designated financial planner , according to CFP Board Chairman Matt Boersen .

But advisors took offense . “ I ’ m about to lose my mind over this ad ,” said advisor Justin Rice , a CFP and financial planner at Personal Wealth Strategies in Hamilton , N . J ., writing in a LinkedIn post . A number of people respond- ing to his post also criticized the campaign .

“ This looks like a parody ,” wrote another CFP , Andy Krafft . “ Can ’ t believe this got approved . Are they intentionally trying to sabotage the designation ?”

“ I understand the idea of the campaign , but the execution is suboptimal ,” Rice said in a follow-up interview about the pictures of lazing kids . “ There is zero context . And who is going to hire teens like this ?

“ In one of the posts they say our median income is $ 192,000 , next to a guy sleeping ,” he added . Rice , who got his CFP marks in 2017 , thinks the campaign won ’ t reflect well on the profession as a whole . He ’ s worried the ads will attract the wrong people to the profession and turn off investors and potential clients . The ad wasn ’ t geared to clients , but they might still see it .

CFP Board Chairman Matt Boersen says the campaign will run through the end of the year . “ As with any marketing campaign , we are monitoring key performance metrics to ensure it reaches the intended audience and delivers results ,” he says .

“ Do we want to attract burrito-eating competitors or go-getters who are great in math or science , such as would-be engineers or doctors , who get pushed into those careers and never hear about the financial planning profession and its benefits ?” he asked . “ I was on the biomedical engineering path in college , getting my Ph . D . after obtaining my master ’ s in engineering from Rutgers University when I stumbled into financial planning .”

Rice said he didn ’ t think the CFP Board was trying to “ sabotage ” the designation and said their hearts were “ in the right place .” But as far as trying to attract new people into the industry , “ this isn ’ t the way to do it .”

Boersen says the ad has gotten both positive and negative feedback . “ Since launching the campaign … we ’ ve seen success with our intended audience — college and college-bound high school students — and have received hundreds of student inquiries about financial planning careers .”

He acknowledges the criticism from license holders that the static , single-image ads lack context , and that there ’ s confusion about the target audience .

“ These ads are aimed at students , not consumers , and are separate from the consumer-focused public awareness campaign ,” Boersen adds . He says he himself found them edgy , but adds , “ I had to remind myself that I am a 36-year-old financial planner and not the intended audience for this campaign . ... These ads are for high school and college students . Our research told us that we needed a provocative message to break through with this group .”

Rice urged the CFP Board to pull the campaign and replace it with one that attracts top candidates capable of the job . “ I would urge the CFP Board to compare the job of CFPs to other successful careers where successful students are headed , such as that of doctors or engineers ,” he said .

Boersen says the campaign will run through the end of the year . “ As with any marketing campaign , we are monitoring key performance metrics to ensure it reaches the intended audience and delivers results ,” he says .

The dearth of advisors is concerning to the CFP Board and advisory firms , who , according to research from Cerulli Associates , stand to lose 106,264 advisors , or 36.8 % of the professional advisory force , to retirement by 2030 . That amounts to an estimated $ 11.9 trillion , or 38.9 % of managed assets .

— Tracey Longo

12 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM