Survey of CFP® Professionals Shows Continued High Satisfaction with CFP® Certification, Career Choice, CFP Board Activities

Certified Financial Planner™ professionals continue to be very satisfied with their career choice as well as their decision to obtain the CFP® certification, as well as strong agreement with CFP Board’s priorities and initiatives, according to a new survey by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

Conducted by Fondulas Strategic Research, the survey results provide an in-depth picture of CFP® professionals’ perceptions of the value of their CFP® certification, its impact on their careers, and their views of CFP Board and the financial planning profession. A version of the survey was last conducted in 2011.

Key findings of the survey include:

• 91 percent are very satisfied with their career choice in financial planning – a six point increase from the 2011 survey
• 92 percent say they very satisfied with their decision to pursue CFP® certification
• 76 percent of respondents strongly agree that the CFP® certification contributes directly to their own professional success
• 64 percent say that becoming a CFP® professional had a positive impact on their income
• 87 percent say that they work directly with clients as their primary professional role – a four percent increase from the 2011 survey
• 91 percent say they would recommend the CFP® certification to other financial professionals

The survey also found that CFP® professionals strongly believe in the importance of CFP Board’s priorities and initiatives.

• 86 percent of respondents say that CFP Board should pursue a Public Awareness Campaign featuring advertising, such as CFP Board’s “Let’s Make A Plan” campaign
• 97 percent of respondents agree with the statement that “financial planning should be a recognized profession”
• 84 percent agree that a “fiduciary standard of care is appropriate for all financial service” professionals
• 81 percent say that CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct provides them with “necessary guidance for delivering financial planning services to my clients with the highest ethical conduct” – a five point increase from the 2011 survey