What Is a Fellow, Secure Retirement Institute (FSRI)?

A Fellow, Secure Retirement Institute (FSRI) is well-versed in what it takes to retire in a sustainable way. Their knowledge covers a broad range of retirement topics, from investment management to customer experience. Certification ended in 2023 and is now a legacy designation that is no longer active but still recognized today for existing holders ¹ .

There are a few key considerations regarding the FSRI certification and its role in retirement planning.

A financial advisor can help you identify and access the resources you need to plan a successful retirement.

What Is an FSRI?

An FSRI designation required education and training in retirement planning ² .

Certificate holders have demonstrated the knowledge to support retirement plans and products, enabling them to serve retirement plan clients and advisors. Much of the material was focused on annuities and their use in retirement planning.

The FSRI certificate was issued through 2023 by the Life Office Management Association (LOMA). Based in Atlanta and nearly a century old, LOMA is an international insurance and financial services trade association ³ . Its FSRI curriculum was finalized in 2017, with hundreds of FSRI certificates issued through the program’s end in 2023.

The FSRI certificate confers no specific privileges or powers. Instead, it was meant to enhance a professional’s career by demonstrating a commitment to continuing education and skill development.

Many certificate holders work in support roles for companies in the retirement planning industry. Their employers include several types of financial companies, such as asset management firms, insurance companies, distribution organizations and record-keeping companies. 

FSRI responsibilities cover several areas.

• Operations
• Customer relations
• Compliance
• Marketing
• Distribution

They may also provide guidance to customers and company retirement plan administrators.

Services a Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP) Provides

The CFMP is a marketing credential, not a financial advisory designation. It was built for professionals who promote financial products within banks and other institutions.

The exam covered several areas.

• Revenue generation
• Branding
• Customer experience
• Communications
• Product development

CFMPs do not work directly with individual investors. They operate inside financial institutions, building campaigns, launching products, managing brand strategy and driving sales. Their work faces inward toward the organization, not outward toward retail clients.

The credential is most relevant to professionals working inside banking. Marketing directors, brand managers and product leads in financial institutions are the people who benefit most from holding it.

They use it to solve business problems. This may include growing a bank’s market share in a specific product line, reaching new customer segments through digital channels or developing a compliant advertising strategy for a new savings product.

CFMPs can shape the products and pricing a bank offers. Marketing strategies influence which products get promoted and how they are positioned to different customer segments.

A CFMP is not qualified to provide investment advice, financial planning or tax guidance. Consumers seeking help with personal finances should look for credentials such as a CFP, CFA or CPA instead.

How Much Does a Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP) Cost?

CFMPs do not charge individual clients. They are salaried employees of banks and financial institutions, not client-facing advisors. The costs of earning and maintaining the CFMP were paid by the professional or their employer. Many employers covered these fees through professional development budgets.

CFMPs do not file a Form ADV with the SEC and do not appear in the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. That is because they are bank marketing specialists, not personal financial advisors.

Consumers do not need to ask a CFMP about advisory fees. However, they should still ask questions about financial products marketed to them, including costs and alternatives.

FSRI Requirements for Advisors

FSRI applicants were required to complete eight courses online or using an interactive format.

The FSRI included some unusually comprehensive educational material. Similar courses focus almost entirely on regulations, processes, plan design and products.

FSRI courses delved into several key areas.

• Investment management
• Income and distribution planning
• Employee benefits
• Plan management and consulting
• Sales and marketing.

The seven required FSRI courses each featured three sections.  

1. The three courses in the first section corresponded to the requirements for LOMA’s Certificate in Retirement Essentials. They explored the needs of people preparing for retirement. This included products, providers, processes and retirement planning tools, as well as tax implications.
2. The three courses in the second section focused on the Associate, Secure Retirement Institute certificate. They examined how to evaluate income sources and strategies while calculating retirement income. They also considered how retirement products are marketed, regulated and administered.
3. The final section consisted of a single course dedicated to the future of the retirement system. Anyone who had earned the Associate, Secure Retirement Institute certificate earned the FSRI designation after completing the course.

Annuities were a particular focus throughout. It covered the various types of retirement annuities and how to administer them during the accumulation and payout phases.

Each course concluded with a self-proctored multiple-choice exam of at least 60 questions. The test for the final course was proctored and consisted of 40 multiple-choice and two essay questions.

Costs in Time and Money for Advisors

The total cost for the FSRI certificate was $2,930 for members and $5,860 for all others.

The courses in the first two sections required from eight to 16 hours of study each, while those in the second section were more time-intensive. As a result, the final course calls for 25 to 30 hours of study.

LOMA gave applicants six months from the time they signed up to complete the self-paced curriculum. After receiving the certificate, there were no further requirements. However, certificate holders had to promise to uphold a code of ethics.

LOMA did not stipulate continuing education, renewals or other follow-up requirements.

Comparable Certifications

The Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS) certificate from the College for Financial Planning is an active designation that covers much of the same material ⁴ . However, the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist is primarily aimed at advisors rather than marketing, support, operations and technical personnel.

Hundreds of organizations used FSRI in their work. In just a few years, over 1,800+ certificates were issued.

For people in operations, call center and technical roles at retirement industry firms, the FSRI can help open doors to advancement. Above all, it can reassure retirees that their planner knows the industry and has the experience to help.

Bottom Line

An FSRI doesn’t provide special powers or privileges. Covering a broad range of retirement topics, it required only a relatively modest amount of time and money. Further, it suggests that a professional knows a good deal about retirement planning, annuities and the retirement system as a whole.

While there are other certifications like it, the FSRI was helpful in advancing a retirement professional’s career so they could help future retirees determine their experience with retirement planning.

Retirement Tips

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