While some professionals may market themselves as financial planners, only a credentialed financial professional who has met the rigorous requirements and successfully passed the CFP® exam qualifies to be recognized as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ .
What Makes a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) Distinctive in Their Profession?
The educational requirements for becoming a CFP® include earning a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, followed by completion of CFP Board-approved coursework. The coursework that must be mastered as part of earning a CFP® designation includes:
- Income, savings, and tax planning
- Risk management and insurance planning
- Investment planning
- Retirement and estate planning, and other disciplines that are each integral for equipping a CFP® professional to serve clients holistically.
Following completion of coursework, CFP® candidates must sit for their board exam. Additionally, the award of a CFP® designation includes a requirement for 6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience that meets additional requirements.
But earning the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification goes beyond education, training, and demonstrated mastery of the subject matter. A CFP® professional is held to high ethical and competency standards and, as a fiduciary, must be wholly committed to acting in the best interests of the client.
The CFP Board Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct provides requirements for the delivery of financial planning services. Compliance with the Code and Standards is a requirement of CFP® certification. Violations of the Code and Standards may result in a CFP® professional losing certification or other disciplinary action.
A CFP® practitioner is deemed responsible to clients for duty of loyalty, duty of care, and duty to follow client instructions. Character and performance requirements address integrity, competence, diligence, disclosure and management of conflicts of interest, execution of sound and objective professional judgment, professionalism, compliance with the law, disclosure of information to clients, accountability for recommendations, abstaining from borrowing, lending, or comingling financial assets with clients, sound and thorough financial planning and planning practices, commitment to monitoring progress and updating, and accountability to firms, subordinates, and the CFP Board.
Learn More: Why Choose a CFP® Professional
What is The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ certification?
Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors is proud to offer its clients CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ services.
