It’s hard to believe that plans to move CFP Board’s headquarters were announced less than nine months ago. It was a decision made with careful deliberation by the Board of Directors and one we knew would have a lasting impact on the organization. At the time, we knew that packing an organization and moving it across the country was an immense project. But with a project of that size, the reality of its immensity isn’t something you fully understand as the process begins.

The reality of the move really hit home with me last month. It happened during a “hard-hat” tour of the K Street office that was provided to me and several of my colleagues on the Board of Directors. Even with the space not yet occupied and still undergoing final renovation work, it was easy to feel the space’s promise and see how its structure and location will accommodate CFP Board’s important work. It helped that our tour guide was Kevin Keller, CFP Board’s CEO, and that he explained even small details of the space with genuine enthusiasm and with a clear vision of how the office will be used to further CFP Board’s mission.

When the Board selected Kevin as CFP Board’s CEO, his experience managing the relocation of another organization certainly fit CFP Board’s current situation well. But that was not by any means a primary consideration. Our goal wasn’t to find someone who could coordinate a move; we were looking for someone who could lead CFP Board and help it reach toward its potential for many years to come. During the past months, the Board has been pleased with the way Kevin has been able to manage the details of the transition while not making those details his sole focus. Immediate situations and details have been addressed, but the focus has been on developing the staff, resources and relationships that CFP Board needs to reach its goals over the long term.

As the Board has had opportunities to interact and develop relationships with Kevin and his new leadership team, we’ve felt reassured that our confidence has been well placed. I believe CFP Board’s staff is well-aligned with the goals established by the Board of Directors and that we will be working together in the same direction. As you have time to develop relationships with CFP Board’s staff in Washington, I trust you’ll also be pleased with their quality, dedication and professionalism. I’m confident that CFP Board’s stakeholders will see results as CFP Board works in the nation’s capital to more effectively advance CFP Board’s mission to promote the high standards for financial planning represented by CFP® certification and further the interests of the American public.

It has been my honor to serve CFP Board as 2007 Chair of the Board of Directors. I thank all of you who contributed to CFP Board’s successes during this past year, and I look forward to seeing CFP Board and CFP® certification reach new levels of excellence in the years to come.

Karen P. Schaeffer, CFP®
2007 Chair, Board of Directors
CFP Board

On November 19, 2007 at 8:30 a.m., CFP Board entered an exciting new phase of its history when 35 employees reported to our new headquarters at 1425 K Street.

It would have been impossible to meet the aggressive time schedule for opening the new office without the dedicated efforts of many staff members. The Finance and Information Technology team — including CFO Emil Mara, IT Director Bob Nedbal and Network Analyst J.R. Martinez — burnt the candle at both ends in Denver and Washington to make sure the new office’s technology systems functioned on day one. Contact Center Manager Brian Pfeiffer helped roll out CFP Board’s phone system in the new office. And Don I. Tharpe, who during the past year served not only as CFP Board’s Interim CEO but also continued to provide services during the transition, all but took over the construction site to ensure that it passed final inspection, then spent a weekend supervising the move of supplies and equipment from our temporary office to the new headquarters.

A big thank you to all who contributed to the successful move — and to their families, many of whom have endured the heavy travel schedules required by a transition of this magnitude.

While we’re still working to put names to faces and learning our way around the new space, the team is coming together nicely. David Strege, CFP®, 2008 Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors, took time this week to visit with staff and share about the Board of Directors and their goals for CFP Board and CFP® certification. CFP Board’s executive leadership and senior staff have already completed intensive meetings focused on planning and team building, and the entire staff will be involved in a week-long orientation later this month. We’re taking time to ensure the team understands CFP Board’s mission and the role each member plays in furthering that mission.

Our use of parallel staffing during the transition has provided benefits to many departments within CFP Board. The success of this strategy was especially evident last month in the professional review area. The new staff that will be handling professional review matters was able to spend several weeks in Denver working beside current staff members. The combined team worked together to organize and host the most recent disciplinary hearings.

We are on schedule to close the Denver office by December 31, 2007. CFP Board’s Denver staff has remained dedicated and engaged throughout the transition, and I thank them all for their continued support and contributions.

