Last month, CFP Board and our partners in the Financial Planning Coalition – the Financial Planning Association® and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors – presented the SEC with a 16-page comment letter in response to the agency’s request for comments on the application of the fiduciary standard of care to the delivery of investment advice. In the Coalition’s letter to the SEC, we provided strong arguments in support of the extension of the fiduciary standard of care — a key investor protection for all Americans who are investing for college, retirement and other needs — to broker-dealers and other financial professionals who provide personalized investment advice to retail customers. The Coalition’s letter joined more than 145 comment letters from CFP® professionals supporting the extension of the fiduciary standard of care.

The Coalition also recently joined with AARP, Consumer Federation of America, the Investment Adviser Association and NASAA to deliver a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that shared the results of a new national investor survey. This survey shows that 97% of U.S. investors surveyed support a clear “Fiduciary Standard” for financial professionals. It makes a compelling case for imposing the Investment Advisers Act fiduciary duty on all those who give personalized investment advice about securities to retail investors, and was delivered to the SEC for consideration in its study on the application of the fiduciary standard to investment advice that it is required to present to Congress by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Last week, CFP Board co-sponsored a “Fiduciary Forum” organized by the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, a group of CFP® professionals and other individuals who share our belief that financial advice should be delivered at the fiduciary level. This event in Washington, DC, included productive discussions of the application of the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers, as well as presentations of academic research that demonstrate the importance of the fiduciary standard. At the Forum, CFP Board and our Coalition partners were represented well by Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, CFP®, 2009 Chair of the Board of Directors, who shared CFP Board’s experience in adopting and enforcing a fiduciary standard of care for CFP® professionals who work within all types of business settings and compensation models.

While we now wait for the SEC to complete its study and hopefully initiate a formal rulemaking process on this issue, the SEC has received substantial research and comments from CFP Board and our allies in the Coalition, the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, other organizations concerned with consumer protection, and from the CFP® professional community. We believe this important input from the financial planning profession will help guide the SEC to a positive solution that benefits the American public. It has been rewarding to see the organizations and individuals that make up the financial planning profession come together on this important issue. Together, we are making valuable contributions to policy discussions of important to our nation, and we have made significant progress in increasing the recognition of financial planning as a profession.

Robert J. Glovsky, JD, LLM, CFP^®
2010 Chair, Board of Directors
CFP Board

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

I’d like to thank everyone who has joined CFP Board for our latest series of CFP® Certificant Connection events. Over the past two weeks, members of CFP Board’s Board of Directors and staff leadership visited Baltimore, Berkeley, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Washington, DC, sharing with local CFP® professionals the latest information about our foundational research and planning for a potential public awareness campaign. The goal of such a campaign would be to significantly increase consumer awareness of CFP® professionals. These events have given us an important opportunity to hear directly from CFP® professionals and listen to their thoughts on a range of issues related to undertaking a public awareness campaign.

I’m pleased to share that there is much enthusiasm about the prospect of a public awareness campaign. We have also received substantial and productive feedback that will be invaluable as we continue our work to determine how best to approach and fund a major initiative of this type. Our experiences at the CFP® Certificant Connections have reinforced our awareness that any campaign will need to be one with elements and materials that CFP® professionals across the country can localize for use in their communities. And we understand clearly that any public awareness campaign must be executed with a well-defined process to measure its success, including quantitative measurement of consumer awareness of, preference for and intent to use the services of CFP® professionals through studies and direct response metrics.

If you haven’t been able to join us at the recent CFP® Certificant Connection events, please join us for a “Virtual” CFP® Certificant Connection on October 7. This Webinar will feature the presentations we’ve delivered across the country and will provide an opportunity for CFP® professionals to share their input. Register for the event at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/201807987.

And for those of you attending FPA Denver 2010, Bob Glovsky and I will be hosting a meeting on Monday, October 11, 2010, during which we’ll update you on activities at CFP Board, including information about our planning for a potential public awareness campaign. And we’ll want to listen to feedback from CFP® professionals. Join us from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in Room 505-507.

The ongoing input of CFP® professionals remains essential as we move forward with planning a potential public awareness campaign. Public awareness of CFP® certification is of central importance to CFP Board’s mission to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the standard of excellence for financial planning. The uncertain financial situation of many Americans today highlights the urgent need for more people to seek out financial planning from qualified and ethical professionals. It highlights the importance of generating greater public awareness of the rigorous standards of CFP® certification and the value they provide to individuals and families who choose to work with a CFP® professional. We appreciate all who have been engaged with this topic and look forward to sharing additional details as our planning continues.

