It’s no surprise that the financial planning profession is full of talented and energetic individuals willing to share their knowledge and time to help others. Financial planning is all about helping people improve their lives, and as CFP® professionals, we know firsthand the satisfaction that comes when others benefit from our actions. Much of our work at CFP Board is accomplished through the volunteer service of CFP® professionals and others with expertise related to financial planning, and there are not opportunities enough to share our thanks to the many of you who contribute to our work.

I am very pleased to announce that Dan Moisand, CFP® has agreed to serve as 2008 Chair of CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, the group of dedicated volunteers who administer hearings as part of our professional review processes. Dan and the other new Commission members, V. Raymond Ferrara, CFP®, James M. Knaus, CFP®, Yvonne Dean, CFP®, and Michael Ross, CFP®, have graciously agreed to fill vacancies left by recent resignations from the Commission, and we appreciate their commitment to supporting the CFP® certification and CFP Board’s mission.

I am also pleased to share that CFP Board has established a new advisory group, the Council on Education. This Council’s work will focus on all education-related areas and policies related to the CFP® certification process, including those related to the CFP Board-Registered Programs, the Model Curriculum, Continuing Education Sponsors, Continuing Education Requirements and Review Course Providers. They have also been tasked with implementing a Peer Review Process for educational programs, based on recommendations from the 2007 report of our Education Task Force. The quality and experience of the individuals who have volunteered to serve on the inaugural Council on Education is impressive, and CFP Board is grateful for their contributions to this important advisory group.

CFP Board has regular opportunities to interact with and learn from those volunteers who make multiple-year commitments to participate on its Board of Directors, Council on Examinations, Council on Education and Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. We don’t always have those opportunities with those of you who make other contributions on a less formal basis.

To create such an opportunity, CFP Board and FPA have worked together to arrange two meetings at next month’s FPA Retreat for CFP® certificants to hold discussions with CFP Board’s leadership: an “Under the Trees” informal conversation on Tuesday, June 3, and a “Breakfast with CFP Board” session on Wednesday, June 4. We hope the meetings will provide a meaningful way for CFP® professionals to get a first-hand update on CFP Board’s current policies and activities and give CFP Board the chance to tap into the insights and good thinking within our community.

For those of you unable to join us at FPA Retreat, we are making plans for a national forum and webcast in July that will provide an opportunity for CFP Board’s leadership to listen and learn from the CFP® certificant community. CFP Board is committed to keeping connected with the community, and you can expect to see additional initiatives this year to make that a reality.

David G. Strege, CFP®
2008 Chair, Board of Directors
CFP Board

Contact CFP Board’s Board of Directors at BOD@CFPBoard.org.

This month marks the start of my second year with CFP Board. My first year has been short but exciting, with both accomplishments and challenges.

One accomplishment I’m very proud of is the assembly of a new top-drawer executive leadership team. That team has worked closely with the dedicated volunteers on the Board of Directors to develop a three-year strategic operations plan aligned with our renewed mission. I believe CFP Board is now poised for a future in which we can fulfill our mission to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence in personal financial planning.

Our move to the nation’s capital has allowed us to take our rightful seat at the tables where public policy decisions are made. We’ve established relationships with influential decision makers and educated them on the importance of financial planning for the American public and the rigorous standards for personal financial planning represented by CFP® certification. The timing of our move to Washington, DC was fortuitous; it coincided with widespread concern from regulators about the ways some financial credentials have been used to lure seniors into fraudulent transactions. Our efforts have ensured that CFP® certification remains recognized as a rigorous and meaningful credential. Regulators that have imposed restrictions on the use of credentials purporting expertise in providing financial services to seniors have done so in ways that do not affect CFP® professionals’ ability to use the CFP® marks.

CFP Board continues its ongoing work to review and validate the requirements for CFP® certification, and this past year saw many efforts to ensure their ongoing relevance and rigor. In addition to convening task forces to review the experience and continuing education requirements for CFP® certification, we have established a Council on Education to provide ongoing review and recommendations related to all of CFP Board’s education-related activities. Perhaps most significantly, our adoption of revised ethical standards for CFP® professionals and our incorporation of best practices to CFP Board’s professional review and enforcement processes are important steps in ensuring that the public receives fair and ethical services from all who hold CFP® certification.