Kevin R. Keller, CAE
CEO, CFP Board

Open your wallet, take out any bill, look at the back, and you’ll see it right there: “In God we trust.” That may seem like a strange thing to see printed on the back of a $10 bill, since many faiths teach that spirituality and money don’t easily mix. But increasingly, consumers are trying to integrate their spiritual beliefs into their financial lives. And a small but growing number of banks and planners are working with clients of faith to offer financial products and advice consistent with religious doctrines.

The move towards faith-based personal finance is partly a result of the broader trend towards “holistic” financial planning, in which a person’s lifestyle and values are considered just as important as his or her bank balance. For persons of faith, financial decisions must be based on their religion’s specific tenets or prohibitions, too. Islam forbids interest, for instance, so Muslims who want to conduct their financial affairs in accordance with Islamic law (known as Shariah) must not incur or charge interest on loans. Jewish investors who want their portfolios to reflect the spirit of Jewish law (known as Halacha) must avoid holding shares in companies that operate on the Sabbath.

Kingdom Advisors is one group that provides financial advice from a Christian perspective. The firm has some 1,200 members in 35 branches nationwide and its mission, according to its Web site, is “to transform how Christian financial advisors think, apply, and communicate spiritual financial principles with their clients.” Kingdom Advisors are trained in all the areas you would expect from a financial professional, but they also integrate Christian beliefs into every aspect of their practice. According to Ron Blue, president of Kingdom Advisors, biblical wisdom gives Christian advisors a unique “value proposition” that complements their professional skills. “God doesn’t have to rewrite the Bible every time there’s a new tax law,” he says in an introductory video on the Kingdom Advisors site.

Kingdom Advisors hosts a number of “affinity groups,” forums through which members share collective wisdom and best practice around specific topics. Dan Hardt, CFP® of Hardt Financial Services in Louisville, KY, moderates the biblically responsible investing (BRI) affinity group. Kingdom Advisors defines BRI as “the purposeful accumulation of resources in a way that honors God, respects His priorities, and is obedient to Scripture.” Investors who want their portfolios to reflect BRI values will avoid companies that support or promote abortion, pornography, gambling, or non-married sexual lifestyles, among other things.

According to Hardt, “BRI issues are not always black and white. There is no, ‘Do this and don’t do that and you’ll have BRI nailed.’ It’s like peeling an onion. With every one of God’s truths that we uncover, we see more beneath the surface waiting to be explored.” There are a number of mutual funds — such as Mennonite Mutual Aid Funds, the Presbyterian Church’s New Covenant Funds and the Catholic Ave Maria Funds — set up with BRI principles in mind. In total, these types of funds are worth some $17 billion, according to Morningstar.

“BRIs are like other investments,” Hardt says. “Some have performed well, some not so well. I don’t believe this is caused by their biblical focus; it’s just the normal bell curve. Clients must weigh this trade off, real or perceived, for themselves. My experience is that most Christians have a stronger conviction about following biblical principles than they do about trying to squeeze out that extra possible marginal return. We believe that many Christians are ready to find ways to have their faith and their everyday life intersect in more meaningful and lasting ways. It’s up to us — Christian financial professionals — to bridge this gap.”

Muslims who want to make their financial lives compliant with Islamic law must arrange their affairs so that they do not pay or charge interest. That’s because, according to Islamic principles, money has no value in itself; it is merely a measure of the value of other things. For that reason, Muslims believe there should be no interest attached to borrowing or lending. The prohibition against interest applies only to money, however. There is no prohibition against earning a rate of return on investments, for example, since an investment is based on the ownership of shares, which — unlike cash — have value in themselves.

But how do you purchase a home, for example, without incurring interest on a loan? One way is to take out an Ijara mortgage, an increasingly popular option among the estimated 6 to 8 million Muslims living in the U.S. In an Ijara arrangement, the lender purchases the property and then sells it on to the borrower for the same price. The borrower pays back the lender through a lease agreement, incurring an additional monthly rent on top of the mortgage repayment. The monthly rent is considered a fee for the use of the property rather than an interest payment.

According to Nazir A. Gurukambal, vice president at Chicago-based Devon Bank, which provides Shariah-compliant mortgages, it is not just conservative Muslims who are interested in these kinds of products. “Demand goes well beyond just observant Muslims, and it’s growing,” Gurukambal says. “These products have not been available before. We see people who have been renting for 15 or 25 years, saving for the day when they could take advantage of an Ijara mortgage. So they come to us with a huge down payment to buy a home. In terms of the size of the market, we’re just hitting the tip of the iceberg.”

