I hope you have enjoyed a happy holiday season and are looking forward to the new year. As I look back on 2009, I can say it has truly been an exciting and rewarding time to be involved with CFP Board.

The past year provided an historic opportunity for the financial planning profession to impact the re-regulation of the financial services industry. CFP Board’s move to the nation’s capital has helped us make great headway in having the CFP® certificant community represented in the important debates that affect our profession. Within little more than a year of presence in Washington, we were able not only to join the conversation, but establish the organization as an important contributor to policy discussions of financial regulation and personal finance. Our standing as an important voice on consumer finance issues was recognized broadly, and we were honored with invitations to testify at Congressional hearings, SEC hearings and Department of Labor hearings.

The government’s attention on re-regulation of the financial services industry also highlighted the importance of CFP Board having productive working relationships with other financial planning organizations, as we’ve done with great success and sense of common purpose through our work with the Financial Planning Association and the National Association for Professional Financial Advisers as the Financial Planning Coalition. Much work remains in the Coalition’s campaign to establish financial planning as a regulated profession, and there are many other areas and issues where we can have an impact through effective collaboration with the primary organizations within our profession.

That spirit of collaboration is something that led CFP Board to develop stronger relationships with other associations within the financial services industry, not only to further our public policy goals, but to strengthen the CFP® certification and increase its public recognition. During 2009, CFP Board led efforts with our Coalition partners to assemble a broad and influential coalition with Fund Democracy, the Investment Adviser Association and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) to advocate for fiduciary standards for all who provide financial advice. We also convened a Business Model Working Group composed of representatives of nearly two dozen financial services firms and associations worked together to address the application of our Standards of Professional Conduct within the variety of business situations in which certificants practice.

Collaboration has also played an important role in our work to increase the public’s recognition of the benefits of financial planning. We worked with AARP, FPA chapters and city governments to hold several successful Financial Planning Clinics, not only delivering personalized financial advice to underserved segments of the public, but also creating broader awareness of the importance of seeking financial planning from those who hold CFP® certification. Our Consumer Advocate, Eleanor Blayney, has been working with media organizations around the country to share the message that people don’t need to go it alone with their finances – the tens of thousands of CFP® certificants around the country are qualified and ready to help people on their journeys toward a healthy financial future.

As I finish my term as Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors, I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to CFP Board’s work during 2009. From CFP Board’s staff, to those of you who dedicated much time and energy on our Board, Commission, Councils and working groups, to the hundreds of CFP® certificants who have served the public and represented the CFP® certification well at Financial Planning Clinics, to the thousands who took time to share your thoughts and opinions through surveys, requests for comment, grassroots activities and town hall meetings. I’m very pleased to say that CFP Board has come a long way since I first participated on the Board of Practice Standards. That progress is a direct reflection of the contributions of many talented and dedicated individuals, and I know that under the leadership of Bob Glovsky, 2010 Chair of the Board of Directors, and with the continued support of CFP® certificant community, CFP Board will continue to build upon the momentum we’ve generated toward our goal of seeing the CFP® certification recognized across the country as the symbol of competent and ethical financial planning.

Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, CFP®
2009 Chair, Board of Directors
CFP Board

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

The importance of CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct for the CFP® certification can’t be overstated. When CFP Board took ownership of the CFP® marks nearly 25 years ago, one of the first major undertakings was to establish a Code of Ethics for CFP® certificants. A process for enforcing those ethical standards was a key development that helped differentiate the CFP® certification from the financial services credentials at the time. Ethics and enforcement still differentiate the CFP® certification from all other financial planning credentials and designations that exist today.

The CFP® certification is the only financial planning credential whose holders are subject to public disciplinary action for unethical behavior. While many designations have admirable ethical codes, those that make any effort at all to enforce those codes typically do so privately, with disciplinary information kept hidden from public view, and with disciplined individuals’ names dropped quietly from membership rosters. Consumers doing a thorough background check may find news stories of an individual in serious legal trouble, only to find that individual listed on the sites of other designation granting-organizations as a member in good standing.

In contrast, CFP Board has a well-defined disciplinary process, and public disciplinary actions taken by CFP Board remain public permanently. This not only allows consumers searching for a trusted financial planner can take disciplinary history into account, but it sends a clear message to the public that those professionals who have attained the CFP® certification are required to abide by high ethical standards that are enforced. When CFP Board learns of serious allegations of misconduct against a CFP® certificant, our professional review department begins interim suspension proceedings – an expedited process to suspend a person’s right to use the CFP® marks in situations where the public may be endangered. During 2009 alone, seven interim suspensions were issued by CFP Board and accompanied by press releases. Consumers who retain the services of a CFP® certificant can do so with the understanding that the certificant has agreed to abide by high standards of ethical conduct and are held accountable to those standards by CFP Board.

Over the past several years, CFP Board has worked to enhance the transparency and credibility of our disciplinary process for the public, while retaining the fairness of the process for certificants whose conduct comes under review. Part of that effort included adding public representation to the hearing panels that work with the Commission to administer hearings for disciplinary cases. 2009 marked the first year a non-certificant served as a full member of the Commission, and increasing numbers of non-certificant professionals have participated in our hearing process. Our disciplinary process involves matters that require the expertise of CFP® certificants. At the same time, the insights of non-certificants with respected careers in allied professions and in consumer protection provide a valuable perspective to our disciplinary process, and greater credibility for the public.

