About CFP Board

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Publications

CFP Board’s Financial Planning Competency Handbook

CFP Board's first book, the Financial Planning Competency Handbook, is now available from booksellers nationwide. Published by highly respected academic publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the Handbook is designed for the entire financial planning profession — including students, professors and practitioners — and provides a theoretical framework for many of the major content areas in financial planning as well as real-world guidance for practicing professionals.

CFP® professionals can order the Financial Planning Competency Handbook from CFP Board through their online CFP Board accounts (log in, access your account, and look for the Handbook in the "Online Store" section of your account).

The Handbook can also be ordered from your favorite bookseller and is available in electronic format for iBooks and Kindle (Nook version available April 9).


Financial Self-Defense For Seniors

Financial Self-Defense for Seniors describes 10 “Red Flags” – common situations in which older Americans are vulnerable to financial abuse – and provides warning signs of financial abuse; real-life situations in which seniors were taken advantage of; and advice for seniors and their families for guarding against such abuse. 

 Download a copy of Financial Self-Defense For Seniors (PDF, 2 MB)




Consumer Guide to Financial Planning

The Consumer Guide to Financial Planning is full of information to learn about the importance of financial planning; steps to get started with a financial plan; and important tips to get the most out of working with a personal financial planner.


Request a free Consumer Guide to Financial Planning





CFP Board’s Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense

CFP Board has teamed up with the U.S. General Services Administration to make available a brochure educating consumers about how to identify a qualified financial advisor and providing tips to avoid "red flags" that may signal an unqualified financial advisor. We encourage you to share this brochure with your clients and potential clients.

Download in PDF format

Request hard copies free of charge from the GSA’s Federal Citizen Information Center. (On the publication order form, search for publication 580W under the “Investing & Saving” heading.)


"Let's Make a Plan" eNewsletter

Subscribe to CFP Board's monthly "Let's Make a Plan" eNewsletter and CFP Board will email you information about financial planning, consumer alerts, financial planning tools and resources and much more.

Subscribe to "Let's Make a Plan" eNewsletter

Read the latest "Let's Make a Plan" eNewsletter

 

A Message from CFP Board's CEO

Welcome to CFP Board’s new website! I am pleased to introduce you to the first phase of a comprehensive redesign of our CFP.net and LetsMakeAPlan.org websites.

Read the Full Message

Did You Know?

Among clients who work with an advisor, 87% of those working with a CFP® professional are satisfied or very satisfied, compared with 72% of those who work with an advisor without certification.
Anyone can call himself a “financial planner.” Only professionals who meet CFP Board’s rigorous standards can call themselves CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals.
The 2012 Household Financial Planning Survey shows that those with a financial plan feel more confident and report more success managing money, savings & investments than those who have not.
Putting Your Needs First
CFP Board requires CFP® professionals to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own at all times.