Experience and Credentials to serve you well

Most people think that all financial planners are “certified,” but this isn’t true. Anyone can call himself or herself a “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of CFP Board can display the CFP^® certification marks.

Individuals certified by CFP Board have taken the extra step to demonstrate their professionalism by voluntarily submitting to the rigorous CFP^® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience and ethical requirements. These standards are called “the four E’s,” and they are four important reasons why the financial planning practitioner you select should display the CFP^® certification marks.

When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical. The CFP^® certification provides that sense of security by allowing only those who meet the following requirements the right to use the CFP^® certification marks.

CFP^® Certification Requirements: the four E’s.

Education: CFP^® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by CFP Board. Other options for satisfying the education component include submitting a transcript review or previous financial planning-related course work to CFP Board for review and credit, or showing the attainment of certain professional designations or academic degrees.

Examination: CFP^® practitioners must pass a comprehensive two-day, 6-hour CFP^® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.

Experience: CFP^® professionals must have three years’ minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP^® certification marks. As a result, CFP^® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.

Ethics: As a final step to certification, CFP^® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. CFP Board also performs a background check during this process, and each individual must disclose any investigations or legal proceedings related to their professional or business conduct.

How does CFP Board’s Code of Ethics benefit me?

Through the Code of Ethics, CFP^® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP^® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering you professional services that are objective and based on your needs. They are required to provide you with information about their sources of compensation and conflicts of interest in writing.

Ongoing certification requirements

Once certified, CFP^® practitioners are required to maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations. Every two years, they must complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve clients. Two of these hours are spent studying or discussing CFP Board’s Code of Ethics or Practice Standards. In addition to the biennial continuing education requirement, all CFP^® practitioners voluntarily disclose any public, civil, criminal or disciplinary actions that may have been taken against them during the previous two years as part of the renewal process.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner™, CFP^® (with plaque design) and CFP^® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

A Chartered Financial Analyst® is one of the world’s most respected and recognized investment designations. Successful candidates take an average of four years to earn their CFA charter. He or she has the skills needed for high-level, specialized asset-management responsibilities, including security analysis, portfolio management and business reporting.

Members of CFA Institute, including charterholders and candidates for the CFA designation, must:

• Act with integrity, competence, diligence, respect, and in an ethical manner with the public, clients, prospective clients, employers, employees, colleagues in the investment profession, and other participants in the global capital markets.
• Place the integrity of the investment profession and the interests of clients above their own personal interests.
• Use reasonable care and exercise independent professional judgment when conducting investment analysis, making investment recommendations, taking investment actions, and engaging in other professional activities.
• Practice and encourage others to practice in a professional and ethical manner that will reflect credit on ourselves and the profession.
• Promote the integrity of, and uphold the rules governing, capital markets.
• Maintain and improve their professional competence and strive to maintain and improve the competence of other investment professionals.

A Chartered Financial Consultant^® has completed the most extensive educational program required for any financial services credential. Each ChFC^® has taken nine or more college-level courses on all aspects of financial planning from The American College, a non-profit educator with the highest level of academic accreditation.

Each ChFC^® must also complete a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education every two years, adhere to strict ethical standards, and meet extensive experience requirements to ensure that you get the professional financial advice you need.

A ChFC^® can assist you with creating a comprehensive financial approach, preserving your assets and managing risk with appropriate levels of insurance, mitigating taxes for you and your business, helping you secure your retirement, building an investment approach to help you reach your goals, and enhancing the value of your estate in order to provide for your loved ones.

Earning the designation of Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ requires the completion of an intensive course covering the financial planning process, the five disciplines of financial planning and general financial planning concepts, terminology and product categories. To become certified, individuals must pass an exam demonstrating their ability to assimilate intricate concepts and to apply abstract theories to real-life scenarios.

Widely considered to be the most respected insurance designation in the industry, a Chartered Life Underwriter specializes in life insurance and estate planning. This designation was created in 1927 by the American College, a nonprofit educator with the highest level of academic accreditation. The curriculum includes fundamentals of insurance planning, life insurance law, individual life insurance, fundamentals of estate planning, and planning for business owners and professionals.