Recent enhancements to CFP Board’s enforcement process have benefitted from involving CFP® certificants throughout earlier stages of the process. We’ve worked to assemble a growing database of CFP® certificants with specific subject matter expertise who can be called upon for assistance when expert knowledge is needed by our professional review staff, whose backgrounds are primarily legal in nature, not in the practice of financial planning. We’ve also begun the regular practice of inviting CFP® certificants to participate in our probable cause determination meetings, where cases are reviewed to determine whether the matters under review are serious enough to require a hearing before the Commission. During the probable cause determination meetings that have taken place during 2009, I’ve been pleased to see the participation of several former Board of Professional Review and Commission members who have contributed much to the development of CFP Board’s enforcement process over the years. I expect they’ve also been pleased to see the seriousness with which CFP Board continues to enforce its ethical and practice standards.

As our professional review department has worked with the Commission to increase the efficiency of our enforcement process, we’ve implemented steps designed to reduce the time between CFP Board’s opening of an investigation and the final decision in a case. For example, the Commission has identified to the professional review department specific types of matters that can be dismissed without a hearing – such as customer complaints filed many years ago that were denied or closed with no action, or misdemeanor convictions for minor, non-financial services conduct that occurred over a decade ago – allowing staff to close those cases without scheduling them for review by the Commission. For cases that do go to hearing, we’ve begun to hold pre-hearing motions conference calls, which allow the Commission to address preliminary matters prior to the hearings to expedite procedural matters and allow the hearing panels and certificants under review to devote their full time and attention during the hearings to the conduct at issue in the case. These added efficiencies maintain the integrity and rigor of our enforcement process and complement the other components of our disciplinary procedures that ensure the fairness of the process for those under review.

We have also been developing updated disclosure questions for the CFP® Certification Applications and Renewal Applications, expanding the questions and stating them in ways designed to help eliminate any confusion about the types of matters CFP Board requires CFP® certificants to disclose. In addition to helping avoid unintentionally omitted or unnecessarily disclosed matters on an application, the updated disclosure questions are more closely aligned with the types of matters CFP Board investigates, allowing staff to process and prioritize cases more efficiently. Those of you renewing CFP® certification during 2010 should expect to see the updated disclosure questions on your renewal applications.

Given the importance of ethics and enforcement to CFP Board and the CFP® certification, we are committed to providing the CFP® certificant community with resources on the Standards. Earlier this month, we held a Webinar titled “Practical Applications of the Fiduciary Standard of Care” that is now archived and available for review. CFP Board has been developing additional resources to supplement the sample disclosure documents, sample client agreements, and answers to frequently asked questions that are currently available. During the coming year, you can expect to find updated anonymous case history documents that will provide more in-depth information about the past decisions made by the Commission, as well as Web-based presentations demonstrating the application of CFP Board’s Standards to different situations and business models. As these resources become available, they will be accessible from our Web site at www.CFP.net/aboutus/standards.asp.

I encourage you to take time to review that section of our site often. It is important for the Standards to remain top-of-mind for everyone in the CFP® certificant community. The enforcement of our Standards is something that has contributed to establishing the CFP® certification as the respected financial planning designation within the financial services industry, among regulators and consumer advocates, with the media, and with the public. CFP Board’s Standards not only establish a high standard of ethical practice that all certificants must adhere to. Our Standards are something we can all take pride in.

Kevin R. Keller, CAE
CEO, CFP Board

Deena Katz, CFP® lives part of the time in Texas and part of the time in Florida, travelling back and forth between her associate professorship in the Personal Financial Planning Division at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and her partnership in wealth management firm Evensky & Katz in Coral Gables. Both Texas and Florida are prone to hurricanes, so Katz has seen a lot of natural disasters — and a lot of natural disaster plans — in her day. “The middle of a crisis is not the time to start changing your philosophy,” she observes. “It’s not a good idea to change your disaster plan when the hurricane has just hit.”

The hurricane that swept through the world economy over the past 18 months seems to have largely subsided. As governments and consumers alike start to pick up the pieces, the question for financial planners is: Has anything fundamentally changed about the profession, or is it back to business as usual?

Though the storm may have passed, it has left a wide swath of destruction in its wake — and not just to pension plans and investment portfolios. Time pressure on advisors during the recession resulted in briefer client meetings, which in turn triggered a drop in closed deals and a rise in customer dissatisfaction, according to a study by Sales Quality Research Group. Half of the 500 or so registered investment advisors taking part in a recent TD Ameritrade survey reported that their quality of life took a major hit due to the economic downturn, even as they recorded an uptick in business from investors choosing independents over full-commission brokers. More than 60% of the RIAs surveyed added clients during the recession.

Consumer trust has been battered, too. An online poll of consumers in Europe and the U.S. for the Financial Times found that, when asked who they trusted most to look after their savings and investments, the majority of respondents in all countries said — themselves. Bank and building society advisors came a distant second, with investment company advisors and stockbrokers trailing even further behind. So, as advisor and investor confidence in the markets starts to creep back up, what lessons have been learned?

For Katz, the biggest lesson is: The six-step financial planning process works. “The recession has been a wake up call for many people,” Katz says. “Some clients were wondering what they were paying their advisors for, why their advisors were not helping them beat the market. This is a chance to go back to them and say, ‘Financial planning works. Our expertise is not in beating the market; it’s in matching the market with client goals and intentions.’ Clients may not be happy, but they aren’t running for the windows, either.”