Kevin R. Keller, CAE
CEO, CFP Board

Death, divorce, and serious illness; family disputes, drug use, and marital infidelity; religion, spirituality, and mental health problems. You might think that such a list of daunting emotional and psychological issues would only be encountered in the office of a therapist, a physician, or maybe a member of the clergy. But these are issues financial planners confront every day. And, according to David Dubofsky, Ph.D., CFA, and Lyle Sussman, Ph.D., financial planners who have decided to provide non-financial coaching need proper training to effectively deal with them. Financial planners who decide not to provide coaching must be prepared to properly and professionally respond when these non-financial issues arise.

Last year Dubofsky, professor of finance and associate dean for research at the University of Louisville, and Sussman, professor and chairman of the University of Louisville’s department of management and entrepreneurship, published the results of an online survey of CFP® professionals and members of the Financial Planning Association. Their goal was to explore the question, “How is the role of the financial planner changing and what are the major implications of that change for the financial planner of today and tomorrow?”

One of their most striking findings: 89% of respondents engaged in non-financial coaching or counseling as part of their professional practice. Among this group, 74% believed that their client counseling had increased over the past five years. In fact, they estimated that 25% of their time was taken up by non-financial issues. Most respondents have had some training to handle these types of issues, but 40% have not. Seventy-eight percent have never worked with a coach, and 65% have never personally experienced any kind of counseling or therapy. (For more on counseling, see ‘Where Financial Planning Meets Psychotherapy’.)

Yet, given the still fragile state of the economy and the long-lasting effects of the recession, Sussman says planners should expect more of the same in future. “Planners are going to hear more and more stories about personal pain and trauma,” he says, “stories that are typically shared with a counselor, clergyman, or trusted confidante. There is more impetus for people to open up. And once people open up, they really open up…”

But there is a sharp division in the profession over how planners should respond to clients who put personal issues on the table. Given how intimately money is tied to all aspects of our lives, of course, it’s impossible to completely separate the financial from the emotional. But opinions differ markedly on what planners should do when these situations arise.

“The comments are very heated and passionate,” says Dubofsky. “Some planners say, ‘This is wrong. Don’t ever go there.’ Some attacked us for even asking the question in the survey. Other planners say, ‘You’ve got to go there. You’ve got to become extremely close to the client.’”

Dubofsky cites opposing statements by respondents as cases in point. One proponent of coaching said, “It is the only kind of planning that works”; an opponent stated, “I have concerns about people who are strongly motivated to mix counseling on money and personal matters.”

Dubofsky and Sussman are clear about where they stand. “Possessing advanced degrees in accounting, taxation, finance, or investments will serve planners well, but will not be sufficient,” they wrote in a two-part article about their research for the Journal of Financial Planning. “To the extent that financial planning is designed to help a client meet personal life goals, coaching and life planning skills will become requisite skills for financial planners.”

Dubofsky and Sussman arrived at this position in part as a result of the astounding variety of non-financial issues with which planners reported being confronted. Forty-eight percent of those who responded to the survey said they had acted as a mediator in a marital dispute; another 44% mediated between a client and his or her children, while 29% did the same with extended family members. Ten percent of respondents encountered suicide as an issue. Seventy-four percent of planners experienced a session in which a client became emotionally distraught, and 58% reported being told a secret no else knows.

In fact, 71% of respondents reported that they had essentially fired a client, primarily because that client’s emotional and personal issues demanded too much time.

Dubofsky and Sussman believe there are three core competencies needed to successfully incorporate non-financial coaching into a financial planning practice: developing a holistic view of financial planning itself, increasing emotional intelligence, and improving communication skills.

A holistic approach is essential, Dubofsky and Sussman argue, because of the nature of financial planning itself. Decisions about money are inevitably bound up with psychological issues. “Every planner asks clients, What are your goals?” says Sussman. “The answers move into discovery about retirement, estates, wills, health problems, and spending issues. Even a neutral question can open up a Pandora’s box. You may hear about addiction, infidelity, or adult children who are still financially dependent.”

These kinds of revelations lead directly to the second core competency: emotional intelligence (EQ). The survey showed that almost 75% of respondents agreed with the statement, “During a planning session, a client became emotionally distraught (for example, started crying, trembling, sobbing, or became violent).” No amount of fluency with quantitative analysis will help in a situation like this, so Dubofsky and Sussman suggest that a planner’s IQ needs to be augmented with EQ.