In addition to these new initiatives, we continue our work to protect and promote the CFP® marks and to strengthen relationships with key stakeholder groups.

Although CFP Board has accomplished meaningful work over its nearly 30 years of existence, our work is far from over. With baby boomers approaching or entering retirement with 15 trillion dollars in assets, it is more important than ever that Americans understand the value of financial planning. We can only imagine how much better the lives of families impacted by the current housing crisis would be if they had chosen to work with a CFP® professional. We want to ensure that baby boomers realize the importance of competent and ethical financial planning and that they seek out CFP® professionals who can provide those services.

During my second year at CFP Board, we will build on our recent involvement with public policy and form a Public Policy Council to serve an ongoing advisory role for those activities. I will also work to ensure that CFP Board’s operations remain aligned with our mission and core values. We will work to better align our technological resources with our activities, and we will expand our efforts to listen and learn from the CFP® professional community, without whom CFP Board cannot accomplish its mission.

CFP Board is moving at fast and deliberate pace. The achievements at CFP Board over the past year are a reflection of a renewed vigor and strategic focus, and I am grateful for the full support of the Board of Directors and the generosity of the many CFP® professionals and others who made substantial contributions to our work. I look forward to working with the CFP® professional community and our other stakeholders in the coming years.

Kevin R. Keller, CAE®
CEO, CFP Board
CFP Board

How lucky do you have to be to flip a coin ten times and get ‘heads’ ten times in a row? On a recent TV show, Derren Brown, a magician and psychological illusionist, performed this feat to demonstrate a system he claimed could also be used to pick winning horses at the races with 100% accuracy. So, as the cameras rolled, Brown stood there and flipped a coin ten times — and it came up ‘heads’ ten times in a row. Amazing, right?

Well, not exactly.

As Brown explained at the end of the show, his “system” consisted of nothing more than persisting until the laws of probability worked in his favor. So while he did indeed get ‘heads’ ten times in a row, it took nine consecutive hours of filming before it happened. Getting ‘heads’ ten times in a row is not impossible; it’s just highly unlikely. But if you stick with it long enough, the laws of probability dictate that it will happen — sooner or later. For Brown, it took nine hours. After his “secret” was revealed, Brown showed clips of himself (looking very frustrated and annoyed) during the 8 hours and 59 minutes of coin flipping when he wasn’t so ‘lucky.’

The racetrack method was based on a similar approach. Brown initially contacted almost 8,000 people and fed them predictions of the winning horses in specific races. Different people received different predictions, and most people lost most of the time. Brown only broadcast clips from the one person out of the nearly 8,000 who happened to win every race. This woman’s success had nothing to do with luck or with Brown’s “system.” It had everything to do with the laws of probability. It seems that luck, in financial as well as other matters, is a statement of probabilities and a state of mind.

In his book The Luck Factor, Richard Wiseman, a professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K., profiled groups of people who considered themselves very lucky or very unlucky. He interviewed people who consistently won postal and Internet competitions, regularly taking home substantial prizes. One Wisconsin man won the state lottery three different times during the mid — 1990s, pocketing about $250,000 each time. What could possibly explain the good luck of these fortunate individuals? You guessed it — the laws of probability. All of these ‘lucky’ people won a lot, but they also played a lot. The postal and Internet competition winners, for example, each entered between 50 and 100 competitions each and every week. Sooner or later, they were bound to win, just as when you flip a coin long enough it will eventually come up ‘heads’ ten times in a row.

But Wiseman also found that attitudes influence luck. People who described themselves as lucky, for example, were more than twice as likely to believe they might win the lottery than people who described themselves as unlucky. Of course, your expectation of winning the lottery has absolutely no effect on the probability of actually doing so. But it does have an effect on other things, like your determination to keep playing even if you don’t win. “Lucky people create, notice, and act upon the chance opportunities in their life,” Wiseman wrote. “Being in the right place at the right time is actually all about being in the right state of mind.” This finding was backed up by the recent Wealth and Values Survey, conducted by PNC Wealth Management, which found that 37% of high net worth individuals who had earned their wealth (as opposed to inherited it) agreed with the statement, “The money I have made so far has come from being in the right place at the right time.” Just 25% of heirs felt this way.

