CFP® certification vs. CIMA®, CFA® and CGMA: Which credential fits your career?

Wealth management and finance careers reward credentials, but each one is built for a different job. The CFP® certification fits planning for individuals and families. CIMA® certification fits investment consulting. The CFA® charter fits investment analysis and portfolio management. The CGMA fits management accounting inside a company. Most people do not pick one for life: the credentials overlap, and several of them shorten the path to another.

The comparison below uses each credential body’s own requirements as of November 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the linked pages before you register.

The credentials at a glance

CFP® certification: financial planning for individuals and families

The CFP® certification is awarded by CFP Board. CFP® professionals build long-term plans that tie together investments, retirement, taxes, insurance and estate planning, and they commit to acting as fiduciaries when they give financial advice. That broad scope is what separates the work from managing a portfolio or selling a product.

To earn the CFP® certification you complete what CFP Board calls the "four Es":

• Education: a bachelor’s degree in any subject, plus coursework through a CFP Board Registered Program. The coursework must be finished before you sit for the exam. The degree can come later: you have five years after passing to submit your transcript.
• Examination: a computer-based exam of 170 multiple-choice questions in two 3-hour sessions, offered in three 8-day windows a year (March, July and November) at Prometric test centers. Registration costs $825 early, $925 at the standard rate and $1,025 late.
• Experience: 6,000 hours of professional financial planning experience, or 4,000 hours in CFP Board’s apprenticeship pathway. The hours can be earned before or after the exam.
• Ethics: you sign CFP Board’s ethics declaration and pass a background check.

Registered Programs range from under $3,000 to nearly $10,000 depending on the provider, so education is usually a bigger cost than the exam. People who already hold another credential can use CFP Board’s Accelerated Path and take only the Capstone course instead of the full coursework. It is open to:

• Certified Public Accountants (CPAs)
• Licensed attorneys
• CFA® charterholders
• CIMA® certificants
• ChFC® and CLU® holders
• Holders of a Ph.D. in financial planning, finance, business administration or economics, or a Doctor of Business Administration
• People holding a CFP® certification from another country

Once certified, CFP® professionals complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years, including 2 hours of ethics. CFP Board has approved an increase to 40 hours, so check its continuing education page for the start date. The annual certification fee was $575 when this was written.

CFP® professionals work as financial planners, wealth advisors and investment advisors at banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms and independent practices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $105,070 a year for personal financial advisors in May 2025, with 1% projected growth from 2025 to 2035. The CFP® certification is not required to start in the field, but it is the credential clients most often look for. Our CFP® exam information page covers the exam in more detail.

CIMA® certification: investment consulting

The CIMA® certification (Certified Investment Management Analyst®) is awarded by the Investments & Wealth Institute (IWI). It is aimed at advisors and investment consultants who design, implement and monitor portfolios. Do not confuse it with CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, which is an unrelated organization and co-awards the CGMA below.

The path has five steps:

• Apply. IWI reviews your application and runs a background check.
• Complete an education program with a registered executive education provider, such as the University of Chicago Booth School of Business or Yale School of Management, or IWI’s own online program. IWI says it typically takes three to nine months, depending on the provider.
• Pass the CIMA® exam. It has 110 scored multiple-choice questions (plus 10 unscored ones) and runs four hours. You take it at a Pearson VUE center or online, and IWI expects you to sit it within 90 days of finishing the program. Its five domains are Fundamentals (15%), Investments (25%), Behavioral Finance, Portfolio Theory and Construction (25%), Performance Analysis (10%) and Portfolio Implementation and Consulting Process (25%).
• Document three years of experience in financial services.
• Sign the code of professional responsibility and pay the certification fee of $395, which includes two years of basic IWI membership.

Provider tuition runs from $2,995 for a self-paced program to $6,295 at Chicago Booth and Yale, plus IWI’s application fee, so budget roughly $3,500 to $8,000 in total. IWI publishes the current numbers on its requirements page. To stay certified you need 40 hours of continuing education every two years, including 2 hours of ethics, and a $995 renewal fee for the two-year period.

Typical roles are wealth advisor, portfolio manager, investment strategist or consultant, and risk analyst. CIMA® certificants also qualify for CFP Board’s Accelerated Path, so the two credentials combine well.