Katz recalls one client who stuck to his financial plan, resisting the temptation to change disaster scenarios in mid-crisis. He lost money like everybody else, but he lost less money than everybody else. “I don’t like what has happened,” he told Katz, “but I don’t have to worry, either.” CFP Board’s 2009 National Consumer Survey on Personal Finance has found this same sentiment among consumers. Though only 17% of respondents had a written, regularly updated plan in place, this group felt strongly about its benefits. Among those who developed their own plans, 48% said they benefited from it; among those who used the services of a financial advisor, 65% said they benefited.

To continue to make the benefits of financial planning clear, advisors will have to deliver even more strategic thinking around investments, according to Ray Ferrara, CFP®, president and CEO of financial planning and wealth advisory firm ProVise Management Group and a member of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. It’s human nature to cling to the notion that things will return to normal in short order, especially after traumatic events like those of the past 18 months. But, says Ferrara, one important difference this time around is “the realization and acceptance that the fringes of probability do exist. We just had one of the extremes on the probability curve. These things don’t happen very often, but they do happen. Consumers can’t dismiss this anymore, and we as an industry can’t dismiss it anymore.”

As a result, Ferrara expects one thing that will change is consumer demand — for more critical thinking and better communication. Clients will migrate to planners who can make the macro decisions and not just leave it all to the fund managers, Ferrara believes. And they will start asking more — and tougher — questions. “Strategic asset allocation is not dead, but it was never the answer anyway,” he says. “Clients will ask, ‘Tell me how you think you’re different’ and planners will need to have a good answer for that. Planners that say, ‘Let me take care of it; I know better than you’ are not the kind of personalities people will gravitate towards in the future. Clients will want to understand more, and that’s a good thing.”

Ferrara has seen huge shifts as clients move from one planner to another due to the crisis. According to Mass Affluent Investor 2009, a report by research and consulting firm Spectrem Group, 22% of mass affluent households ($100,000 to $1 million in net worth, apart from primary residence) opted for an independent financial planner as their primary advisor, up from 20% last year. The same percentage opted for a full-service broker, but this figure was down from 30% a year ago.

The churn seems to be motivated not so much by anger towards the profession as a whole as by disappointment with individuals. Whenever a potential new client walks into ProVise Management Group, they are always asked about existing relationships and why the prospect is considering a move. “The universal answer is that the planner did not return calls, didn’t have any good answers, or was out playing golf when the crisis hit,” Ferrara says. “All of us have the temptation to run and hide, but those planners who communicated, who took the tough calls and had the tough conversations, are getting the new clients. If you don’t communicate, you’re not going to be in business.”

Communication was key in Katz’s financial planning classes, too. In many ways, planners are “professional contrarians,” Katz argues, tempering irrational exuberance in good times and bolstering client confidence in bad times. At Texas Tech, financial coaches come in to talk to students about effective communication strategies, covering everything from how to manage client expectations to how to help them avoid reverting back to old decision-making patterns. The goal: to teach students how to get clients to “own” their financial plans, thereby greatly enhancing the chances that they will actually stick to them.

“Every class was discussing how to talk to clients about what was happening in the economy,” Katz says. “All the good planning in the world is useless if you can’t communicate effectively with clients. Students are coming out now with a lot more emphasis on conversations and on the six-step process. For young planners, it’s the best education they could ever have. It’s been horrible for the economy, but it’s been a wonderful teaching opportunity.”

And it may turn out to be a wonderful opportunity for the planning profession as a whole. Ferrara regards this as an ideal moment for those who embrace a fiduciary standard of care to see it become reality. After all, if there ever was a moment to reinforce the message that clients’ interests come first, this is certainly it. This was another clear result from CFP Board’s 2009 National Consumer Survey. Almost 90% of those who used a financial professional to develop their written financial plan put a premium on ethics and practice standards. “Anyone not embracing [a fiduciary standard of care] will be at a competitive disadvantage,” Ferrara says. “It’s another reason for clients to migrate towards this business model.”

There are mixed signals out there about whether the crisis has fundamentally altered the financial landscape. On the one hand, the national savings rate is up; on the other, a recent Allianz Global Investors Distributors study found that 51% of the advisors surveyed believed clients don’t have enough retirement savings because they cling to unrealistic expectations; 66% said investors needed to adopt a new approach to investing for retirement.

One thing that hasn’t changed as a result of the past 18 months is the importance of competent, ethical financial planning, planning that clients can stick with regardless of whether the financial forecast promises clear skies or storm warnings. As Katz says, “A financial plan is not an investment plan or a retirement plan; it’s an entire life plan. Our job is to lead clients to logical decisions, and not be swayed by things we know don’t work. We need to be the ones who help clients understand what’s happening.”

James Geary

CFP Board Names Three to Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of CFP Board has announced it has named three new members to four-year terms on the Board of Directors. Joining the Board of Directors beginning January 1, 2010, are:

Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, former president and CEO for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest professional association devoted to human resource management. Meisinger retired from SHRM in 2008. During her tenure as CEO of SHRM from 2002 to 2008, the organization grew from 170,000 members to more than 245,000 members. While at SHRM, Meisinger took an active role in public policy issues and was a respected advocate on behalf of the human resource profession.

Richard P. Rojeck, CFP®, managing director of the Pacific Southwest Regional Planning Group of Sagemark Consulting, a fee-based financial planning firm affiliated with Lincoln Financial Advisors. Rojeck has been involved with financial planning for nearly 30 years. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional since 1985, and has been associated with Sagemark since 1980. From 1993 to 1999, he served on the board of the International Association for Financial Planning, which merged with the Institute of Certified Financial Planners in 2000 to form the Financial Planning Association.