Shariah products are designed to be as close to, and as competitive with, conventional products as possible. But Gurukambal points out there may be additional costs. In an Ijara mortgage, for example, a bank might set up a limited liability company that legally owns the property it leases back to the buyer. The set up fees for this could run to $1,000, plus another $250 or so annually to keep the LLC running. “It’s worth it to many Muslims,” says Gurukambal. “People who prefer Shariah products want them even if it costs more.”

The United Kingdom, home to some 2.5 million Muslims, is ahead of the U.S. when it comes to offering a full range of Islamic financial products. The Islamic Bank of Britain, for example, offers a Shariah-compliant savings account that avoids interest by investing deposits and then sharing the profits with customers. Withdrawals can be made without penalty or notice, just as with a conventional savings account. Returns can vary, however. In October, the rate of return on Islamic Bank of Britain’s direct savings account was 3%. For the same month, the interest rate on a day-to-day savings account from Barclays, one of the U.K. biggest banks, was 4.26%; for a savings account from online bank Egg, it was 5.75%. In the U.S., the University Islamic Financial Corporation offers a Shariah-compliant insured deposit program. In October, the rate of return varied between 1.93% and 3.53%, depending on the amount deposited.

“Shariah-compliant financial products are more widely available than most Muslims are aware of,” says David E. Upton, professor of finance at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “There are a number of organizations that offer Shariah-compatible investments, and Shariah-compatible mortgages are available in many states, too.” In addition to Devon Bank, Guidance Financial Group, in Reston, VA, also provides home financing and other financial products in accordance with Islamic law. The Amana Mutual Funds Trust, based in Bellingham, WA, invests only in Shariah-compliant firms, and this year won an industry award for three-year performance in the U.S. equity income category. “Even some non-Muslims opt for Shariah–compliant funds because the rate of return is so good,” Upton says, “plus the religious screening process ensures the investments have a good moral content.”

In Israel, a handful of financial institutions provide investment products in accordance with Halacha principles. Mercantile Discount Bank, for example, offers two mutual funds that only invest in Halacha–compliant companies. Identifying firms that operate according to Halacha requires intensive research, since mutual fund managers must investigate everything from the company’s working practices to the composition of its supply chains.

A similar challenge faces consumers who want to invest according to the Buddhist principle of “right livelihood,” which requires that an individual’s work and income benefit him- or herself without harming others. For many, this means avoiding employment or investments that involve alcohol, for example, or the meat industry.

One of the most innovative Buddhist economic ideas is that of gross national happiness. Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, came up with the term as a complement to the practice of measuring a country’s prosperity by its gross national product. According to Buddhist teaching, economic growth is not the only — or even the most important — measure of wealth. For Buddhists, true prosperity occurs when material and spiritual development complement one another in ways that are socially and environmentally sustainable. Which makes gross national happiness an idea everyone can invest in.

- James Geary

Trickle-down economics has fallen out of favor since its heyday during the Reagan Administration, but trickle-down personal finance may be just about to hit the big time — at least if Victor Puleo, CFP® and his colleagues at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) have anything to say about it.

The UCA, in Conway, Arkansas, received grant funding from CFP Board to establish a Personal Finance Institute (PFI), which will train Arkansas secondary school teachers to educate high school students in the basics of personal finance. The training will focus on helping young people create wealth, set financial goals, and make informed financial choices. “We can reach thousands of students by training teachers to integrate financial planning into their curriculum,” says Puleo, assistant professor of insurance and risk management in the UCA’s College of Business Administration. “The teachers themselves, most of whom are not specialized in personal finance, will benefit, and what they learn will trickle down to students.”

The PFI was set up, in part, as a response to Arkansas’ Act 42, which recommends that high school students take a course in basic home finances before graduation. Several states — including Hawaii, Louisiana, and Missouri, in addition to Arkansas — have passed laws either requiring or recommending that public high schools provide education in personal finance. “We set up an Insurance Education Institute several years ago that has been successfully training secondary school teachers in insurance education,” Puleo says. “So we thought we could use that experience as a model for the effective delivery of personal finance information, too.”

