News & Updates – Online CFP Program

Get the CFP® Certification: 3 Key Reasons

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP® Certification is fast becoming a “must-have” designation for at least three reasons: Client awareness, Fiduciary Ethical Standard, and Doing well by doing good. Client Awareness An impressive 83% of consumers are aware of the CFP® Mark,1 far outstripping consumer awareness of other financial planning designations. CFP Board played a…

Avoid Turning $1,000,000 into $12,000

Good to Know Imagine an individual investor passionate about a specific stock (it happens more often than you might think). Assume the investor’s portfolio is worth $2 million, but $1 million is in just one stock. How could that $1,000,000 concentration hemorrhage into only $12,000 in just over one year? Sadly, that’s precisely what happened…

Independent RIAs: Three Trends to Thrive

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board reports in its March 24, 2022 article that “Registered investment advisor (RIA) firms are an important factor in the future of the financial planning profession…” The article discusses how three trends offer independents a path to continued growth including: Hyper-specialization, Increased personalization and Digitalization. The text in quotation marks…

Managing Concentration Wealth Risk — Swap (Exchange) Fund

Good to Know Purpose The goal of a swap fund is to reduce concentration of wealth risk through a unique approach to diversification. We will review this intriguing strategy’s operation, legal structure, tax implications, pros, and cons. Operation A swap fund (after this referred to as “the fund”) is a pool of concentrated positions in…

Millenial and Gen Z Clients Need Financial Advice

CFP® Certificants in the News According to a recent CFP Board article, financial opportunity abounds in serving the Millenial and Gen Z generations. For example, the article reveals that “more than half of Americans were Millennials or younger as of July 2020. While the term ‘Millennial’ has been synonymous with ‘young adult’ throughout much of the…

CFP Board’s Disciplinary Actions: Implications for the CFP Board Exam

Good to Know Forewarned is forearmed when studying for the CFP Board exam or choosing a CFP® Certification program. In its latest release of public discipline, CFP Board telegraphs its continued priority for enforcing ethical conduct. Recent disciplinary actions include public censures, suspensions, and revocations. Public Censures Public censures were issued for: Selling securities without…

CFP Board Releases New Practice Exams

CFP® Board Updates For several years, the CFP Board has provided CFP Board exam practice exams to help students prepare for the board exam. Those exams have now been updated to mirror the format and content coverage of the CFP® Board Exam, which provides the closest possible experience to exam day. In addition, upon completion…

What Do You Need to Know to Pass the CFP Board Exam?

Good to Know The question posed in this article’s title can be answered by applying the timeless wisdom of a Chinese general who died over 2,500 years ago. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” -Sun Szu, 544-496 BC While the CFP Board exam…

Pro Bono Opportunity: Help Prevent Financial Elder Abuse

CFP® Certificants in the News According to nolo.com, “Financial fraud is the fastest-growing form of elder abuse. Broadly defined, financial elder abuse is when someone illegally or improperly uses a vulnerable senior’s money or other property. Most states now have laws that make elder financial abuse a crime and provide ways to help the senior…

Investment Risk on the CFP Board Exam: Part IV

Good to Know This is the final article of our four-article series on investment risk for the CFP Board exam. Here’s a reminder of the risk concepts we’ve covered so far in the series: Part I: When to trust the “mean” return, Part II: Using standard deviation to manage investment risk, and Part III: Skewness—Do…