Richard Sincere, founder, chairman and CEO of Sincere & Co., which works to connect fee-based advisors with large financial management institutions, such as mutual funds. Sincere writes a bimonthly column for NAPFA Advisor, a publication of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and serves on the advisory boards of two financial publications - the Journal of Wealth Management and Inside Money. In addition, he serves on the mutual fund board of Roge Partners Fund. He currently serves on the International Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University and the board of the Recannati Business School of Tel Aviv University.

The selection of three board members increases the size of the Board of Directors from 13 to 14.

“We welcome the new directors who join us in our important mission to benefit the public,” said 2010 Board Chair Robert Glovsky, CFP®. “Next year will be an important one for CFP Board as we push ahead with our goals of becoming a more vigorous advocate for the public’s interest and making a meaningful impact in our nation’s public policy, especially in the area of financial services reform. The experiences, strengths and perspectives that they will bring to CFP Board are assets that will complement those of our outstanding current Board members.”

Board members ending their service on the Board in 2009 are current Board Chair Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, CFP®, and James A. Kaitz.

“I am thankful for the contributions that Marilyn and James have made during their tenure on the Board,” Glovsky said. “Their thoughtful and active participation on the Board and in the CFP® certificant community played a vital role in CFP Board’s ongoing efforts to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning.”

Financial Planning Coalition Update

As the financial services reform legislation moves through Congress, the Financial Planning Coalition is helping to shape the outcome. Last week, during the House debate of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173), the Coalition and its stakeholders mobilized to defeat a provision that would have given the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) authority to regulate investment advisers. We were also instrumental in obtaining a provision in the bill calling for a study of the financial planning profession and how it is regulated—important groundwork for building a distinct profession. Finally, as we continue to advocate for a financial planner oversight board in the Senate, we have narrowed our proposal to address concerns that impeded its inclusion in the House.

Below is an update on some of the key provisions affecting financial planners and what the Coalition is doing as the battleground shifts to the Senate.

FINRA Oversight: Nearly 2,000 financial planners responded to a call from CFP Board and FPA to write to their Members of Congress opposing a provision that would have given FINRA oversight of most investment advisers, including many planners. Planners wrote in support of a successful amendment offered by Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) that removed the provision from the bill, complementing the Coalition’s own lobbying efforts to remove the FINRA provision. The Coalition is talking to key offices in a preemptive effort to block any similar effort in the Senate.

Study on Financial Planning: Working with Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), the Coalition was successful in obtaining an amendment calling for a study on the regulation and oversight of financial planning by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO would be required to make recommendations to Congress for the appropriate regulation of financial planning. These studies often lay important groundwork for future action by Congress. The Coalition is working to ensure that, at a minimum, the Senate bill includes this key provision.

Fiduciary Duty for Brokers: The House bill includes a provision requiring brokers who provide personalized investment advice to retail customers adhere to the same fiduciary standard of care as investment advisers. The Coalition has strongly supported this effort, but has also expressed concerns with the specifics of the bill, which delegates to the SEC much of the responsibility for defining the fiduciary standard. The concern is that the standard could be weakened through rulemaking and interpretation. Working with a broad group of consumer, state regulator and industry representatives, the Coalition is seeking to ensure that the Senate legislation includes an unambiguous and even application of the Advisers Act fiduciary standard to brokers who provide advice.

Consumer Financial Protection Agency: The House bill also establishes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to regulate the provision of consumer financial products or services, such as credit cards and mortgages. The Coalition is concerned that some services offered by financial planners (for example, advice regarding mortgages and other bank products) could be subject to the CFPA, and is looking to clarify its applicability. The Coalition is working to address this through appropriate regulation of financial planners in the Senate version of the bill.

Financial Planner Oversight: As the focus shifts from the House to the Senate, the Coalition is continuing to make a strong push to establish a financial planner oversight board that would set baseline competency, practice, and ethical standards for financial planners. To address some of the concerns that were raised in the House, we have narrowed the definition of financial planner. Only those who affirmatively hold themselves out as financial planners would be required to register with the oversight board. While this would not resolve all consumer confusion and potential consumer misrepresentation, it would go a long way to achieving an important goal set by the Coalition: that the public knows that a “financial planner” is a legitimate and accepted professional who is competent to provide broad-based, integrated financial advice, and will do so with fiduciary accountability and transparency.

We appreciate your continued support of the Financial Planning Coalition in its efforts on behalf of the financial planning profession and American consumers. For more information, please visit www.FinancialPlanningCoalition.com.

CFP Board Launches Grassroots Advocacy Capability

CFP Board has launched of a series of grassroots advocacy tools designed to allow CFP® professionals to become directly engaged in CFP Board’s public policy work. The new grassroots capability will enable CFP® professionals to learn more about legislative and regulatory initiatives CFP Board is engaged in and advocate in support of those initiatives.

Grassroots Questionnaire
CFP Board has posted a Grassroots Advocacy Questionnaire designed to measure relationships CFP® certificants have with their congressional representatives and members of the media. The questionnaire also allows CFP® certificants to indicate their willingness to reach out to Congress and the media in support of CFP Board’s policy efforts.

Several thousand CFP® certificants have completed the questionnaire and over 70% have indicated willingness to engage their Members in Congress, either through phone calls and meetings, or by sending out letters and emails. Data from the questionnaire will be used to assist CFP Board’s policy staff to reach out to key contacts in Congress, and to establish relationships with media personalities to gain publicity for CFP Board’s policy work.

