News & Updates
CFP BOARD ACHIEVES RECORD GROWTH of CFP PROFESSIONALS
CFP® Certificants in the News Despite the specter of the pandemic, the number of CFP® Professionals grew in 2020 to 87,726. We will rely upon selected excerpts from CFP Board Reports Impressive 2020 Growth to summarize the growth and increasing diversification of CFP® Professionals. Increasing Diversity According to CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller, “The increase in…
Read MoreLast Minute COVID-19 and Tax Extenders Bill
Good to Know President Trump signed the COVID-19 and Tax Extenders Bill into law on December 27, 2020. This blog will focus upon the following key provisions: Pandemic Relief CARES Act Extensions and Pandemic Provisions Tax Provisions Disaster Tax Relief Tax Extenders Pandemic Relief The bill provides a refundable tax credit in the amount of…
Read MoreCFP Board Relaunches Financial Planning Website
CFP Board Updates Based on feedback from consumer research and user testing, the CFP Board has revamped and now relaunched the financial planning website – letsmakeaplan.org. The goal of the new website is to provide content that enables the consumer to gain a better understanding of the importance of financial planning and then how to…
Read MoreTOP 4 FINANCIAL CONCERNS OF THE PANDEMIC
CFP® Certificants in the News More than five of every ten Americans are experiencing “high” to “very high” financial stress levels as a result of the pandemic according to a survey commissioned by CFP Board and released December 3, 2020. Admittedly, that is hardly a seismic revelation. But if we dig below the headlines, you…
Read MoreThe Georgia Senate Races and Personal Tax Planning
Good to Know- Elections matter. They matter for a number of reasons, many of which are far more profound than financial effects and, as such, are out of any financial professional’s control. However, the financial advisor or financial planner may help prepare a client for potential tax changes in 2021. If, as a result of…
Read MoreCFP Board Registered Programs Conference
CFP Board Updates The CFP Board Registered Programs Conference took place December 15-16, 2020. The conference is an annual gathering of financial planning educators, thought leaders, financial service professionals, and the CFP Board. For registered programs, it provides an opportunity to network with other schools and learn valuable updates from the CFP Board. This year’s…
Read MoreGood to Know: Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Good to Know We look to a highly respected source – The National Law Review1 – to help clarify confusion over ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing issues in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Specially, we focus upon The National Law Review’s commentary on these issues: An overview of the final rule, Key requirements of the final rule,…
Read MoreCFP Board’s Code and Standards vs. SEC’s Reg BI
CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board published “What You Need to Know About CFP Board’s Code and Standards and Reg BI” on August 17, 2020; we will address the following questions with direct quotes from CFP Board’s publication: Does Reg BI apply to CFP® Certificants? How do the standards of conduct differ? How do…
Read MoreGood to Know: Six Key Factors in Choosing When to Claim Social Security Retirement Benefits
Good to Know We discussed Social Security claiming age coaching opportunities for savvy Financial Advisors in our last blog. Now we will provide added insights into six key factors that should influence the claiming age decision. A lifetime of careful retirement planning can be undermined with the wrong Social Security claiming age choice. Yet a…
Read MoreClosing the Gender Gap in Financial Planning
CFP® Certificants in the News Laura J. LaTourette, CFP® recently posted “How Women Can Help Close the Finance Gender Gap” on CFP Board’s Let’s Make A Plan website. According to Laura, “The disparity between the number of women and the number of men in the financial services industry has been a point of discussion for…
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