Anytime I pay taxes I don’t pay less than if I sheltered that amount. If I pay them now vs after I start receiving RMD it will be at a lesser rate. You should know that so I answered the question I asked you.
You are not a CFP but fall into the category of shoe salesman. You are in it for the Commision for your boss plus what you can put into your own pocket first. The needs of the customer come second.
So you're taking distributions and paying taxes now to lower the account value to try to keep your tax bracket lower for future RMDs? Am I understanding you correctly?
He's a free tip...if you're already charitably inclined, consider gifting your RMD instead of writing checks to charities (Qualified Charitable Distribution). The charity doesn't pay taxes, it won't increase your taxes and you keep your money in your checking account.
Now to answer your question.
I do not have my CFP.
To answer the Why part of your question: I'm part of a 4 person wealth management team and together we have 5 designations. I have 3 and I'm currently working on my CPWA. One of my partners is a CFP. I think it would be a better use of my time to pursue a designation we don't currently have, plus the CPWA is better suited for our clientele anyways. Once I get the CPWA behind me, I doubt I'll pursue a CFP, not for a few years at least.
I wouldn't expect you to know this, but the knowledge base involved with a CFP is very wide, but very shallow. The CPWA is very narrow but deep.
In regards to your childish "shoe salesman" jab, my practice is 89% fee-based and the remaining 11% is made up of commission based activity, life and LTC insurance and a tiny sliver of annuity business (don't care much for them) . We are not taking on any more non-fee based clients.