To demonstrate how being in the right place at the right time correlates with your state of mind, Wiseman conducted a simple experiment. His theory: lucky people consistently find good fortune because they are open to new experiences and attuned to unexpected opportunities; unlucky people, on the other hand, are not as open or as in tune. So he invited two people — one who considered himself very lucky and one who considered herself very unlucky — to go to a café. He strategically placed $10 on the pavement outside. Sure enough, the man who considered himself lucky picked it right up as he walked in and the woman who considered herself unlucky stepped right over it. “Lucky people’s expectations about the future help them fulfill their dreams and ambitions, attempt to achieve their goals even if their chances of success seem slim, and persevere in the face of failure … Their positive expectations motivated them to take control of their lives.”

A positive attitude can have effects that reach far beyond finding ten bucks on the street. Wiseman cites a Finnish study of some 2,000 men — some of whom expected the future to be bleak, some of whom expected it to be good, and some of whom had no expectations either way. They were surveyed over a period of six years. The researchers found that the men who expected the future to be bleak were far more likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular disease or accidents than those who expected the future to be good. The conclusion: To some extent, what you think about you bring about.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb recounts a great example of luck in his book The Black Swan. Apelles, an ancient Greek painter, was dissatisfied with his depictions of the foam from a horse’s mouth. In disgust he threw the sponge he used to clean his brush at the canvas, and where it struck it left behind a perfect depiction of foam. Apelles got lucky because he was open to the unexpected opportunity of developing a new painting technique, just like the discoverers of nylon, x-rays, and penicillin — all of whom were originally looking for something else.

In the realm of personal finance, Taleb suggests adopting an investment strategy that keeps you open to luck without risking too much. He recommends “taking both a defensive attitude and an excessively aggressive one at the same time, by protecting assets from all sources of uncertainty while allocating a small portion for high-risk strategies.” Taleb’s dual-attitude strategy mirrors the asset allocation strategies used by financial planners: his defensive attitude consists of putting a large percentage of his funds in relatively safe instruments, while the aggressive one consists of putting a smaller percentage in riskier portfolios. “The reason free markets work is because they allow people to be lucky, thanks to aggressive trial and error, not by giving rewards or ‘incentives’ for skill,” he writes. In other words, luck is what you make it.

- James Geary

Back in 2006, when CFP Board Report profiled the New Mexico Project for Financial Literacy, the non-profit’s executive director Vicki Van Horn, CFP®, said, “We want New Mexicans to be able to make more informed decisions. We want them to have more confidence, and to have resources to turn to when they don’t have the financial knowledge they need.” Now, almost 1,500 hours of financial learning and thousands of dollars in micro-lending later, Van Horn and her colleagues have come a long way towards achieving that goal.

The NMPFL used its CFP Board grant to set up financial education classes and study groups across New Mexico. To date, the 20-hour financial education class has been held some 75 times around the state, reaching upwards of 1,200 people. The classes, which cover everything from avoiding predatory lenders to increasing income to planning for retirement, are targeted at the New Mexicans who need them most: women. New Mexico currently ranks 42nd out of the 50 states in terms of wage levels for women, and more than half of all births are out of wedlock. So, says Van Horn, there are a lot of low-income single moms out there who need help.

That help has come from the NMPFL classes and the organization of ongoing study and support groups that graduates from the classes have established across the state. It has also come through the small, short-term, interest-free loans the organization has provided to established study groups, which members are using to start-up businesses and collectives. “We provide the money but the groups themselves decide how to spend it,” Van Horn explains. “They decide how to lend it and how to re-collect it. People’s first reaction is: ‘You want us to do all that?!’ But the financial education classes have prepared them for success, and they have shown real sophistication in handling the funds.”

