What Is a Behavioral Financial Advisor (BFA)?

One of the limitations of using tested investment theory to provide people with rational financial advice is that people aren’t necessarily all that rational. Investors tend to get worried when the market is down and sell cheap at the bottom, locking in losses. On the flip side, they tend to buy in at high prices when the market is rising, so the only way to record gains is if the market keeps going up. The behavioral finance advisor (BFA) accreditation that a financial advisor may have helps them balance you and your portfolio during good times and bad. In fact, a financial advisor with a BFA can help you develop an investment strategy and a suite of tactical moves to maximize the chances of reaching your goals.

How a BFA Certification Can Help Investors

Behavioral finance recognizes that people are rarely entirely rational, are guided by feelings as well as facts, have limited self-control, and may be subject to conscious and unconscious biases, as well as cognitive and information-processing errors. This can be a really bad combination for beginner investors.

To respond to the challenges that this complicated reality presents, Kaplan Financial and Think2Perform – a leadership consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota – created the BFA designation. Think2Perform conceived the BFA as a way to indicate how advisors can go beyond a focus on investment products and more effectively influence the spending and saving behavior of clients. That, arguably, can be a bigger determinant of how well an investment portfolio performs than asset selection.

BFA Certification Requirements

There aren’t any prerequisites to earn a BFA designation. Applicants only have to complete two courses related to behavioral finance and pass a certification exam. The overall goal of the BFA training is to equip advisors to be financial coaches who can integrate conventional financial knowledge about markets and investing with findings from psychology and neuroscience.

The aim is to help clients make more informed decisions and stay aligned with their financial plans by improving emotional awareness around money. The curriculum is delivered through videos, case studies, and interactive exercises, and students can also take an emotional intelligence evaluation to understand how their own emotions influence financial choices.

The first course, Behavioral Advice and You, introduces the core concepts of behavioral finance. The second, Behavioral Advice and Your Clients, explains how to help clients recognize and manage emotional factors that affect financial decision-making.

Completing the two courses typically requires about 20 to 30 hours of study. Students have six months of access to finish the program, which can be completed in as little as six to eight weeks. The Self-Directed BFA Package, designed for independent learners, costs $1,200 and includes access to the full course materials, videos, and exercises. It also provides 20.5 CFP® continuing education credits, a copy of Leveraging Your Financial Intelligence: At the Intersection of Money, Health and Happiness, and a Deck of Values Cards to support self-awareness and client engagement.

After completing the coursework, students must pass the certification exam. To maintain the BFA designation, holders must complete 20 hours of continuing education every two years. These hours must be applicable to other financial professional designations such as the CFP®, chartered financial consultant (ChFC) or chartered life underwriter (CLU). Graduates who pass the exam also gain access to an exclusive community of advisors focused on values-based advising.

BFA Certificate Holder Jobs

A happy couple working with their financial advisor.

The BFA curriculum is designed to accommodate working students, and BFA holders are likely to already be financial advisors who may have advanced financial professional credentials such as Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®). One of the benefits of taking courses like the ones required for a BFA is that it can help satisfy the continuing education requirements of other certifications. The BFA is an optional designation.

Getting a BFA doesn’t provide an advisor with any particular powers or privileges compared to other advisors. It is primarily designed to give advisors tools to better understand clients and motivate them to make wise financial moves.

Comparable Certifications

Behavioral finance doesn’t have many comparable certifications, however, one fairly new designation comes close. Accredited behavior financial professional (ABFP) from Kaplan Financial’s College of Financial Planning requires completing an eight-week course. Designed for advanced financial professionals, the $1,300 course is equivalent to 28 hours of continuing education credit.

When Should Clients Work With a BFA?

A BFA can be especially helpful during times when emotions cloud financial judgment. One common example is a market downturn. Many investors panic when their portfolios drop in value and sell at the wrong time, locking in losses. A BFA is trained to help clients recognize those instincts and stay focused on the long-term plan instead of reacting to fear.

Another situation where a BFA’s guidance matters is during the transition into retirement. Retirees may feel pressure to shift all their investments into conservative assets, fearing market volatility. While caution is important, moving too aggressively into low-yield investments can increase the risk of outliving savings. A BFA can help balance emotional comfort with the need for growth to sustain income.

New investors can also benefit from working with a BFA. Overconfidence often leads beginners to take on more risk than they can handle, while others avoid investing altogether because of fear of loss. A BFA helps by framing investment decisions realistically, coaching clients through the ups and downs of early investing, and reinforcing habits that build long-term wealth.

A BFA’s skills are also valuable when clients face major financial events such as selling a business, receiving an inheritance, or making large real estate decisions. These moments can carry both excitement and stress, and biases like anchoring to a sale price or feeling guilty about spending inherited money can distort decision-making. A BFA helps clients recognize these biases and create a rational, goal-driven strategy.

Couples and families may find a BFA’s coaching especially useful. Disagreements about money are often tied to values and emotions rather than math. For instance, one spouse may prioritize aggressive saving while the other values more spending flexibility. A BFA can guide both parties toward shared financial goals, while helping them understand the emotional drivers behind their different approaches.

In short, a BFA is most valuable in situations where money decisions intersect with stress, fear, or conflicting emotions. By combining financial knowledge with behavioral coaching, they can help clients avoid costly mistakes and keep their strategies aligned with long-term goals.

Bottom Line

Behavioral finance is an offshoot of conventional financial theory that recognizes that in the real world, human decision-makers are often influenced by emotion, biases and cognitive errors as much or more than purely rational analysis of the optimal course of action. BFAs are trained to recognize the human fallibility in themselves and their clients and help clients see and manage their irrational tendencies to make better financial decisions.

Investment Planning Tips

If you have trouble making good financial decisions when your emotions are pushing you in a different direction, consider working with an experienced financial advisor. Finding one doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
One of the key factors to consider in creating a financial plan and then executing that plan is the buying power of a dollar over time in the United States. A free inflation calculator can give you a quick estimate of your money’s buying power.