ACSFP - FAQ

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Here are a list of the most frequently asked questions, with answers, that the ACSFP-Association of Chartered Senior Financial Planners receives:

Why become an ACSFP Member?
(Association of Chartered Senior Financial Planners)

Initial and Ongoing Education: Being an ACSFP Member will provide you with the initial and ongoing education so you can be up-to-date on all the latest strategies in the areas of Retirement Planning and Asset Protection.

Classroom Review-Training and CE Continuing Education Credits: The classroom learning experience combined with our online tools, training, and information available through the ACSFP and this website, makes the ACSFP and the CSFP-Chartered Senior Financial Planner designation unparalleled in the industry. Having our certificate of completion on your office wall, as well as advertising that you are an ACSFP Member is a sign to all your clients, potential or existing, that you will be able to properly guide them with their Asset Protection, Insurance, and Advanced Retirement Planning strategies. All of our 3-day classroom review courses get submitted for approval to the State Department of Insurance that they are being held in, and in many states, can earn in excess of 20 hours of CE credits. There is no extra charge to you other than your initial sign up fee, which can vary by state. For Example: Our three day review course has been previously approved or is currently approved by many State Departments of Insurances for CE credits, as well as the CFP Board: CFP Board (24 hrs), CA (25 hrs), CO (24 hrs), FL (24 hrs), GA (24 hrs), IA (24 hrs), ID (19 hrs), IL (24 hrs), KS (12 hrs), LA (24 hrs), MO (24 hrs), MS (24 hrs), NV (24 hrs), OK (16 hrs), TX (22 hrs), WI (24 hrs).

ACSFP Website, Quarterly News Bulletins, and Home Office Support: In addition to the clout associated with being an ACSFP Member, all active members receive a Login and Password for this website. You will also receive the ACSFP quarterly news bulletins, containing current information, new tax laws, relevant legal cases, new and innovative industry products, and general strategies recommended by the ACSFP in the areas of Insurance, Asset Protection, and Advanced Retirement Planning. ACSFP members can always call our toll free number (866/94-ACSFP) or email the ACSFP Board to get difficult questions answered involving retirement planning, insurance, and asset protection, from industry leading experts.

Index Blaster: All active ACSFP Members and their clients have access to Index Blaster. There is no extra charge to our members and there is no charge to their clients. Index Blaster is a database solution, developed in house by the ACSFP that shows calculations of past performances for the following US Indices: DJIA, S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Russell 2000 and the S&P 400 MidCap, and the DOW Euro. Index Blaster also allows you or your clients to generate reports on past index performances or how long premiums or investment funds will last at certain projected interest rates, as well as many other functions. Once logged in to Index Blaster, ACSFP members and/or their clients have access to information that is not available to the general public.

What is Advanced Retirement Planning?

Advanced Retirement Planning is the utilization of market and fixed investments, insurance, wills, and trusts, to meet your individual client's needs and goals. In addition, it is the ability to properly determine each individual client's "tolerance for risk", a topic discussed in detail throughout our study manual as well as in the 3-day classroom review course. Tolerance for risk takes into account many factors, such as age, net worth, goals, and health.

An example where many people suffered from not properly using Advanced Retirement Planning strategies was 2000-2002, and then again during 2008, when the market tanked. During 1995-1999, many people, including seniors became over dependent on the high returns from the market. Then came 2000-2002 and 2008, the "Bust-Period", where these people lost billions of their hard earned savings and retirement dollars. Unfortunately, many people had too much of their savings and retirement dollars invested in variable investments only. Some may never regain all of their losses. Large sums were lost because many received incorrect financial advice from people who didn't even utilize the most basic principle in Advanced Retirement Planning, "tolerance for risk."

Why is there a need for Asset Protection?

Many people who own property and have assets are concerned about bypassing probate and protecting their assets and property from motor vehicle accidents, personal injuries occurring on their property, lawsuits, con-artists, dishonest relatives, business liabilities, malpractice claims, and the many other liabilities that exist today. Seniors are especially vulnerable to these potential asset draining misfortunes, and need to take extra precautions and plan differently than younger people who are still working. Many seniors are also concerned about the Medicaid "Spend-down" rule. Our classroom course will teach you about these problems and their logical solutions. Being an ACSFP Member means you have been trained to correctly steer your clients in the right direction so they can protect their assets from the many hazards that exist today.