If you have not already done so, please allocate about 5 minutes of your time to complete the questionnaire, available through your online CFP Board account at: https://www.CFP.net/secure/Dynamicpage.aspx?site=Secure&webcode=GAQuestionnaire

Legislative Action Center
CFP Board’s new Legislative Action Center allows CFP® certificants to support CFP Board’s policy efforts by contacting their Members of Congress through letters, emails or phone calls to their congressional representative. The platform also enables CFP Board to send out email action alerts to CFP® certificants when issues that affect the financial planning profession are being debated in Congress.

CFP Board issued the first action alert on October 16 to over 11,000 CFP® certificants located in districts with Members on the House Financial Services Committee. The action alert encouraged certificants to support the establishment of a professional oversight board for financial planners as part of the Investor Protection Act of 2009. On November 3, another action alert went out to certificants in House Financial Services Committee districts, asking them to oppose an amendment by Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) that would make FINRA the de facto regulatory body for investment advisers. The action prompted more than 500 CFP® certificants to contact their Members and oppose this amendment. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has already vowed to fight against the amendment, due in part to CFP Board’s ability to mobilize CFP® certificants to take action. And on December 7, Nearly 2,000 financial planners responded to a call from CFP Board and FPA to write to their Members of Congress opposing a provision that would have given FINRA oversight of most investment advisers, including many planners. Planners wrote in support of a successful amendment offered by Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) that removed the provision from the bill, complementing the Coalition’s own lobbying efforts to remove the FINRA provision. The Coalition is talking to key offices in a preemptive effort to block any similar effort in the Senate.

For more information about CFP Board’s public policy and advocacy activities, visit www.CFP.net/advocacy.

Report from November Disciplinary and Ethics Commission Meeting

The Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (“Commission”) held its final meeting and hearings of the year on November 5 and 6, 2009. The Commission considered 25 disciplinary cases and issued the following decisions (the number of decisions exceeds the number of cases heard, as some cases appear in more than one category, such as where the Commission accepts a settlement offer of a private censure):

Revocation – 1
Denial – 2
Suspension for more than one year – 6
Suspension for less than one year – 2
Private Censure – 3
Dismissal with Caution – 2
Petition for Reconsideration Granted – 2
Petition for Reconsideration Denied – 2
Settlement Offer Accepted – 2
Settlement Offer Countered – 8
Stay – 1

Because the appeal periods in these cases have not expired, the disciplinary actions are not yet final.

The Commission's meetings would not be possible without the assistance of many dedicated volunteers. In addition to the ongoing support of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission members, the November 2009 meeting included the assistance of certificants Matthew Murphy, CFP® of Glendale, Ariz. and W. Scott Simons, J.D., CFP®, AIFA® of Springboro, Ohio, and three public volunteers, Judith Cohart, Esq., Raymond Forgue, PhD, and Richard Lavine, PhD. CFP Board is grateful to these volunteers who serve to protect the public by helping to enforce CFP Board's Standards of Professional Conduct.

CFP Board Disciplinary Action

CFP Board recently announced that it has issued an interim suspension to Brian P. Troy of Keller, Texas, suspending his right to use the CFP® certification marks, effective immediately.

In October 2009, CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission issued Mr. Troy an Interim Suspension Order suspending his right to use the CFP® certification marks. CFP Board initiated interim suspension proceedings after discovering that Mr. Troy was indicted on 22 felony counts of securing execution of a document by deception and 21 felony counts of misapplication of fiduciary property. From 2006 through 2008, Mr. Troy is alleged to have collected commissions totaling more than $250,000 by illegally transferring approximately $9 million from college employees’ state retirement plans to private plans with American International Group. Mr. Troy failed to respond to CFP Board’s Order to Show Cause within 20 calendar days, as required by CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. As a result, the allegations set forth in the Order to Show Cause were deemed admitted, and the Interim Suspension Order was automatically issued, effective October 27, 2009. Under the Interim Suspension Order, Mr. Troy’s right to use the CFP® certification marks is suspended pending CFP Board’s completed investigation.

Public disciplinary actions taken by CFP Board, in order of increasing severity, include letter of admonition, suspension, and permanent revocation. Consumers may check on any planner’s disciplinary history and certification status with CFP Board on CFP Board's Web site at www.CFP.net/search.

Marks Use Changes for Educational Providers

CFP Board contracts with Registered Programs and Continuing Education Sponsors (collectively, “Educational Providers”) to provide course instruction to attain and maintain CFP® certification. Educational Programs are licensed by CFP Board to use the marks to advertise the programs they offer.

CFP Board is dedicated to adhering to all trademark laws that apply to CFP Board’s three certification marks: CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and (collectively the “CFP® Marks”). In an effort to accurately represent the registrations that have been issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to CFP Board, we have made a few changes to the way Educational Providers may use the marks when referring to the educational programs they offer.

In the past, a program could refer to itself as a “CFP® Certification Education Program” or “CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional Education Program.” Now, these programs will be required to refer to themselves as a “CFP Certification Education Program” or “CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional Education Program.” Note that the only difference is the absence of the “®” and “™” symbols. This change only applies when referring to the program itself. When referring to an individual who has attained CFP® certification, it is appropriate to use the “®” and “™” symbols. It is also proper to use these symbols when referring to the CFP® Certification Examination or CFP® certification.

By accurately representing the registration status of our trademarks, Educational Providers will assist CFP Board in protecting the marks. Please direct any questions you may have to CFP Board’s Trademark Department at Trademark@CFPBoard.org.

