Fee-only planners group makes move 'to provide more clarity for the public in a sea of financial designations'

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors announced Tuesday that as of Jan. 1, NAPFA would only accept the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER[™ certification] for people who applied to be NAPFA-registered financial advisors.

According to the nationwide organization for fee-only financial planners, NAPFA made its decision to help consumers sort through the alphabet soup of designations that may mean something to professionals in the industry but only leave the public confused.

Consumers have a hard time wading through the sea of financial designations that indicate widely varying qualifications, and the CFP® mark best represents financial planning professional standards, similar to a JD or a CPA, NAPFA said in its announcement. Unlike the professions of law and accounting, however, the field of financial planning does not yet have a broadly accepted definition of superior quality. Read more >

AdvisorOne
Joyce Hanson
December 4, 2012