CFP Exam Cheat Sheet.

Format & logistics

• 170 MCQs · two 3-hour sessions (85 + 85) · 40-min break · optional subsection breaks
• Offered 3×/year in 8-day windows: March · July · November — pick your day and center early
• Question types: stand-alone · short scenarios (~3 qs) · case studies (several pages, 8-12 qs)
• No preset pass rate, no percent-correct target — Standard Setting decides; answer everything
• Official 170-q Practice Exam ($249 value) free with registration — save it for full-dress rehearsal
• Eligibility: education coursework first

Domain weights (study allocation)

• Retirement 18% · Investments 17% · General Principles 15% · Tax 14% — nearly ⅔ of the exam
• Insurance 11% · Estate 10% · Conduct 8% · Psychology 7% — the last two are the cheapest points

Conduct anchors

• Fiduciary duty attaches whenever giving financial advice — loyalty, care, follow instructions
• Conflicts: disclose + informed consent + still act in best interest — disclosure alone never cures
• Fee-only = no commissions · fee-based = fees AND commissions (not synonyms)
• SIPC = custody failure, never market loss · large RIAs → SEC, small → states

Numbers that repeat

• Emergency fund: 3-6 months essential expenses
• TEY = muni yield ÷ (1 − marginal rate) — DIVIDE
• Beta 1.4 × market +10% ≈ +14% (symmetric both ways)
• 4% guideline = historical initial withdrawal heuristic, not a guarantee
• Annuity due = ordinary × (1 + i) — beginning-of-period payments are worth more

Definition pairs (the exam's favorite trap)

• Marginal (next dollar) vs effective (average) — strategies price at the MARGIN
• Own-occupation vs any-occupation disability — surgeon-who-can-teach collects under own-occ
• Standard deviation (total risk) vs beta (market risk) · Sharpe ÷ σ vs Treynor ÷ β
• Asset allocation (mix) vs asset location (which account holds what)
• Term (pure protection) vs whole life (permanent + cash value) · SPIA insures longevity, life insurance insures early death
• Revocable trust (probate avoidance, NO tax/creditor shield) vs irrevocable (control surrendered, estate exclusion)

Estate hierarchy

• Titling & beneficiary forms BEAT the will — JTWROS and designations pass outside probate
• Marital deduction DEFERS tax to survivor's death — not elimination
• Durable POA survives incapacity; ALL POAs die at death · healthcare decisions need their own directive
• ILIT: trust owns the policy → death benefit outside the estate; retained control defeats it

Psychology quick catalog

• "Wait till it gets back to what I paid" = anchoring + loss aversion
• "Stocks always go up (lately)" = recency · refund-as-free-money = mental accounting
• Auto-enrollment works via inertia · paraphrase-and-confirm = active listening

Night before

• Re-run the definition pairs and the domain weights — triage any final review by weight
• Pace: bank time on stand-alones, protect the case studies, flag 3-minute sinkholes
• Take the 40-minute break properly — it is a six-hour day