“The New Financial Realities” – A Video Series by CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate

CFP Board is pleased to share with you a video series on the "New Financial Realities," featuring Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate. In these videos, Blayney offers nine personal finance strategies to help people re-examine some basic assumptions about the ways we manage our finances and plan for what's ahead:

1. Put your own financial interests first, and work with an advisor you can trust
2. Use a multi-prong approach; investing by itself will not get you where you want to be. Spending, saving, and budgeting all play equal parts in building wealth
3. Think of yourself as an asset; investing in yourself can yield returns far greater than other investments
4. Learn the difference between good debt and bad debt
5. Get smart about the pros and cons of home ownership
6. Know it's no longer about retirement; it's about reinventing yourself for the last third of your life
7. Get your kids involved in family financial planning. Now is the time to talk to your kids about finances
8. Do not sacrifice your financial well-being for your children
9. Become financially literate. Commit to learning all that you can

CFP Board encourages you to share these short, thought-provoking videos with your clients and potential clients and to follow Eleanor on Twitter: twitter.com/EleanorBlayney

     

      Eleanor Blayney and Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff discuss CFP Board’s
      Consumer Advocate program at the September 2009 Financial Planning
      Clinic in Detroit, Michigan.

CFP® Professionals Connect with Young Adults on AARP’s LifeTuner.org

CFP Board has teamed up with AARP to provide CFP® professionals for a financial planning Web site and online community designed for 18-to-34-year-olds.

LifeTuner.org, a new personal finance Web site created by AARP, provides tools to help young adults manage their finances, including credit-card debt or planning for retirement. It also provides an avenue for young adults to ask questions and find advice from an impressive lineup of renowned financial experts, including CFP® professionals, who have been answering questions and offering tips to help young adults tackle key financial issues and make progress towards achieving their financial goals. Experts are volunteers and are not compensated for their time and service. Each expert has a profile page with a bio, a photo and a list of financial areas of expertise. Aside from answering financial questions in a blog-type format, experts also host free webinars addressing specific financial topics.

Among the CFP® professionals volunteering on LifeTuner is Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate. With more than 20 years of experience as a financial planner, Eleanor is helping LifeTuner users with questions on investing, retirement, budgeting and saving, among others.

LifeTuner boasts another useful feature – a series of interactive and intuitive calculators and tools designed to help users create budgets, find ways to reduce debt and compare their financial situation against their peers. All of these features are free to use, and the Web site does not contain any advertising or commercial messages.

Although AARP is primarily known as an organization for 50-and-older Americans, the group said a recent survey of young adults indicated that that the majority (57%) consider finances and money to be the biggest concern in their lives. Another 65% of respondents rated their own financial situation as fair to poor, and nearly eight out of ten are in debt of some kind.

While social media websites, such as Facebook, have lowered the boundaries around certain topics, finances remain a taboo subject, the survey finds. Among those who have sought advice online, 85% report being more confident about their ability to manage their finances. LifeTuner’s own social networking features are designed to encourage young adults to improve their finances through sharing of struggles and success stories with other users.

CFP Board Holds Successful Financial Planning Clinic at AARP’s 2009 National Event & Expo in Las Vegas

51 CFP® professionals from around the country participated in CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinic at AARP’s 2009 National Event & Expo, held on October 22-24 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Financial Planning Clinic took place on 1,500 square feet of exhibit floor space provided to CFP Board by AARP, along with a stand-alone exhibit booth. At the Clinic, each volunteer had a table and met with AARP members one-on-one to discuss their personal finance questions, concerns and interests. The Clinic featured 20 tables and many CFP® professionals volunteered for multiple days.

AARP’s national event drew over 20,000 AARP members from around the country and over 300 of them took advantage of the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a CFP® professional. Many others stopped by CFP Board’s exhibit booth to learn more about the benefits of financial planning and the value of working with a CFP® professional.

The Clinic provided CFP Board and CFP® certification with great exposure through AARP, the largest membership organization for people over 50. AARP promoted the Clinic through various venues, including public service announcements on its TV station which was broadcasted in all event buses, as well as through promotional fliers at its main information booth at the expo.

The response from both the attendees and volunteers was overwhelmingly positive and echoed the feedback CFP Board received for its past Clinics in Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, DC.

CFP® Certificants Volunteer at Two San Francisco Bay-Area Events in October

On October 3, close to 300 Oakland residents received a free opportunity to consult with a CFP® professional during “A Day of Free Financial Planning” held at the Oakland City Hall Building in Oakland, California. 24 CFP® professionals volunteered their services and met one-on-one with local residents to offer advice and guidance in today’s turbulent economy.

The event was organized as a collaborative effort between CFP Board, FPA chapters of the Bay Area, and offices of California State Controller John Chiang, Senator Loni Hancock, Assembly member Sandré Swanson and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.

Local CFP® professional and key organizer, Frank Paré, kicked off the event with a welcome note to volunteers and attendees. The idea for the Oakland event came to Mr. Paré after he volunteered at CFP Board’s first Financial Planning Clinic in Los Angeles in 2006.

The morning agenda also included a roundtable presentation from State Controller John Chiang, State Senator Loni Hancock, Assembly member Sandré Swanson and CFP Board’s CEO, Kevin Keller, who briefed the attendees on the benefits of financial planning and working with a professional financial planner who holds CFP® certification.

The event received a great deal of publicity from local media, including on-site coverage from the local ABC TV affiliate and articles in Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle leading up to the event.