The semester-long training starts next spring, and will cover everything from insurance and employee benefits to investment and retirement planning. Teachers will attend four on-campus sessions to hear guest speakers from the Arkansas chapter of the Financial Planning Association address specific financial planning topics. Throughout the semester, participants will work through the PFI curriculum online, where they can access video lectures on demand, develop lesson plans, participate in threaded discussions, and even take quizzes — or “knowledge checks,” as Puleo calls them, since teachers like to give quizzes not take them!

The actual classroom sessions for students begin in the fall of 2008 and will provide practical instruction on a range of essential issues, from creating household budgets to maintaining checking accounts to credit management. Teachers who successfully complete the PFI course will receive a three-hour graduate credit. After the training is complete, UCA staff will follow up with participants to evaluate the effectiveness of course material. Some of the 1,000 or so students expected to enroll in the first year will receive college credits for attending the PFI classes.

Puleo and his colleagues at the UCA believe the PFI could serve as a model for other institutions that want to provide similar education to public school teachers, and through those teachers to thousands of high school students. “With so many professional development hours required for high school teachers,” Puleo says, “many districts encourage faculty to participate in online professional development to minimize costs and interruption to classroom instruction. We feel the PFI has the potential to benefit all high school teachers in nearly every state.” If more initiatives like the PFI spring up around the country, it won’t be long before the trickle of personal finance education becomes a flood.

Read more about projects receiving funding through CFP Board’s 2007 Financial Planning Grants program.

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CFP Board’s revised Standards of Professional Conduct, which becomes effective July 1, 2008, sets forth the ethical standards that those who hold CFP® certification are expected to uphold. While CFP Board’s ethical standards focus primarily on individual CFP® professionals and the obligations they have to their clients, the updated Standards also recognizes that CFP® professionals may receive assistance from employers and principals in meeting their ethical obligations. Certificants also have ethical obligations to their employers and principals.

Among several important changes to the terminology used in the updated Standards is the addition of the term “Certificant’s Employer”: “’Certificant’s Employer’ denotes any person or entity that employs a certificant or registrant to provide services to a third party on behalf of the employer, including certificants and registrants who are retained as independent contractors or agents.” The updated Standards refers to this new term several times, including a notable mention in the Introduction: “a CFP® certificant will be considered in compliance with CFP Board’s standards if the certificant’s employer has completed the required actions on his or her behalf.”

There are many actions that an employer or principal may take on behalf of a CFP® certificant. For example, disclosures made to a client by the certificant’s employer or principal will fulfill the certificant’s obligations if they include the required elements of disclosure stated in Rules 1.2 and 2.2 of the updated Standards. Certificants’ employers and principals may also enter into written agreements with clients that govern the financial planning services to be provided by the certificant and thereby satisfy the Agreement requirement of Rule 1.3. Many firms have made strong efforts to assist their employees and affiliates who hold CFP® certification in complying with their obligations under CFP Board’s ethical standards.

CFP Board also recognizes that CFP® professionals hold specific obligations to their employers and principals. Section 5 of the updated Standards sets forth two specific requirements for certificants who are employed by or hold an agency relationship with a firm:

5.1 A certificant who is an employee/agent shall perform professional services with dedication to the lawful objectives of the employer/principal and in accordance with CFP Board’s Code of Ethics.
 
5.2 A certificant who is an employee/agent shall advise his or her current employer/principal of any certification suspension or revocation he or she receives from CFP Board.

CFP Board’s authority extends only to the individuals to whom it has granted CFP® certification, not the firms or other entities with which they may be associated. Nevertheless, many certificants’ employers and principals provide great assistance to certificants as they work to uphold the high standards represented by CFP® certification. CFP Board appreciates the responsibility firms undertake to hold their employees and agents to high standards and to ensure they comply with their professional responsibilities. Some firms may choose to bring their compliance procedures in line with the updated Standards and require all their associates to follow those procedures, even those who do not currently hold CFP® certification. The updated Standards were designed to help CFP® professionals provide a high level of ethical service to their clients, and CFP Board believes that clients will benefit from the practices outlined in its ethical standards, even if those ethical practices are conducted by people who do not hold CFP® certification.

CFP Board is working with representatives of many firms to assist them in aligning the updated Standards to their compliance procedures. If you would like to put your firm’s representatives in touch with CFP Board, or if you have questions about any aspect of the revised Standards, please don’t hesitate to contact CFP Board at standards@CFPBoard.org.