Given the state of the economy, the net worth of many clients may be way down. That means “personal relationships within families may be stressed,” Dubofsky says. “Divorces may be delayed because of the financial situation. Many people will want to open up to advisors about these problems.” Planners need high EQs to help clients make rational decisions under these circumstances, Dubofsky and Sussman point out, but also to manage their own emotions, so they themselves don’t become defensive or hostile.

Communication is, of course, key to navigating treacherous issues like these. But good communication involves more than just clearly conveying information to clients; it also involves listening with empathy to what clients themselves are saying, especially when what they are saying is laced with emotion. “There may be issues lurking in the background when a planner delivers a message,” Dubofsky says, “so planners need to think before delivering that message. Lots of planners could benefit from training in delivering difficult messages.” (For more on communicating with clients, see ‘The Importance of Communication in the Client-Planner Relationship’ and ‘Notes on the Client-Centered Financial Planner’.)

It is also important to recognize when a discussion goes outside the planner’s competence. In these situations, a referral to other professionals — such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, attorneys, or clergy — may be in order. “It’s crucial for a planner to recognize his or her own lack of skills,” says Sussman, “and to have access to a referral base. The planner performs a kind of gate-keeping function.” Planners need to have confidence in their referrals, though. So Dubofsky and Sussman advise taking the necessary time to properly vet the professionals they may recommend. Providing a bad referral may not only do a disservice to the client but could also hurt the planner’s own business.

The impact of coaching on the bottom line is, in fact, an area of debate in itself. “Research: Communication Issues in Life Planning,” a study sponsored by the Financial Planning Association and authored by Carol Anderson, president of Money Quotient, and Deanna L. Sharpe, associate professor in the Personal Financial Planning Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia, found that CFP® practitioners who took a life planning approach — which incorporates aspects of coaching and counseling — had clients who were 2.3 times more likely to stay with their current planner and over 3.2 times more likely to recommend their financial planner to others.

Dubofsky and Sussman’s survey obtained more ambiguous results. Though 90% of respondents said coaching helped them do a better job, only 39% said their business increased as a result. “Our respondents generally believe that their non-financial coaching and counseling helps their clients, lets them be better financial planners, and, perhaps to a lesser extent, helps their businesses,” they concluded.

Wherever planners stand on the coaching issue, Dubofsky and Sussman believe planners should be prepared to clearly explain their stance during initial meetings with potential clients. Those who do not want to engage in non-financial coaching should say so, and clients can then decide if they need a different kind of planner. Those who do want to engage in non-financial coaching should say so, too, and then get the personal training they need to competently provide that service. “Planners should explicitly lay out their philosophy on the issue,” Sussman says. “Clients can then make their own decisions.”

James Geary

CFP Board is proud to announce the release of our latest publication, “CFP Board’s Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense.” This new brochure, from CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate, Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, shares important tips to help the public:

Identify common “red flags” that signal an unethical or unqualified financial advisor, Learn what they can do to protect themselves, Take the steps required to select a qualified financial advisor, and Feel empowered when making financial decisions with the help of an advisor. Filled with unfortunate real-life anecdotes of consumers who experienced abuse at the hands of disreputable financial advisors – including many stories shared with CFP Board by CFP® professionals who assisted these consumers in recovering from the effects of that abuse – the Guide highlights the high standards of competency and ethics upheld by advisors who hold CFP® certification. We hope you will share this new publication with your clients and others in your community who could benefit from this important information. The Guide is available electronically in PDF format and in an online format. CFP® professionals can purchase multiple copies of the printed Guide through their online CFP Board accounts or by using an order form.

The Guide will be included in the Winter 2011 Consumer Information Catalog, published by the GSA Federal Citizen Information Center, and be available to consumers in November 2010. CFP Board is also making large quantities of the Guide available at cost to any Member of Congress, state legislator, Governor, Attorney General or local elected officials who would like to provide this publication to their constituents. And consumers may request a free copy from CFP Board by calling 800-487-1497 or sending a request to mail@CFPBoard.org.

We are pleased to share with you this new public service initiative in support of CFP Board’s work to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning.

27 CFP® professionals from around Florida participated in the second Financial Planning Clinic organized in partnership between CFP Board and AARP. The Clinic took place during AARP’s Orlando@50+ National Event, from September 30 to October 2, 2010, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

At the Clinic, each CFP® professional was assigned to a table and volunteered to meet with AARP members one-on-one to discuss their personal finance questions, concerns and interests. The Clinic featured 10 tables for volunteers and was held on over 1,000 square feet of exhibit floor space provided to CFP Board by AARP. In addition to the Clinic, CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate, Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, presented a couple of classroom-style workshops on Your Guide to Financial Self-Defense and Financial Strategies for Prime Time Years in the Financial Education Pavilion.

