Fee-Only. Receives NO Sales-Related Compensation. Our clients pay us directly for the advice we give them. We are proud to be a member of Fee-Only Network.
Fee-Based. Receives both fees and Sales-Related Compensation
Sales-Related Compensation. Receives Sales-Related Compensation and bonuses resulting from a Client purchasing or selling Financial Assets. Sales-Related Compensation includes commissions, trailing commissions, 12b-1 fees, spreads, transaction fees, revenue sharing, referral or solicitor fees, or similar consideration.
What Percentage of Financial Advisors Are CFPs®?
Did you know that only 29% of all financial advisors are CFP® professionals? Having the CFP® professional designation is the gold standard in the financial advisory community based on education, testing, experience, and ethical standards.
You may not have the expertise, the time, or the desire to actively plan and manage certain financial aspects of your life. You may need help getting started. You may benefit from an objective, third-party perspective on what are often emotional, difficult decisions. In today's hectic world, it can be beneficial to have a CFP® professional expert to make sure you stay focused and follow through.
The Four E's
Four E’s to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
Education - CFP® practitioners develop theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at an accredited college or university offering a financial planning curriculum registered with the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Board of Standards.
Examination - CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive two-day, 10-hour CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply their financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regularly updated research of what planners do, the CFP® Board’s exam covers the general principles of financial planning, insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. It is necessary for every CFP® certificant, once certified, to complete a re-certification every two years. Those seeking to maintain their certification must attain a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education in order to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and to better serve their clients. Two of these hours must be spent studying the CFP® Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Financial Planning Practice Standards.
Experience - CFP® practitioners must have a minimum of three years experience working in the financial planning process prior to earning the CFP® mark. As a result, CFP® practitioners have demonstrated a working knowledge of counseling skills in addition to their financial planning knowledge.
Ethics - As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners must pass an ethics review and agree to abide by the CFP® Board’s Financial Planning Practice Standards and a strict code of professional conduct, known as the CFP® Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. The Code of Ethics states that CFP® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering professional services that are objective and based on client needs.
