What is a CFP® Professional?
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation is recognized for its high standard of professional education, stringent code of conduct, and standards of practice and ethical requirements governing professional engagements with clients.
More than 71,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States. It is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification.
Requirements
To achieve certification, an individual must fulfill the following requirements:
- Education
- Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services. These include:
- insurance planning and risk management
- employee benefits planning
- investment planning
- income tax planning
- retirement planning
- estate planning
- Attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university).
- Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services. These include:
- Examination
- Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances.
- Experience
- Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year)
- Ethics
- Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP® professionals.
Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks:
- Continuing Education
- Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field.
- Ethics
- Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.
CFP® professionals who don’t comply comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.
Source: https://www.cfp.net/docs/default-source/consumer-outreach/what_is_cfp_certification.pdf
Becky has been a CFP® professional for over 30 years and has focused her career on helping companies build successful, customer-focused businesses. She has special expertise in financial planning, insurance and mortgage strategies for the retirement marketplace.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks
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