CFP® Certification—A Competitive Edge

CFP® Certificants in the News According to CFP Board, “more than 10,000 firms across the U.S. are employers of CFP® professionals, and with good reason.” The chart below testifies to the explosive growth of clients that prefer working with a CFP® Certificant in 2023, rising dramatically to over eight of every ten clients from only two…

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CFP Board Supports Expansion of Fiduciary Duty

CFP® Certificants in the News The Employee Retirement Investment Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) pioneered desperately needed reforms for employer provided retirement plans. As just one example of pre-ERISA abuses, some employers required lengthy vesting requirements and—in a flagrantly deplorable practice—terminated employees before they became vested to avoid paying pensions. Fifty years ago, ERISA rode…

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Are You Displaying Your CFP® Mark Correctly?

CFP® Certificants in the News Take this quick quiz to test your knowledge of CFP Board’s expectations of your use of the CFP® mark. For every use of the mark below, determine which is compliant. Note that question number 1 in our previous article was based on an accidental and incorrect posting by CFP Board.…

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Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board has a deadline of December 3 for you to post comments on it’s proposed revisions to sanction guidelines and fitness standards. A summary of the key proposed changes follow. “A revised inventory of 52 conduct categories that align with the Code and Standards A new list of 25 general aggravating and…

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529 PLAN FUNDS FOR CFP® CERTIFICATION

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board joined the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Financial Planning Association, and 13 other organizations nationwide to support the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce bill (the bill) currently being considered in the House of Representatives.  Refreshingly, the bill has broad bipartisan support from more than 65…

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Will AI Replace Human Financial Advisors?

CFP® Certificants in the News Surprisingly, about 3 in every 10 investors either trust or somewhat trust purely AI-generated financial advice, according to a recent article by CFP Board.  However, financial advice from a human financial advisor still reigns for most investors—almost 9 of 10 trust their advisor’s advice.  Interestingly, the trust level in AI-generated…

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401(k) Plans and Same-Sex Couples

CFP® Certificants in the News Financial planning for same-sex couples is as important as planning for opposite-sex couples according to CFP Board.  For context, the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell gave same-sex couples the right to marry and, once married, to enjoy the same rights as opposite-sex married couples.  However, the new rights generally…

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How Safe is Your Client’s Cash?

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board expects certificants to understand “safe haven investments” of cash.  A safe haven in this context is an account with a low default risk, as in bank deposits guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  You may have heard that cash deposited into a federally chartered bank is…

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This Short Quiz Can Keep You Out of Trouble With CFP Board

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board reminds us of the duty to report ethical matters in their July Newsletter article—Focus on Ethics: Duty to Report Information to CFP Board.  This brief quiz will test your understanding. True or False, a CFP® professional must report the following to CFP Board within 30 days? Being named…

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Trailing Commissions and Sales-Related Compensation

CFP® Certificants in the News True or false, a CFP® professional who receives trailing commissions cannot represent their practice as “fee-only” under any circumstance.  The answer may surprise you.  Read on to see why. CFP Board “Standard A.12 of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct provides that a CFP® professional may not make false or misleading representations…

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