CFA® charter: investment analysis and portfolio management

The CFA® charter comes from CFA Institute. It is the most research-oriented credential here and the one most associated with portfolio managers, research analysts and institutional investing. To earn it you pass three exams, each 4.5 hours, and document 4,000 hours of relevant work experience over at least three years. The experience can be earned before, during or after the exams. CFA Institute recommends about 300 hours of study per level and says the whole program takes three to four years. Exam fees add up to between $3,520 and $4,570 across the three levels, depending on when you register.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $103,570 a year for financial and investment analysts, with 7% projected growth, much faster than average. In the U.S., many advisors pair the charter with a securities license: our guide to the CFA® designation vs. the Series 7 license shows how the two differ.

CGMA: management accounting in business

The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA®) is awarded jointly by the AICPA and CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Unlike the other credentials here, it is a management accounting credential for finance professionals inside companies, not a client-advisory one. AICPA and CIMA describe it as the premier management accounting credential, covering finance, operations, strategy and management.

There are three ways in:

• The CIMA Professional Qualification has three levels, Operational, Management and Strategic. Each has three objective tests and one case study exam. You can start with the optional CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting, which has four computer-based tests. Our CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting exam page explains that first step.
• The CGMA Finance Leadership Program is an online route for finance professionals who are not CPAs. It ends in the Strategic Case Study exam.
• The CGMA Career Accelerator is a seven-week online program for CPAs that includes two attempts at the Strategic Case Study exam. It was priced at $2,200 when this was written.

All three routes require AICPA or CIMA membership in good standing and at least three years of relevant management accounting experience. AICPA and CIMA publish the current exam fees, so check their site before you budget. The Strategic Case Study exam alone costs $550 in the U.S. Our guide to the CGMA certification levels walks through each level and the fast track for U.S. CPAs.

Typical roles are management accountant, financial analyst, financial manager and risk manager. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $83,680 a year for accountants and auditors and $166,570 for financial managers.

Two more routes: the CPA license and the ChFC® designation

Two other credentials come up in the same conversations.

The CPA license is the standard credential for accounting and tax. You pass three core sections (AUD, FAR and REG) plus one discipline section (BAR, ISC or TCP), each four hours long. Most states still require 150 semester hours of education, but a growing number now accept a bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience, so check your state board. A CPA can go straight to CFP Board’s Accelerated Path.

The ChFC® designation comes from The American College of Financial Services. It takes eight courses, each with its own final exam, and no bachelor’s degree. You need three years of experience to use it. Many people choose it as a planning credential with no single high-stakes exam, and it also counts toward CFP Board’s Accelerated Path.

How to choose

• Choose the CFP® certification if you want to advise individuals and families across retirement, tax, insurance and estate planning.
• Choose CIMA® certification if you want to specialize in constructing and monitoring portfolios as an advisor or consultant.
• Choose the CFA® charter if your goal is research, portfolio management or institutional investing.
• Choose the CGMA if you want to stay on the corporate side as a management accountant or finance leader.
• Start with a license if you want to advise now. A credential does not by itself let you give investment advice for a fee. Most advisors also hold the Series 65 (or the Series 66 with the Series 7). Some states waive the Series 65 for people with advanced credentials such as the CFP® certification or the CFA® charter, so check with your state regulator. See the steps to becoming a registered investment adviser and our Series 65 course.

Stacking is common. A CPA can reach the CFP® certification by taking only the Capstone course, and a CFA® charterholder or CIMA® certificant can do the same. A CFP® professional who adds the CFA® charter or CIMA® certification gains investment depth, and a planner or advisor who adds the CGMA can move into finance leadership. If you are weighing the CFP® route, start by comparing CFP® exam courses.

Key takeaways

• The CFP® certification is the broadest planning credential and the one clients know best. It takes a degree, Registered Program coursework (or the Capstone on the Accelerated Path), a 170-question exam and 6,000 hours of experience, or 4,000 in the apprenticeship pathway.
• CIMA® certification is for advisors and consultants who build portfolios. It takes a provider program, a 110-question exam and three years of experience.
• The CFA® charter takes three exams, 4,000 hours of experience over at least three years, and roughly three to four years of study.
• The CGMA is a management accounting credential that takes AICPA or CIMA membership, three years of experience and the CIMA case study exams.
• CPA, CFA® charter, CIMA® and ChFC® holders can use CFP Board’s Accelerated Path, so earlier credentials shorten later ones.
• A credential is not a license: to give investment advice for a fee, plan for a securities exam such as the Series 65 as well.