Proposed rule changes by the CFP Board could help planners whose own finances hit the rocks.

In January, the board asked for comments from CFP® professionals and others on the proposed rule change. As of last month, it had already received about 250 responses. "People are very passionate about this issue," says Michael Shaw, a managing director for the CFP Board who supervises both the professional standards and legal departments.

"They are either very much in favor of the notion that, if you are a CFP® professional, you should never file a bankruptcy," Shaw adds, "or that a bankruptcy is something a client doesn't need to know about, that just because you filed a bankruptcy doesn't mean you wouldn't do a good job for your clients." Shaw says his staff will review the comments - the deadline to submit them was last month, although tweaking the proposal and extending the deadline was being considered - before going to the board for final approval. Read more >

Financial Planning
Miriam Rozen
March 1, 2012