A case in point is Alternative Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a group of female artisans based in Sierra County. AWE is using its NMPFL loan to develop a Web site, market its own certified “AWEsome” label, and set up a child-care co-op. The Celestial Creations Circle is using its money to lend to low-income, remotely situated artists so they can advertise in mainstream publications like New Mexico Magazine. “There are very few people but lots of acreage” in New Mexico, Van Horn says. Groups like AWE and the Celestial Creations Circle “are working to help artists in rural, remote locations overcome time and distance barriers to tap into bigger markets in bigger towns.”

“The disbursal of these small sums of money has funded a great deal of entrepreneurial activity,” says Van Horn. “The energy has been unbelievable. We believe that wealth will continue to be created as a result of tiny loans made to beginning entrepreneurs.”

While the NMPFL has come a long way towards achieving the goals it set with the CFP Board grant, the organization’s work is far from finished. Van Horn and her colleagues have created a robust network of financial experts, consisting of more than 30 financial planners, CPAs, and attorneys working in some capacity around the state. They also facilitate communication among the various groups that have spun off from the classes. Yet they continue to recruit, orient and train instructors for the financial education classes, too, since there are fewer than 200 CFP® professionals in New Mexico, which has a population of two million.

“The key is to nest all our programs in a wider network of collaborative effort, which becomes a natural extension to strengthen the fabric of support,” Van Horn continues. “You don’t empower people by being the expert. You empower them by recognizing that they are the experts in their own lives. We have the information, but they understand their communities, so the question is: How can we work together to best apply this knowledge in your community?”

Read the original profile of the New Mexico Project for Financial Literacy from the August 2006 CFP Board Report.

Download the FAQ on CFP Board's Revised Standards (PDF format)

CFP Board’s revised Standards of Professional Conduct, which becomes effective July 1, 2008, introduces a “fiduciary” duty of care for financial planning and material elements of the financial planning process. The definition of “fiduciary” in the revised Standards is “One who acts in utmost good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interest of the client.” Given the enormous variety of financial strategies and products available, how can a CFP® certificant be certain that a recommendation is the “best” for a client? Does CFP Board expect CFP® certificants to investigate every conceivable option that might be available to a particular client?

CFP Board’s ethical standards have always emphasized the importance of professional judgment. The importance of a CFP® certificant’s professional judgment is highlighted in the definition of “fiduciary” in the updated Standards. CFP Board expects CFP® certificants to provide only financial planning recommendations (services and/or products) that they reasonably believe to be the best possible options available to their clients.

CFP Board acknowledges that it is impossible to review all possible options to select the best. There can be nearly infinite options when one brings together an individual’s situation and goals with the ever-increasing range of choices available to the financial services industry. For a CFP® certificant who works in a setting where business or regulatory requirements limit the services or investments that can be made available to clients (captive agents, for example), CFP Board expects any financial planning services provided to be the best services and recommendations available, given the CFP® certificant’s reasonable professional judgment and the limitations placed on the CFP® certificant by those business or regulatory requirements. In such situations, the CFP® certificant would be expected to disclose the limitations to the client, including any contractual or agency relationships that have potential to affect the client and any terms under which proprietary products may be offered.

For the CFP® certificant who is engaged in financial planning or materials elements of the financial planning process, Practice Standard 400-2 explains that “the recommendations developed by the practitioner may differ from those of other practitioners or advisers, yet each may reasonably meet the client’s goals, needs and priorities.” Additionally, Practice Standard 500-2 explains that “products and services selected by the practitioner may differ from those of other practitioners or advisers [and m]ore than one product or service may exist that can reasonably meet the client’s goals, needs and priorities.”

For more about the revised Standards, read Frequently Asked Questions or send additional questions to 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 57,000 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 Names Five to Disciplinary And Ethics Commission

CFP Board has announced the names of five new members to its Disciplinary and Ethics Commission.

The nine-member Commission conducts disciplinary hearings three times a year and is responsible for interpreting and applying CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct and, when necessary, imposing appropriate discipline in cases involving CFP® certificants.

Named to serve as Commission Chair is Daniel B. Moisand, CFP®. He will serve as Chair for the remainder of 2008. Current Commission member Jack Harmon, CFP®, will be Commission Chair in 2009.