About the Revised Standards of Professional Conduct:
On May 31, 2007, CFP Board’s Board of Directors announced the adoption of a revised version of CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, which sets forth the ethical standards for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals. The revised Standards become effective July 1, 2008 and apply to the more than 56,000 financial planners in the U.S. who are authorized by CFP Board to use the CFP® certification marks. CFP Board encourages CFP® professionals to begin applying the revised Standards to their daily practice well in advance of the July 1, 2008 effective date.

CFP Board's New Address

CFP Board’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. is now open for business, and our Denver office will close by the end of this month. Please make note of CFP Board’s new address:
 
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
1425 K Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005

CFP Board Testimony Supports Repeal of Michigan Service Tax on Financial Planning

The Michigan legislature and governor agreed on December 1 to repeal a recently-enacted services tax that imposed a 6 percent levy on many services within the state, including investment advice and financial planning. The services tax was replaced with a surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax.

CFP Board played an active role in preparing testimony supporting a repeal of this tax in the interest of the public. The testimony was delivered before the Michigan Senate's Finance Committee by Evelyn MacIntyre, CFP® of Michigan-based Capelli Financial Services. "At a time when Michigan is promoting the virtues of balancing its budget, implementing a tax that penalizes individuals and families who are trying to manage their personal finances with the guidance of a competent and objective financial planner sends the wrong message," said Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, CFP®, 2008 Chair Elect of CFP Board's Board of Directors and President of Capelli Financial Services in a follow-up news release. CFP Board appreciates the many CFP® professionals in Michigan who assisted CFP Board and other financial planning organizations in opposing the services tax.

CFP Board Thanks Its Volunteers

Many of CFP Board's activities would not be possible without the generous contributions of CFP® certificants and other CFP Board stakeholders willing share their time and expertise. CFP Board thanks the many talented individuals who have assisted CFP Board in various capacities throughout 2007.

From the Board of Directors members who set policy and direction for CFP Board's activities, to the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission members who keep CFP Board's disciplinary review process functioning, to the Council on Examinations members who work to sustain the integrity of the CFP® Certification Examination and the other volunteers who support exam development activities, to the educators who shared their experience and research at CFP Board's Program Directors Conference, to the many CFP® certificants who provided consumers with free consultations at CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinic in Boston, the leadership of CFP Board would like to extend appreciation to all who contributed to CFP Board during 2007.

New Members Join 2008 Council on Examinations

CFP Board’s Council on Examinations welcomes two new members in January 2008: Mark J. McGaunne, CFP®, CPA of Westborough, Mass. and Helen Simon, CFP® of Oakland Park, Fla., who will take the place of outgoing members Dr. Jay Schein, CFP®, CIMA, CIS, LUTCF and Pamela G. Shortal, CPA, CFP®. Gary L. Englund, JD, CLU, CHFC, AEP, MSFS, REBC, FHU, CFP® will serve as 2008 Chair, and I. Richard Ploss, CFP®, JD, CPA, MBA will serve as 2008 Chair Elect.

Report on November 2007 Disciplinary and Ethics Commission Meeting

The Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (Commission) held its last meeting of the year on November 16, 2007. As part of the meeting, the Commission considered 17 disciplinary cases. Two cases were dismissed with a letter of caution, and three individuals were issued private censure letters. Public letters of admonition were issued to two individuals. Three applicants for CFP® certification petitioned the Commission for reconsideration of conduct presumed to bar certification, pursuant to CFP Board’s Candidate Fitness Standards; one of those petitions was denied, but two petitions were granted, thereby allowing the applicants to continue with applications for CFP® certification. Three individuals petitioned the Commission for reinstatement of CFP® certification after the expiration of disciplines previously issued by CFP Board; one petition was denied, and two petitions were granted. The cases included six settlement offers: two were accepted, two were rejected, and two resulted in the Board proposing a counter settlement offer. Because the appeal periods in these cases have not expired, the disciplinary actions are not yet final.

At its business meeting, the Commission elected Barry L. Kohler, CFP® as 2008 Chair Elect. The Commission will be joined in 2008 by Edward Mora, CFP®, ChFC of Irvine, Calif. and Glenn Parker, CFP®, CIMA of Bend, Ore., who will take the places of outgoing members Joseph E. Little, CFP® and Laura L. Addington, CFP®. The position of 2008 Chair will be shared by Harv M. J. Ames, CFP® and Diana Simpson, CFP®.

