Almost half of Financial Planners globally think the standard for CFP certification should be higher.
In a survey by Financial Planet, a global blog run by the Financial Planning Standards Board, 48 per cent thought standards should be higher.
A further 48 per cent thought the standard was "at the right level" and four per cent thought it should be lower.
There are almost 150,000 CFP professionals globally including 900 in the UK.
Commenting on the results, Paul Rabenowitz CFP from South Africa said the CFP was too generalist and that other fields required a minimum of a Master's degree to be regarded as an 'expert'.
He said: "At best the CFP designation is of a generalist nature, providing candidates with an overview of every aspect that relates to the financial planning components.
"It neither focuses on the development of legal theories through the common-law, nor does it provide the in-depth technical focus to allow candidates to manage a client's portfolio or the tools to develop intricate cash flow strategies for clients.
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"The standard for CFP certification should be much higher to reflect the complexity in regulatory, legal, economic and mathematical arenas that make up the current body of knowledge."
Lovali Navlakhi CFP from India said the current standards could be higher but that the exam was to test knowledge not skills and ablities.
He said: "The examinations that are given to obtain the coveted CFP mark level the playing field and set a minimum common denominator for all planners, be it experienced or new.
"While we lament that there is a significant gap of knowledge between planners (that is bound to remain), we can be sure that the certification ensures everyone has that same minimum knowledge level." 

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