Others named to the Commission are: V. Raymond Ferrara, CFP®, James M. Knaus, CFP®, Yvonne Dean, CFP®, and Michael Ross, CFP®. The five new Commission members join current Commission members Jack Harmon, Patricia Coriden, CFP®, Edward Mora, CFP® and Glenn Parker, CFP®.

“We’re gratified to have such a strong slate of Commissioners to volunteer their time and expertise for this vital role of ensuring that the CFP® marks continue to be recognized as the standard of excellence and ethical behavior for personal financial planning,” said David G. Strege, CFP®, chair of the Board of Directors. “In addition, we are fortunate to have as Commission Chair someone who is as dedicated and widely respected in our community as Dan Moisand,” Strege added.

Moisand is a principal with the Melbourne, Fla., firm Spraker Fitzgerald Tamayo & Moisand. He served on CFP Board’s Board of Practice Standards from 1999 through 2001, helping to write the standards that apply to CFP® certificants in the United States. He recently completed five years of service on the Financial Planning Association’s Board of Directors. He was that board’s President in 2006 and Chairman in 2007. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant since 1994.

Dean is the Houston-based launch manager for the Texas Regional Financial Office of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Dean previously served as a volunteer on CFP Board’s Council on Examinations and Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. She also was a volunteer for CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinic held in Boston in 2007. Dean has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant since 2002.

Ferrara is president and CEO of ProVise Management Group of Clearwater, Fla. Ferrara has served on the Boards of Directors for the Financial Planning Association and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners. Ferrara currently sits on FPA’s Leadership Development Committee, and served on that organization’s National Board from 2000 to 2003; FPA’s Regulation Task Force from 2005 to 2006, Government Relations Committee from 2000 to 2001, and Finance Committee from 2000 to 2003. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant since 1990.

Knaus is co-founder of Global Wealth Advisors of Troy, Mich. Knaus is a former member of CFP Board’s Board of Governors (now the Board of Directors) and CFP Board’s Council on Examinations, serving as Chair in 2001. He is Faculty Chair at the Oakland (Mich.) University Personal Financial Planning Program. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant since 1987.

Ross is founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Connection Group of Plainview, N.Y. Ross has been a volunteer on CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. He also has been a securities arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) since 1995. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant since 1996.

CFP Board Establishes Council on Education

CFP Board has formed a new advisory group, the Council on Education, to establish and enforce educational standards for enhancing the knowledge, skills and abilities of current and potential CFP® certificants.

Council members will develop and clarify all educational policies of the CFP® Certification process – areas ranging from: Registered Programs, Model Curriculum, Continuing Education Sponsors, Continuing Education Requirements, Review Course Providers, and the implementation of an education program Peer Review Process. The Council will submit any recommendations for change to CFP Board staff.

“Our efforts are designed to bolster CFP Board’s mission to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. Since education is one of the four cornerstones of the certification process, we intend to provide an unshakeable foundation for CFP® certificants to apply their financial planning knowledge most effectively to their clients’ ever-changing financial situations,” said Dr. Ivan C. Roten, CFP®, Council Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance at Appalachian State University as well as the university’s Director of the Financial Planning Center.

“Our educational standards must be periodically reviewed in order to properly reflect the financial world in which our certificants practice,” said Kevin R. Keller, CEO of CFP Board. “Our goal in creating the Council is to reaffirm our commitment to benefit the public by providing the most exacting educational standards in personal financial planning. We applaud the Council members for their dedication to advancing that goal.”

The Council represents a cross-section of the financial planning profession and includes members from educational institutions, CFP® certificants and the public. Council members will serve terms of three years. The inaugural Council members include the following:

Ivan C. Roten, PhD, CFP®, Chair
Appalachian State University

Jacqueline Callahan
Independent Certification Consultant

Morris Fiddler
Professor School for New Learning, DePaul University

Kacy Gott, CFP®
Kochis Fitz

Mark H. Kordes, CFP®, AEP, ChFC, CLU
UBS Private Wealth Management

Carolyn J. Lee, CFP®
Northern Trust Bank

Rosilyn H. Overton, CFP®, CRPS, RFC
New Jersey City University

Walt Woerheide, PhD, CFP®
The American College

March 2008 Exam Results Released

Score results for the March 2008 CFP® Certification Examination were recently released to exam takers. The 10-hour, two-day exam was conducted at 50 sites nationwide. Of the 2,335 individuals who sat for the March 2008 exam, 1,338 passed, representing a pass rate of 57.3%. CFP Board's CFP® Certification Examination requires full integration of knowledge covered in CFP Board's financial planning topic list and is designed to assess a person's ability to apply financial planning knowledge to real-life financial planning situations.