The Commission's meetings would not be possible without the help of the many CFP® certificants willing to volunteer their time and expertise. In addition to the ongoing support of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission members, the November 2007 meeting included the assistance of Carolyn Armitage, CFP®, CIMA, CIMC, CLU, ChFC, CFS of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.; Mark H. Kordes, CFP®, ChFC, CLU, AEP, CAP of Weehawken, N.J.; Terrence M. McMahon, CFP®, CFA, CPA of Andover, Mass.; and Mark T. Rogers, CFP®, CFA of Atlanta, Ga. CFP Board is grateful to these volunteers who serve to protect the public by helping to enforce CFP Board's standards of ethics and competency.

Frank Bergmeister, CFP® Joins CFP Board as Director of Education

Francis (“Frank”) X. Bergmeister, CFP® has joined CFP Board as its Director of Education. Mr. Bergmeister brings to CFP Board a professional background that blends experience in financial planning and education with a military career. He served as Director - Institutional Effectiveness and Director - Total Force Education at the Marine Corps University, where he assessed the effectiveness of professional education programs. Mr. Bergmeister has also worked in the private sector as a financial planner for Legg Mason and Alex. Brown & Sons. He is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and the American College. Mr. Bergmeister is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional as well as a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU).

In his new role with CFP Board, Mr. Bergmeister will have oversight for the education components of CFP® certification, including the development and support of the financial planning education programs in the U.S. that have registered with CFP Board to prepare financial planners for CFP® certification, as well as of the continuing education programs that offer CFP® professionals courses designed to maintain ongoing competency.

“I look forward to working with the educational programs that assist financial planners in attaining and maintaining CFP® certification,” said Mr. Bergmeister. “As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and educator, I understand the interrelationships between financial planning education and practice. CFP Board’s support of the educational community within the financial planning profession is an important component of helping CFP® certificants provide competent and ethical financial planning services to their clients.”

Mr. Bergmeister most recently served as the U.S. Marine Corps Representative to the Enterprise Directorate of the Defense Logistics Agency for Base Realignment and Closure at Fort Belvoir, where he planned, managed and executed closure and realignment recommendations. He holds a Master of Science in Financial Services from The American College, a Master of Science in Logistics Systems Management from the University of Southern California, a Master of Arts in American Diplomatic History from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, and he is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education at George Mason University. Mr. Bergmeister has held CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification since 1992.

CFP Board Names Communications Directors

Christopher T. Wloszczyna has joined CFP Board as its Director of Public Relations, and Timothy Stifel has been named Director of Stakeholder Communications.

Mr. Wloszczyna comes to CFP Board from the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the national association of the mutual fund industry, where he spent nearly 14 years as a spokesperson in the media relations department. He holds a Journalism degree from St. Bonaventure University and, prior to his work with ICI, was a personal finance reporter at USA Today. In his new role, Mr. Wloszczyna will be responsible for enhancing public awareness of the benefits of financial planning and CFP® certification.

Mr. Stifel joined CFP Board in 1999 and has been a valued member of several departments within CFP Board. Since 2005, he has been CFP Board’s Manager of External Relations and been involved with all aspects of CFP Board’s external communications. He holds degrees in English from the University of Denver and Ohio University. In his new role, Mr. Stifel will have oversight for CFP Board’s communications with its varied stakeholder groups.

“I look forward to working closely with Tim and Chris and the other talented communications staff at CFP Board,” said Asha P. Williams, Ph.D., Managing Director of Communications and Marketing for CFP Board. “The American public has a great need for the competent and ethical financial planning services represented by CFP® certification. As we promote the value of financial planning and CFP® certification for the public, we will continue to work toward open and timely communication with CFP® professionals and CFP Board’s other valued stakeholders.”

Employment Opportunities at CFP Board’s Washington Headquarters

Opportunities still remain for talented individuals to handle important functions in CFP Board’s new Washington, D.C. office. If you know someone who may be interested in assisting CFP Board’s work to promote CFP® certification as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning, for the benefit of the American public, please direct them to the employment opportunities listed on CFP Board’s Web site at: www.CFP.net/aboutus/jobs.asp