AARP’s national event drew over 20,000 AARP members from around the country and close to 200 of them took advantage of the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a CFP® professional and attend CFP Board’s presentations. Many others stopped by the Clinic to learn more about the benefits of financial planning and CFP® certification, and to pick up the newly released Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense.

The Clinic provided CFP Board and CFP® certification with great exposure through AARP, the largest membership organization in the U.S. for people over 50. AARP also promoted the Clinic onsite, as well as through its daily conference newspaper. The response from both the attendees and volunteers was overwhelmingly positive and echoed the feedback CFP Board received for the inaugural Financial Planning Clinic held at the AARP national event in Las Vegas in 2009.

On August 30, 2010, The Financial Planning Coalition, in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asked that the fiduciary standard of care — a key investor protection for all Americans who are investing for college, retirement and other needs — be extended to broker-dealers and other financial professionals who provide personalized investment advice to retail customers.

“The Financial Planning Coalition believes that establishing a uniform fiduciary standard of care, consistent with the standard currently applied to investment advisers under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940, for all financial professionals who provide personalized investment advice to retail customers, whether those financial professionals are associated with broker-dealers or investment advisers, is among the most important investor protection initiative that the Commission could undertake,” stated the members of the Coalition (Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).

Key points from the Coalition letter to the SEC include:

• The current standard of care for the provision of personalized investment advice by broker dealers is ineffective;
• There is a significant legal and regulatory gap in that broker-dealers can provide the same service as investment advisers at a lower standard of care;
• The SEC’s findings and recommendations should show that it is “necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of the retail customers” to establish a fiduciary standard of care for the delivery of personalized investment advice by broker-dealers;
• The SEC should exercise its permissive authority to extend the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers; and
• The SEC should establish the fiduciary standard in a manner that is true to the statutory language—that it is the same as the standard of conduct applicable to investment advisers under the Advisers Act.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) gave the SEC the authority, following a six-month study, to extend the fiduciary standard of care to brokers or dealers who give personalized investment advice to retail customers. The fiduciary standard of care would require broker-dealers to act in the best interest of their clients, which is a higher standard than the suitability standard to which they are currently held.

The Coalition’s letter is in response to the SEC’s 30-day comment period, which closes on August 30, on its “Study Regarding Obligations of Brokers, Dealers and Investment Advisers.” The Coalition represents over 75,000 stakeholders who, as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional or through their membership in FPA or NAPFA, have voluntarily embraced fiduciary accountability. The Coalition was actively involved in the legislative process that led to the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The main theme of the letter is that a fiduciary standard of care is needed now to protect retail customers, with the Coalition noting that “the current regulatory structure is ineffective because retail customers of a broker-dealer do not receive protection in situations in which an investment adviser’s retail customers would be protected.”

“There are significant gaps between the current standards of care applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers, and those gaps harm retail customers,” the Coalition stated.

The Coalition noted that retail customers’ access to advice will not be restricted. Rather, a fiduciary standard of care will provide greater protection and certainty that their best interests’ are being served.

“The higher standard of care simply has not proven to be a barrier to retail customers obtaining investment advice from investment advisers, in rapidly increasing numbers,” the letter states. “Nor do we believe there is any evidence that a fiduciary standard of care would have a disproportionate impact on smaller investors—even under the existing suitability standard of care, those investors at broker-dealers already are relegated to online or call-center channels in which they receive limited if any personalized investment advice.”

On September 13, 2010, CFP Board wrote to the Department of the Treasury in support of Treasury’s efforts to develop financial education core competencies. Treasury’s proposal defines five core concept areas—earning, spending, saving, borrowing, and protect—and identifies a baseline knowledge and set of behaviors associated with each. In its letter, CFP Board stated its agreement that more needs to be done to create a baseline of knowledge on personal finance topics for consumers and financial education providers, and that the development of core competencies represents a fundamental step in achieving this goal and will serve as a foundation for financial education in America.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has adopted new rules that require all paid tax return preparers to register and receive a preparer tax identification number (PTIN), allowing the IRS to identify tax return preparers and track the tax returns and refund claims associated with them. CFP Board has been engaged with the IRS on this new process since the new registration requirement was proposed in spring 2010.

Recently, In an August 23, 2010 comment letter, CFP Board provided comments on the proposed regulations regarding the imposition of user fees for individuals who apply for or renew a PTIN. CFP Board stated its support for the requirement that all tax return preparers obtain a PTIN and its belief that the $50 annual user fee recommended in the proposed regulations is fair based on the cost to the IRS, the value derived by tax return preparers from preparing tax returns, and the public policy benefits that will accrue from enhanced oversight of tax return preparers.