Individuals who sat for the March exam were sent a hard copy of their score results by mail on May 12, 2008, and exam results were made available online on Monday, May 19, 2008.

CFP Board has implemented changes to the process of reporting completion of the bachelor’s degree and work experience requirements. Individuals who pass the CFP® Certification Examination will be asked to provide an official transcript from an accredited college or university as verification that they hold a qualified bachelor’s degree or higher degree. In addition, CFP Board has returned to a paper format for the purposes of reporting work experience. The Work Experience Reporting Form is available from CFP Board’s Web site at www.CFP.net/become/work.asp.

The next exam will be held July 18-19, 2008. The application deadline for the July 2008 exam is June 4, 2008. Read more about the CFP® Certification Examination.

Searchable CFP® Certificant Listings on Bankrate.com

Searchable listings of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals went live on the Bankrate.com Web site on May 3, 2008. The listings are made up exclusively of CFP® certificants who have indicated to CFP Board that they practice financial planning and who have not specifically opted-out of the Bankrate listings. Visitors to the Bankrate site can use the listings to find a CFP® certificant in their area through search options including zip code radius, city, state or name. Individual CFP® professional listings include name, company affiliation, business address and business phone number. No other information resides on the Bankrate site.

Certificants are encouraged to visit the Bankrate site to verify their information. Updates to the contact information should be made through CFP Board’s Web site at www.CFP.net/login. Anyone wishing to remove their name from the Bankrate listings may opt out of the Bankrate.com by checking the appropriate box in their CFP Board account profile. Please note that opting out will not immediately remove your information from Bankrate.com; the Bankrate listings are refreshed in the second week of each month and will reflect any changes to the individual certificant profile at that time.

CFP Board expects its partnership with Bankrate will provide increased visibility for CFP® certification and direct benefits for CFP® professionals who choose to have their information included in the Bankrate listings. If you have any questions about CFP Board’s partnership with Bankrate.com, please contact us at 800-487-1497 or mail@CFPBoard.org.

Accomplishments of CFP® Certificants

CFP Board congratulates the following CFP® professionals on their publication and other professional activities:

Monty P. Gregor, CFP® on his authoring the Trust Basics: An Introduction to the Products and Services of the Trust Industry textbook for the American Bankers Association in 1998, which was recently released in its fourth edition.

Jeffrey B. Mershon, MBA, CPA/PFS, CFP® on the recent publication of the 3rd edition of Insurance and Employee Benefits, co-authored with Mandell S. Winter Jr., and the upcoming publication of the 2nd edition of Planning for Retirement. Both textbooks were published by Kaplan Inc.

Thomas Picardy, CFP® for his being awarded the Central Michigan University's College of Business Administration Outstanding Young Alumni Award, presented in recognition and honor of his professional success and advancement, and his outstanding service and commitment to the College of Business Administration, Central Michigan University and her community.

CFP Board welcomes information about the activities and accomplishments of CFP® professionals. If you have information you would like to share with CFP Board, please contact us at mail@CFPBoard.org.

CFP Board Seeks Nominations for 2009 Board of Directors

The Nominating Committee of CFP Board seeks individuals to serve on CFP Board's Board of Directors beginning in January 2009. Board of Directors members serve four-year terms on CFP Board's governing body, and the majority of Board members must hold CFP® certification.

Each year only two to four new Board positions are available. To complement the experience of the existing Board members, the Committee would like to see qualified nominees who are leaders in financial planning and have a passion for how CFP® professionals can benefit the public.

Those interested in being considered for membership on CFP Board's Board of Directors may download and print the form (PDF document) and fax or mail to CFP Board or visit CFP Board's Web site at www.CFP.net/volunteers to learn more and complete an online application form. The deadline for submitting a completed application form is May 23, 2008, and all related documentation must be received by June 13, 2008.

