If you’ve looked at a financial professional’s business card, email signature, or website and wondered what all those letters mean… you’re not alone. With FINRA (the regulatory body most financial professionals in the US) recognizing over 250 professional designations there’s a lot to take in. Take into account that other industries also have their own designations, searching for what a designation means is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. A quick google search for “CFP” could give you results about a Certified Financial Planner®, but at the same time (and probably earlier in the search results depending on the time of year) it could also give you the betting odds for the College Football Playoff. Which although interesting, isn’t exactly helpful.
Across our team, we hold a range of professional designations and bring decades of combined experience to the work we do with clients. That said, credentials are only one piece of the puzzle…a strong planning process, clear communication, ethical standards, and the ability to explain complex topics in plain language tend to matter far more over time than any single designation. Rather than wading through every possible acronym, it’s more helpful to focus on the designations you’re actually likely to see and what they mean in practice. Below are the credentials represented across our team, along with a plain-English explanation of what each one covers and why it might matter to you.
CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst
Who Has It: Forrest Six
Area(s) of Focus: The CFA focuses heavily on investment analysis, portfolio construction, and risk management. It’s earned through a multi-year program of exams and experience and is often recognized for the depth and intensity of its investment curriculum.
Why It Might Matter: This background can be especially helpful if your situation involves complex investment decisions, portfolio construction across multiple accounts, or balancing risk and reward within a broader financial plan.
CFS – Certified Fund Specialist
Who Has It: Leslie Mangaccat
Area(s) of Focus: The CFS focuses on mutual funds, ETFs, and portfolio construction, with an emphasis on how different funds work and how they’re used in client portfolios. It’s earned through coursework and examination covering fund analysis, asset allocation, and practical investment implementation.
Why It Might Matter: If your investments are largely in mutual funds or ETFs, this helps ensure the funds being used and how they fit together are being evaluated thoughtfully, not just selected off a list.
ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant
Who Has It: Joseph Fisher, Joe Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The ChFC is centered on comprehensive financial planning, including retirement, tax planning, insurance, and estate considerations. It’s earned through an in-depth coursework program and is designed to give advisors a broad, practical planning foundation.
Why It Might Matter: This designation supports a broad planning approach, which is valuable if you’re trying to balance retirement, taxes, insurance, and long-term goals rather than focusing on just one piece.
CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter
Who Has It: Joe Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The CLU focuses on advanced insurance planning, risk management, and estate strategies, particularly where insurance plays a key role. It’s earned through specialized coursework and is often held by advisors who work extensively with protection and legacy planning.
Why It Might Matter: This can be important when insurance plays a meaningful role in your plan, whether for income protection, estate planning, or managing risk for your family.
CRPC – Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor
Who Has It: Pat Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The CRPC concentrates specifically on retirement planning, including accumulation, distribution strategies, Social Security, and income planning. It’s earned through focused education around retirement-specific challenges and decision-making.
Why It Might Matter: This is especially relevant if retirement is approaching or already underway and you’re thinking about income, Social Security, and how to turn savings into a paycheck.
FLMI – Fellow, Life Management Institute
Who Has It: Pat Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The FLMI focuses on how insurance and financial services companies actually work behind the scenes, including products, operations, compliance, and risk management. It’s earned through a structured series of courses and exams and reflects a deep understanding of the insurance side of financial planning and how those pieces fit into the bigger picture.
Why It Might Matter: This reflects a deeper understanding of how insurance products and companies work behind the scenes, which can be helpful when evaluating or coordinating insurance within a broader plan.
MSFS – Master of Science in Financial Services
Who Has It: Joe Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The MSFS is a graduate-level degree covering advanced financial planning topics such as investments, taxation, insurance, and retirement planning. It reflects formal academic training beyond industry certifications.
Why It Might Matter: This indicates formal academic training in financial planning topics and can add depth when navigating complex or multi-layered financial decisions.
RICP – Retirement Income Certified Professional
Who Has It: Pat Himelick
Area(s) of Focus: The RICP focuses on turning savings into sustainable retirement income, including withdrawal strategies, tax efficiency, and longevity planning. It’s earned through specialized coursework aimed at addressing the real-world complexities of retirement income planning.
Why It Might Matter: This is particularly valuable when planning how to withdraw from accounts efficiently, manage taxes in retirement, and create sustainable income over time.
What Matters Most in Practice
At the end of the day, credentials are meant to support the work, not overshadow it. The real value comes from how that knowledge is applied…how clearly things are explained, how thoughtfully decisions are made, and how well everything is coordinated over time. Across our team of eleven, we bring well over a century of collective experience to client relationships and financial services. In practice, that means clients regularly interact with multiple members of our team, benefiting from different perspectives and areas of expertise rather than a single point of view.
If you’re curious how that experience shows up in practice…from what working with us actually looks like to how often you’ll meet with your advisor…we answer many of those questions in our updated FAQ section. It’s designed to give you a clearer sense of our approach before you ever decide to reach out.
FINRA does not approve or endorse any professional credential or designation.