The August letter followed a comment letter CFP Board submitted in April 2010 supporting the IRS’s efforts to register all paid tax return preparers, given taxpayers’ increased reliance on paid tax return preparers and the important public policy concern for ensuring consumers have access to competent and ethical tax return preparers, but raising specific concerns about the proposed regulation and the related competency testing and continuing professional education (CPE) requirements that the IRS acknowledged as forthcoming. In the letter, CFP Board encouraged the IRS to consider providing CFP® professionals with the same exceptions to competency testing and CPE requirements the proposal affords to attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents, citing the rigorous testing and CPE requirements already part of the CFP® certification requirements. CFP Board will continue to advocate for such an exception for CFP® professionals.

CFP® professionals who provide services as paid tax preparers are encouraged to learn about the new IRS registration process for paid tax preparers. Financial professionals who prepare all or substantially all of a tax return for a client will need to register with the IRS and obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) by December 31, 2010 in order to prepare tax returns for clients during the 2011 filing season. The IRS is offering a free Webinar about its new online process for obtaining a Preparer Tax Identification Number on October 19, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern). Learn more and register to attend at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/IRS/72432/reg.asp?id=72432.

IRS Webinar: Demonstration of the IRS Tax Professional PTIN Sign-Up System
Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 2:00 p.m. (Eastern)
Free Registration: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/IRS/72432/reg.asp?id=72432

The staff of the Colorado Division of Securities recently proposed that the Division adopt a version of the proposed NASAA model rule on regulation for solicitors. The NASAA model rule was proposed in July 2009. On September 14, 2010, CFP Board sent a letter to the Division to express its concerns, noting that online search services such as CFP Board’s “Find a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional” tool could be included in the definition of solicitor. CFP Board proposed modifications to the proposed rule that would continue to allow online search features that assist consumers in selecting a competent and ethical financial planner. On September 15, 2010, the Division held a hearing regarding the proposed legislation, at which representatives of the Financial Planning Association® testified and asked that the Division reconsider its proposal and at least exempt online search and referral services from the definition of solicitor. CFP Board will be monitoring future developments related to this regulation.

Though the recession has been declared officially over, that doesn’t mean consumers are no longer affected by economic turmoil, job uncertainty, and financial planning challenges. Women, in particular, can face difficult choices. Women are more often absent from the workforce to care for children or other family members, thus reducing their earning power and delaying their savings goals.

According to Hewitt Associates, a human-resources research firm, women start saving two to four years later than men and they invest more than 10% less. Two-thirds of women between the ages 18 and 65+ manage their money entirely on their own, according to a 2006 AARP study, and 90% are either the primary decision-maker or have influence over household financial decisions. Another AARP study found that 20% of women reported struggling to make ends meet, a figure that has likely increased since the recession. Which is why CFP Board has awarded a grant to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (CCCS), in Philadelphia, to incorporate enhanced financial planning courses into FinanciallyHers, its financial education program for women.

CCCS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1966, aims to positively impact the community through consumer credit education, counseling, asset building, and debt reduction programs. There is a clear need for exactly these services in the Delaware Valley, especially among women. According to the U.S. Census, the median income for women in CCCS’ service area is 76.2% of the median income for men, while women’s life expectancy is several years longer. CCCS’ client base is 57% female; 80% are from a racial or ethnic minority; 76% earn less than $48,000 a year; 66% are single or divorced; and 53% have at least one dependent.

As the economic crisis has unfolded, CCCS has seen increased demand for its services; it provided almost 17,500 counseling sessions in 2008, a nearly 40% increase over 2007. “We expect the community’s need for our services will continue to grow as the national and local economic woes continue,” says Kim Cooper, CCCS’ director of education programs. “The goals of this project are to increase the financial knowledge of the women participants, to inform them of the benefits of working with a CFP® certificant, and to allow them to access CFP® certificant services without cost.”

Launched in 2008, FinanciallyHers is now offered at the offices of community partners throughout Philadelphia, including nonprofit organizations, government agencies, libraries, and schools. The program currently has more than 500 enrollees, mostly low-to-moderate income women, and incorporates neighborhood-based education with community outreach, peer support, and the involvement of volunteers from the financial services, business, and nonprofit communities.