CFP Board also held a smaller scale Financial Planning Clinic at the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) annual conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on October 5-6. AFP’s annual conference is the largest gathering of treasury and finance executives, and the event drew over 4,000 attendees.

At the conference, 10 local CFP® professionals volunteered to meet with attendees in private consultation rooms. The free service provided an added value to AFP members and the rooms were provided to CFP Board by AFP, in addition to an exhibit booth to display educational materials on CFP® certification and information on introducing financial planning as an employee benefit.

CFP Board Grant Recipient Update: Mind’s Eye Resource Management

Meetings of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) are hard work. Like most professional conferences, ACF events feature an intensive round of plenary sessions, panel discussions, and non-stop networking opportunities. But there are some perks at ACF gatherings that other meetings do not have, including workshops on sugar pulling, chocolate making … and financial planning.

Thanks to a CFP Board grant, Kathleen Bowen, CFP®, of Mind’s Eye Resource Management in Denver, Colo., has reached more than 2,000 culinary professionals through the 16 regional and national ACF events she has attended over the past three years. She presents a 90-minute workshop — called, appropriately enough, “Feeding Your Financial Future” — that covers the basics of saving, investing, tax and retirement planning, and business succession. “It’s been a remarkable journey,” Bowen says, “and validated our initial thinking that there is an immense market in this vital but underserved segment of the workforce.”

The food and hospitality industry is now the third largest employer in the U.S., behind the Federal Government and the healthcare sector. The workshops, presented under the auspices of Mind’s Eye Resource Management’s Investing Chef division, have created enormous awareness and interest, according to Bowen. “The issues that were important before recession are still important coming out of recession,” she says. “People want to know how to rebuild their retirement plans and how to avoid the mistakes of the past.” Bowen’s advice — seek out a qualified, reputable financial planner.

As part of her presentation, Bowen counsels ACF members to find financial planners through trusted channels, such as the CFP Board Web site. For those already working with an advisor, she suggests asking direct, targeted questions. And to those who may be reluctant to look for professional financial planning advice, perhaps because they don’t feel ‘rich enough’ or are insecure about their current situation, she says, “It’s not a matter of if you need financial planning but when you need financial planning. I try to encourage people to take that first step, to get the education they need to make more informed decisions, and to make the process un-intimidating.” Bowen plans to continue the conversation with food service professionals through the ACF events and also hopes to expand her reach to family-owned and -operated restaurants as well.

Bowen’s latest outreach effort is a 2010 calendar featuring 12 premiere chefs with whom she has worked over the past three years. Each calendar month features a photograph of the chef in his or her kitchen along with a recipe for that chef’s signature dish. All proceeds from calendar sales will go towards creating an ACF scholarship for a student pursuing a career in the food arts.

But, since this is an Investing Chef initiative, the calendar is about more than just great food. Each month also features a financial planning tip geared towards culinary professionals, covering everything from tax preparation to retirement plans for small businesses to Roth IRAs — all the basic ingredients food service workers need to help them cook up a financial plan.

Read a previous update on Mind’s Eye Resource Management in the December 2008 issue of CFP Board Report.

Read the original profile of Mind’s Eye Resource Management in the February 2008 issue of CFP Board Report.

Accomplishments of CFP® Certificants

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

Brenda Blisk, CFP® of McLean, Va., for being named to Research Magazine’s 2009 Advisor Hall of Fame, an award is bestowed on a select group of advisers who meet criteria including a minimum of 15 years of service in the industry, demonstration of superior client service and recognition from their peers and the broader community for the honor they reflect on their profession.

Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP® of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who was honored as a “consummate estate planning professional” with the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award issued by the Estate Planning Council of New York City, Inc. Elkin was president of the New York estate planners group in 2005-2006, and previously served as a director, secretary, treasurer and vice-president of the 52-year-old group. The award credited Elkin’s administration for putting the Council on a “firm financial footing,” along with “his tireless efforts in promoting our industry as a consummate financial planning professional.” Mr. Elkin’s firm is based in Scarsdale, New York, with offices in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale.

Brett Ellen, CFP®, of Calabasas, Calif., for being awarded the Mentoring Excellence Award through the Invest in Others’ Community Leadership Award program for helping children in that city form their own non-profit community organization, Turn Kindness On Helping Hands.

Roger S. Green, CFP® of Duluth, Ga., for being named to Research Magazine’s 2009 Advisor Hall of Fame, an award is bestowed on a select group of advisers who meet criteria including a minimum of 15 years of service in the industry, demonstration of superior client service and recognition from their peers and the broader community for the honor they reflect on their profession.

Mary McFadden Hastings, CFP® of Waltham, Mass., for being named to Research Magazine’s 2009 Advisor Hall of Fame, an award is bestowed on a select group of advisers who meet criteria including a minimum of 15 years of service in the industry, demonstration of superior client service and recognition from their peers and the broader community for the honor they reflect on their profession.

Stephen Larson, CFP®, associate professor of finance at Ramapo College of New Jersey, who was awarded FPA’s Financial Frontiers Award for best research paper in the “Financial Planning Techniques” category for the study titled, "Purchase a Time-Share Interval or Rent Hotel Rooms? Preparing for a Discussion with Clients," co-authored with Robert Larson. Their paper compares the pros and cons of time-share interval ownership with renting vacation units, including risks, cash flows and legal issues associated with each.