Selected candidates will be interviewed by the Committee during the summer, and final selections will be made by the Board of Directors this fall.

If you submitted an application in years past and would like to be considered for the 2009 Board of Directors, please complete the online application to express your continued interest.

Attend CFP Board Forums at FPA Retreat

CFP Board and FPA have worked together to create two opportunities at the FPA Retreat for CFP® certificants to meet for discussions with CFP Board’s leadership.

Under the Trees
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Join CFP Board Chair, David G. Strege, CFP®, CFA, Dan Candura, CFP®, Former Chair of the Board of Professional Review and current Board member, and CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE, for an informal conversation focused on the recent changes with the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission and the new Rules of Conduct and Code of Ethics that take effect on July 1, 2008.

Breakfast with CFP Board
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Join CFP Board for continental breakfast and a panel presentation on CFP Board's strategic direction and activities by CFP Board Chair David G. Strege, CFP®, CFA, and CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. They will be joined by Martin Kurtz, CFP®, AIFA®, Former Chair, Board of Professional Review, at an open-mike Q&A session following their presentation. CFP Board is interested in hearing your views on issues that concern you and learning from your input. You will also have the opportunity to get your questions answered by the panelists.

We encourage those of you attending FPA Retreat to take advantage of these opportunities to learn more about CFP Board’s activities and share your thoughts with CFP Board’s leadership.

For information on the FPA retreat, go to: www.fpanet.org/retreat

Volunteers Needed for CFP Board’s 2008 Financial Planning Clinics in Washington, DC and Miami

Join your colleagues in Washington, DC and Miami as local CFP® professionals gather to provide pro bono financial planning information to consumers interested in experiencing the benefits of financial planning. Since the announcement of the 2008 Financial Planning Clinics in March, more than 100 CFP® professionals have generously offered to share their expertise to help educate the public on the importance of financial planning. We expect the events to draw large crowds of consumers, so there's still room for more participants.

At the Clinics, volunteer CFP® professionals will meet one-on-one with individuals and families to answer their financial questions. The events will also feature a series of 50-minute educational workshops on a wide range of financial planning topics, presented by CFP® professionals.

The 2008 Clinics build on the successes of similar events CFP Board hosted in Los Angeles and Boston, where hundreds of CFP® certificants made a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people by sharing their time and expertise to help individuals, couples and families sort out their personal finance questions and concerns.

If you are interested in participating at the 2008 Financial Planning Clinics as a volunteer for one-on-one consultations with the public, please fill out an application form for the Clinic in Washington, DC, or the Clinic in Miami, or contact CFP Board by e-mail at clinic@CFPBoard.org or by phone at 800-487-1497 with the following information:

• Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• Mailing Address
• If you are multi-lingual, the languages you would like to use at the Financial Planning Clinic
• The general financial planning topics you are most interested in discussing with attendees

CFP® professionals interested in being considered as workshop presenters may contact CFP Board by e-mail at clinic@CFPBoard.org or by phone at 800-487-1497 with the following information:

• Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• Educational Workshop Topic (view topics)
• Summary of Qualifications
• Past Speaking Engagements
• Spanish Fluency (Miami Clinic will also feature workshops in Spanish)

The Financial Planning Clinic in Washington, DC will be held on Saturday, September 13 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

The Financial Planning Clinic in Miami will be held on Saturday, November 15 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency at Miami Convention Center.

For more information on CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinics, visit www.CFP.net/clinic.

Registration Now Open for 2008 Program Directors' Conference

Registration for CFP Board’s 2008 Program Directors' Conference is now open. The Conference will be held at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC from August 7-9, 2008. Designed by and for Program Directors of financial planning education programs registered with CFP Board, this year’s Conference will feature a nationally-recognized keynote speaker, as well as a session with CFP Board's newly-formed Council on Education. Catch up with your colleagues from around the country as you learn about the latest methods and research related to providing and managing financial planning education programs. Read more about CFP Board’s 2008 Program Directors’ Conference, including sponsorship, exhibitor and advertising opportunities.