The program’s curriculum consists of five core workshops to provide women with a grounding in the basics of personal finance: A Woman and Her Money, Budgeting for the Successful Woman, Basic Savings and Investing for Women, A Woman and Her Credit, and Protecting a Woman’s Worth. Thanks to funding from CFP Board, and a partnership with the pro bono committee of the Philadelphia Tri-State Area Chapter of the Financial Planning Association, two new courses on financial planning have been added: one on setting goals and one on understanding financial markets and investment products.

CCCS held its first enhanced events last summer. CFP® professionals led two workshops, with participants subsequently invited to attend free one-on-one counseling sessions. The results were promising. Of the 65 women who attended a class on goal setting and estate planning, 85% understood that the laws in the state where you die, not the decedent’s family members, control the distribution of assets in an intestate estate, while 75% identified the importance of reviewing beneficiary designations after every major life event. And these women decided to take action based on this new information: 79% planned to write a letter of instruction; 60% planned to speak with their heirs about estate planning, and 43% planned to consult an attorney or planner about a will.

Of the 55 women who attended the financial markets and investment products session, 96% understood the importance of revisiting a retirement plan annually to track progress, while 84% understood that high risks often accompany the potential for high returns in investing. Again, these women were motivated to do something with their new financial knowledge: 56% considered opening an IRA; 42% intended to speak with family and friends about their retirement plans; and 36% planned to start savings plans. In total, 25 participants opted to work with a CFP® professional afterwards.

Cooper is hopeful that the workshops and follow-up sessions with CFP® professionals will have an impact far beyond the immediate participants. “We hope that women will incorporate these lessons into their household lives,” she says, “sharing the information with their children, spouses, and friends. According to the ‘each one, teach one’ principle, one woman can influence a lot of other people.”

For more information, see CFP Board Report’s 2007 series on women and money: Women and Money I: What's Biology Got To Do With It?
Women and Money II: Dealing with Divorce
Women and Money III: Reckoning with Retirement

Use Savings in CDs to Pay Off House?
Since you are considering some financial matters, I suggest that you try to get an overall perspective of where you are, where you want to be and what to do with the answer. For this I recommend a really good financial planner. The minimum credential I'd look for when searching for someone is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER[™ certification], or CFP[® certification].

Steve Bucci
Bankrate.com
August 30, 2010

How to Pick a Team of Financial Pros
If you want an investment expert, a broker could be all you need. But if you want someone to offer a comprehensive evaluation of your overall financial picture — from estate considerations to retirement planning to taxes — you should look for a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER[™ professional].

Karin Price Mueller
The Star-Ledger
August 26, 2010

Read these and other notable media references to the CFP^® certification at www.CFP.net/certificants/marksinthenews.asp.

CFP Board’s media outreach efforts are greatly enhanced by the many CFP^® professionals who are engaged in their own efforts to reach national and local media with the message of the benefits of financial planning and working with a CFP^® professional. We appreciate all of you who help further awareness of CFP^® certification across the country through your media contacts and your involvement in your communities.

CFP Board congratulates the following CFP^® professionals on their professional accomplishments:

Mike Berry, CFP^®, of Grand Junction, Colorado, for being named Volunteer of the Year by the Invest in Others Community Leadership Award program for his founding and contributions to Kids Aid, a program that distributes extra food weekly to school children.
 
John Hyland, CFP^®, of Morristown, New Jersey, for being honored with the Community Service Award of the Invest in Others’ Community Leadership Awards program for his volunteer service with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
 
Michael Kitces, CFP^®, of Great Falls, Virginia, for being honored with a 2010 Heart of Financial Planning Award from the Financial Planning Association for his commitment to education in the financial planning industry and for his work as co-founder of the FPA NexGen.
 
Brent Neiser, CFP^®, of Greenwood Village, Colorado, the director of strategic programs and alliances for the National Endowment for Financial Education, for being honored with a 2010 Heart of Financial Planning Award from the Financial Planning Association for his commitment to financial literacy by educating the public in all areas of personal finance.
 
Dr. Roger L. Torneden, CFP^®, of Los Angeles, California, for his presentation "Will Devaluation of the Dollar Pull the U.S. Out of Depression Once Again?" at Chapman University's Annual Economic Symposium in memory of the 80th Anniversary of the Great Depression. Dr. Torneden's work was also recently published in NeXus, Vol 15 (Chapman University's Journal of Law & Policy).

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 recently took the public disciplinary actions listed below. Public disciplinary actions taken by CFP Board, in order of decreasing severity, include permanent revocation of an individual's right to use the CFP® certification marks, suspension of the right to use the CFP® certification marks for up to five years, and letters of admonition.

