CFP in the News

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…

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…

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…

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…

CFP® Certificants in the News Those taking the CFP® Exam consistently lose vital points in 5 key areas: Failure to enroll in a review course, Lack of a disciplined study plan, Failure to answer enough practice questions, Failure to know the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, and Lack of an exam-taking strategy We…

CFP® Certificants in the News The COVID-19-related CARES Act of 2020 was not tested on the September 2020 CFP® Exam. Only key portions of the Act will be tested on the November 2020 CFP® Exam according to CFP Board. An excerpt from the CFP BOARD KEY ELEMENTS CARES ACT 2020  follows: “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was…

CFP® Certificants in the News You’ve heard it said that “you must be present to win.” That expression was never truer than in passing the CFP Board Exam. However, you no longer have to be present in person at a testing center to take the exam. On July 16, CFP Board issued a press release…

CFP® Certificants in the News The annual rate of public discipline against CFP® Certificants is estimated at less than two tenths of one percent. Yet, even the best of professions needs ethical enforcement. For example, CFP Board published a notice of public discipline against 13 Certificants on June 3, 2020. We will not repeat the…

“Honesty is the best policy.” -Sir Edwin Sandys, 1599 CFP Board reported automatic interim suspensions on several participants’ right to use the CFP® mark in its April 14, 2020, press release. The CFP Board suspensions were based upon investment license revocations by the State of California and FINRA. Assuming the allegations made by CFP Board are proven, a number of recently-disciplined CFP® certificants…

COVID19, Market Volatility and Staying Calm The author had a Trust client that I will call Mr. B, a decorated former Marine. He built a highly successful business after he left the Marine Corps and eventually sold the business at a favorable valuation. While most of the author’s trust clients were highly stressed by the…