Nancy Mobberley, CFP® of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who was named 2009 Woman of the Year by the Women in Business Council of the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce. She has been an active member of the Chamber for 9 years, previously serving as Trustee and currently serving on its Small Business Membership Council and the Women in Business Steering Council. Mobberley is on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County and Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, as well as the Advisory Board for 1st Southern Bank. Mobberley founded Business to Business for Women, an organization that brings women professionals and business owners together to form relationships for betterment of themselves and for the community.

Sandra K. Pierce, CPA, CFP® of Dayton, Ohio, who was named one of "Ohio's Most Influential CPAs" by a member-led selection committee of the Ohio Society of CPAs in recognition of her significant, positive influence on the growth, development and evolution of the Society and the CPA profession. Ms. Pierce served as the Chair of the Executive Board of the Society in 2002-2003, the first woman chair in the organization's history. She currently chairs the Society's Personal Financial Planning Committee, and frequently speaks at Society CPE programs on financial planning topics.

Karen Schaeffer, CFP®, of Rockville, Md., who was named 2010 Chairperson-Elect of Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), the organization that owns the CFP marks outside the U.S. In addition to serving currently on the FPSB Board of Directors, Schaeffer was 2007 Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. Schaeffer will chair the 2010 FPSB Council meetings, gatherings of FPSB’s 23 financial planning member organizations, and serve as FPSB board chairperson in 2011.

Eileen M. Sharkey, CFP®, of Denver, Colo., for being honored with the 2009 P. Kemp Fain Jr. Award. FPA’s P. Kemp Fain Jr. Award recognizes an FPA member who has made outstanding contributions to the financial planning profession in the areas of service to society, academia, government and professional activities. A pioneer of the financial planning community, Sharkey was deeply involved with FPA’s predecessor organizations, the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP). She founded IAFP’s Rocky Mountain chapter, served on its board of directors and chaired its ethics committee and the World Congress Financial Conference. She was a board member, president and chairman of ICFP. She was also a director of CFP Board’s Board of Governors (now Board of Directors) and has been the chairman of the board of the College for Financial Planning since 2004. She serves on the educational board of the Journal of Practical Estate Planning and is also a member of the expert’s panel for the American Association of Individual Investors.

Mark J. Smith, CFP® of Englewood, Colo., for being named to Research Magazine’s 2009 Advisor Hall of Fame, an award is bestowed on a select group of advisers who meet criteria including a minimum of 15 years of service in the industry, demonstration of superior client service and recognition from their peers and the broader community for the honor they reflect on their profession.

Dr. Renée M. Snow, CFP® of San Jose, Calif., for earning her Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Snow’s dissertation, titled “Transpersonal Practices for Certified Financial Planners,” examines the relationships between CFP® certificants’ spirituality, job-satisfaction, fee structure choices, and client retention. The dissertation findings were presented at the 2009 FPA National Conference in Anaheim, and Dr. Snow is working to publish the findings in a financial services journal.

James Thompson, CFP® of Auburndale, Mass., and the Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts for being awarded the Volunteer Team Award through the Invest in Others’ Community Leadership Award program for their work with the Pro Bono Financial Coaching Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

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 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 2009.

From the Board of Directors members who set policy and direction for CFP Board's activities, to the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission members, Hearing Panel Volunteers and Probable Cause Determination Volunteers who administer CFP Board's disciplinary review process, 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 Council on Education members who support the education components of the CFP® certification, to the Public Policy Council, to the members of our Business Model Working Group, Grants Advisory Group, Job Analysis Task Force and Trends in Financial Planning Task Force, to the educators who shared their experience and research at CFP Board's Program Directors Conference, to the many CFP® certificants who presented workshops and provided consumers with free consultations at CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinic in Detroit and the Financial Planning Clinics in Oakland, Calif. and the AARP Vegas@50+ conference, the leadership of CFP Board would like to extend appreciation to all who contributed to CFP Board during 2009.

Grassroots Advocacy Questionnaire

CFP Board has posted a Grassroots Advocacy Questionnaire designed to measure relationships CFP® certificants have with their congressional representatives and members of the media. Data from the questionnaire will be used to assist CFP Board’s policy staff to reach out to key contacts in Congress, and to establish relationships with media personalities to gain publicity for CFP Board’s policy work. If you are a CFP® certificant and have not already done so, please allocate about 5 minutes of your time to complete the questionnaire, available through your online CFP Board account at: https://www.CFP.net/secure/Dynamicpage.aspx?site=Secure&webcode=GAQuestionnaire

Volunteer Opportunities: Contribute to CFP Board’s Mission

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.

If you have interest in making a direct contribution to CFP Board’s work, please take time to complete a volunteer application form. Applications will remain on file with CFP Board, and you will be notified when specific opportunities related to your qualifications and interests become available.

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

Medical Economics Magazine Seeking Nominations for “Top Advisers” Issue

Medical Economics, the practice management magazine for physicians, will publish its annual “150 Best Financial Advisers for Physicians” issue in November 2010. Nomination forms and criteria will be available at www.memag.com beginning January 4 and throughout the month. Advisers can nominate themselves. Medical Economics, a twice-monthly magazine regularly offers personal and professional financial planning articles that focus on medical practitioners. The publication has a panel of editorial consultants, including CFP® certificants, CPAs, PFSs, and JDs, who write and review articles for the magazine.

Employment Opportunities at CFP Board

CFP Board has employment opportunities for a Managing Director of Business Development and Marketing, a Director of Professional Alliances, and a Registered Program Manager. If you or someone you know is interested in contributing 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, we invite you learn more about available employment opportunities at www.CFP.net/aboutus/jobs.asp.