What are the Continuing Educational (CE) Requirements to maintain your ACSFP Membership?

Unlike other organizations, the ACSFP is an educational organization and is only available to licensed Life-Health Insurance Agents and also Security Reps. In order for an ACSFP member to continue to be an active ACSFP Member, they must maintain their License, be in good standing with the ACSFP Board, and provide proof that they have completed at least 20 hours of CE every two years. All CE Courses must be approved by a State Department of Insurance and cannot be the same course every two years.

The ACSFP Board requires that every ACSFP member submit a current copy of their resident insurance and/or security license, showing the license expiration date, in order to renew their ACSFP Membership.

How long has the ACSFP been in existence?

The ACSFP became official on June 23rd, 2003. However, the planning and development of the entire course and other tools, which consisted of writing the ACSFP study manual and final exam, preparing all of the training materials provided to our members, the creation of the classroom Power Point presentations, Index Blaster, our website, and getting the class approved for Continuing Education (CE) credits started in September of 2000. Stewart Davidson, President of the ACSFP Board, has been in the Insurance Industry for over 37 years, and has been teaching and training licensed Insurance Agents and Security Reps in Advanced Retirement Planning and Asset Protection for over 14 years.

Is the ACSFP a Senior Citizen Organization?

No, the ACSFP is an Educational Organization. The use of the word ?Senior? in ACSFP-Chartered Senior Financial Planners does not mean that the ACSFP is a senior citizen organization, nor does it mean our members target ?senior citizens.? As our webpage, course content and printed materials, including our code of ethics show, we do not target senior citizens, nor does the ACSFP teach a curriculum specific to senior citizens. The use of the word ?Senior? implies that our members have been educated in more advanced retirement planning, insurance and security products, as well as asset protection strategies, not the age of a target client base. Our beautiful brochure entitled: ?Why I Became an ACSFP Member? which every ACSFP Member agrees to give every prospect or client, also substantiates this fact. For a free copy of this brochure, please contact us by email at info@acsfp.com or by calling us toll free at 866/94-ACSFP, or by fax: (303) 379-6483.

Does the ACSFP provide Private Classes?

Yes. We have performed private classes all of the country for large insurance and/or security rep agencies, and other insurance related organizations. These are organizations that usually have a captive in-house sales force and want to make sure their agents/reps, are properly trained in all areas that our course outline teaches. We normally require a minimum of 30 agents/reps, and that the employers pay all related costs.

Does the ACSFP accept Corporate Sponsorship?

The ACSFP-Association of Chartered Senior Financial Planners is an Education Organization not a marketing company. Therefore, because of state rules and/or laws that many states have developed regarding being associated with an organization like the ACSFR Board, and to make sure that we remain an educational organization, never to be confused as a marketing organization, the answer is usually no. However, if an insurance company or other related organization desires to apply to the ACSFP Board to be a corporate sponsor, we would submit their request to that particular State Department of Insurance and/or SEC Board, to make sure all contractual agreements did not put the ACSFP in any category other than an educational organization. In the past, when we accepted a corporate sponsor, it greatly reduced the initial, which all enrollees appreciated. All requests should be submitted to the ACSFP Board for prior approval.

Can anyone file a complaint against an ACSFP Member?

Yes. Since our inception, our website allows any consumer, insurance company, or anyone else, to file a complaint against an ACSFP Member. Our webpage has a specific section dedicated to filing complaints. All complaints are fully investigated and if any ACSFP member is found to be in violation of the strict code of ethics they have agreed to, then they will be terminated with cause and reported to the proper authority or authorities. In the unlikely event we had to terminate an ACSFP Member for cause, they would also lose all rights associated with being an ACSFP Member. As of 1-2009, no ACSFP Member has ever been terminated for cause and we have had thousands of insurance agents and security reps, which might also be Attorneys, CPA?s, Bankers, and Home Office Employees sign up for our course.