Articles 7.3 and 7.4 of CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures provide that if CFP Board mails a Complaint to a certificant alleging one or more ethical rule violations, the certificant has 20 calendar days from the date he/she receives the Complaint to submit an Answer to CFP Board. If the certificant does not submit an Answer within 20 calendar days, the certificant is considered to be in default and the allegations in the Complaint are deemed admitted by the certificant. CFP Board staff counsel will then issue an Order of Revocation, permanently revoking the individual’s certification. Any individual whose certification has been administratively revoked has the right to appeal the decision within 30 calendar days to the Appeals Committee of the Board of Directors. If you have any questions regarding this process or other aspects of CFP Board’s enforcement of the Standards of Professional Conduct, please submit them to standards@CFPBoard.org.

CFP Board has released a series of multimedia presentations to assist CFP® certificants in understanding and complying with CFP Board’s Standards. In 2009, CFP Board assembled a Business Model Working Group to discuss the application of CFP Board’s Standards to specific situations and business models. This Working Group, comprised of representatives of nearly two dozen financial service firms that employ or contract with CFP® certificants, identified specific scenarios where additional guidance from CFP Board would be helpful. Following the Working Group’s discussions, CFP Board developed several multimedia presentations covering topics such as understanding CFP Board’s definition of financial planning and how it relates to advice given in a single subject area, as well as understanding CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct as they relate to RIA disclosure, the timing of disclosures, and working in a team environment. Learn more and view the presentations.

CFP Board has made available online a collection of newly formatted 'Anonymous Case Histories.' The Anonymous Case Histories are detailed summaries of actual cases heard by CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, the body charged with hearing allegations of misconduct by CFP® certificants.

CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (“Commission”) determines whether a CFP® certificant has violated one or more of the ethical and practice standards contained in CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct (“Standards”). When appropriate, the Commission may impose disciplinary action against a certificant, including revocation, suspension (up to five years), public letter of admonition, or private censure. The Commission may also dismiss a case. The case histories are considered important resources for certificants and compliance officers seeking clarification of the Standards.

“The ultimate goal of putting this sensitive information online is both to improve our transparency as a standards setting body for the financial planning profession, and to provide a new user-friendly resource to our CFP® certificants," said Kevin R. Keller, CFP Board's CEO. "The improved format of our Anonymous Case Histories and the online accessibility creates an important tool for anyone who is interested in learning how CFP Board proceeds in matters that require disciplinary action.”

The Anonymous Case Histories will enable certificants and members of the public to identify specific types of activities that CFP Board deems to be contrary to the Standards. The Anonymous Case Histories may also be useful to a CFP® certificant preparing to appear before the Commission, and in the Commission’s determination whether a contemplated offer of settlement is appropriate, given the precedent of decisions rendered by the Commission.

The new histories provide clear identification of the issue or issues in the case, a detailed description of the Commission’s factual findings, and the Commission’s rationale in determining whether a rule was violated and its reasoning for imposing a particular sanction. Another difference from past case summaries is the inclusion of interim suspension orders (imposed in cases involving criminal convictions, license suspensions and/or an alleged pattern of misconduct) and the outcome of hearings before CFP Board’s Appeals Committee.

CFP Board has opportunities for qualified volunteers to contribute to its investigative and enforcement-related initiatives, including participating in Probable Cause Determination meetings, contributing as a Hearing Panelist at disciplinary hearings, and serving as a member of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. Learn more and apply to volunteer.

Results from the July 2010 CFP® Certification Examination were mailed to examinees on September 3. The pass rate for the July 2010 exam was 53%, with 982 examinees passing the exam. View historical pass rate statistics for the CFP® exam at www.CFP.net/media/examstats.asp.

CFP Board's extensive 2009 Job Analysis Study has resulted in a new exam blueprint which is targeted to be tested on the March 2012 and later administrations of the CFP^® Certification Examination. Eight Job Task Domains will serve as the exam blueprint, with each exam question linked to one of the domains. A list of Principal Topics resulting from the 2009 Job Analysis Study has also been developed to serve as a curricular framework.

Background and details of the updated CFP^® Certification Examination blueprint and the upcoming implementation of the Financial Plan Development Course, with attention to their impact on CFP Board-Registered Programs, were provided during a Webinar on July 13, 2010. View a recording of the Webinar.

CFP Board’s leadership held CFP® Certificant Connection receptions and meetings in twelve cities across the country during September. Held in an open format to allow participants to address the issues of most concern to them, and to provide CFP Board’s leadership the chance to connect with the CFP® professional community, these latest meetings included special focus on CFP Board’s work to determine the feasibility of a nationwide public awareness campaign. The potential public awareness campaign would be designed to significantly increase consumer awareness of CFP® professionals and the likelihood that a consumer would choose a CFP® professional when they are in the market for a financial planner.

If you weren’t able to attend the in-person meetings during September, you still have an opportunity to join us and share your thoughts during a virtual CFP® Certificant Connection event on October 7 at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern). A recording of the virtual event will be available following the live event.

Virtual CFP® Certificant Connection
Thursday October 7, 1:30-2:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/201807987

Bob Glovsky, CFP®, Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors, and Kevin R. Keller, CFP Board’s CEO, will lead a discussion about CFP Board’s preliminary work on the feasibility of a potential public awareness campaign designed to significantly increase consumer awareness of CFP® professionals and the likelihood that a consumer would choose a CFP® professional when they are in the market for a financial planner.

Raising Public Awareness of CFP® Professionals
Monday, October 11, 2010
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Room 505-507

CFP Board has partnered with the Financial Planning Association, the Foundation for Financial Planning, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, to offer Financial Planning Days, a groundbreaking new program that will unite the collective resources of the financial planning community and city governments nationwide to deliver financial planning advice and education to the public. The program will consist of free Financial Planning Day events planned for October 2010 in cities nationwide, supported by city mayors and powered by financial planners. Events are currently scheduled in 20 cities, with planning for additional events underway.

The agenda for the Financial Planning Day events will consist of financial planners volunteering to meet one-on-one with consumers to offer personalized financial planning information on a pro bono basis. Financial planners will also present classroom-style workshops addressing key financial planning topics. Participation will be open to planners who either hold the CFP® certification or are members of the Financial Planning Association. The events will be free and open to all, but will focus particularly on benefitting the underserved, young adults, and individuals and families facing special life circumstances or crisis, in an effort to empower them with financial planning information to achieve their life goals.

Local chapters of the Financial Planning Association will organize the individual events in partnership with the mayor’s office, local media and community groups, and in consultation with the national partners. CFP Board will provide the participating chapters and cities with a Financial Planning Day tool kit, containing comprehensive instructions and resources to guide them in organizing, promoting and executing successful events. The tool kit is based on CFP Board’s financial planning clinic model, and was developed from the experience CFP Board acquired through hosting similar events in various cities across the country since 2006.

Since the announcement of the Financial Planning Days initiative, more than 600 CFP® professionals have generously offered to volunteer at the events by sharing their expertise to help educate the public on the importance of financial planning.

At a time when many Americans are still struggling as a result of the recent economic turmoil, we expect the Financial Planning Days initiative to generate high levels of interest from the public and the media, so there is still room for volunteers in many cities. Additional information about Financial Planning Days, including the list of participating cities and how CFP® professionals can get involved, is available at www.FinancialPlanningDays.org.

CFP Board’s work benefits greatly from the generous contributions CFP® certificants and other stakeholders provide through volunteer service. Each year, we seek qualified candidates for open positions on our Councils and Commission. Ongoing opportunities also exist for short-term contributions to CFP Board’s disciplinary hearing process, the development of the CFP® Certification Examination and various committees and task forces for a wide range of initiatives.

Learn more about current volunteer activities and download application forms at www.CFP.net/aboutus/opportunities.asp.

CFP Board reached its 25th anniversary in July 2010, and we invite you to join us in the celebration. You can help CFP Board commemorate this milestone anniversary. Share your memories of CFP Board and your thoughts on the future of the financial planning profession and the CFP® professional community.

• Share a memorable story from your experiences with CFP Board.
• Share why the financial planning profession and the CFP® certification are important in your life.
• Share about a situation where you made a significant difference in the lives of your clients.
• Share your thoughts about the future of profession and the impact you expect the CFP® professional community will have on the financial well-being of Americans.
• Share a message of thanks to the people or organizations who introduced you to financial planning, or who helped you develop a rewarding career as a CFP® professional.

The financial planning profession has seen incredible growth during CFP Board’s first quarter century, with many significant accomplishments along the way. But the success and increasing public recognition of the CFP® marks isn’t something CFP Board accomplished alone. We’ve made it to this point with the help of the entire CFP® professional community and the many individuals and organizations who have supported the CFP® certification. CFP Board appreciates the contributions so many individuals and organizations have made to the growth of the CFP® certification and the vitality of the CFP® professional community.

Employment at CFP Board provides opportunities to contribute to 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. A listing of current job opportunities at CFP Board is available at www.CFP.net/aboutus/jobs.asp.

CFP Board
1425 K Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
P: 800-487-1497
E: mail@CFPBoard.org
W: www.CFP.net