The CFP as advisor

  • What is a Certified Financial Planner Professional?
  • Why you need a Certified Financial Planner Professional
  • What a Certified Financial Planner can do for you
  • Code of Ethics

    What is a Certified Financial Planner Professional?

     The Certified Financial Planner professional is a member of a distinguished profession dedicated to serving the financial needs of individuals, families, and businesses.
    "Certified Financial Planner" is far more than a title; it is a precise definition of a person's competence, experience, and intelligence in the complex field of financial planning. Not every person who is described as a financial planner is a CFP® licensee; to earn this title the financial planner has demonstrated competence in analyzing and developing personal and business financial plans through the successfull completion of a series of rigorous financial planning examinations. Top of page

    Why you need a Certified Financial Planner Professional

     Today, we are living and working in the richest, most productive country in the history of the world, yet we are faced with more complex financial problems than those that faced earlier generations.
    Today, we work shorter hours and earn more money, but the dollars we earn buy les and less.
    Today, our children can look forward to better jobs and wonderful opportunities for advancement, but tomorrow's opportunities will be available primarily to those with an advanced education, the cost of which continually spirals upward.
    Today science has lengthened lifespans and made it possible for people to enjoy many more years of retirement. Inflation makes retirement costs much higher and longer life presents a serious financial challenge.
    Today, taxes take an ever-increasing share of income, and passing an estate to one's heir's is made difficult and more expensive by increasingly complex tax laws.
    In other words, the economics of present day living are more demanding than ever before. Consider the staggering costs of your own financial goals. Such goals can only be acheived by planning on a long-term basis, and then by carrying out the plan! To do this you need a trained finacial planner. Top of page

  • What a Certified Financial Planner can do for you

    Aid you in compiling a complete financial statement and in setting goals. A doctor consulted about a physical ailment usually begins by taking a complete medical history. A CFP professional also takes the professional approach by helping complete a comprehensive and confidential financial analysis. Specialized training enables the CFP licensee to know what questions to ask when helping to define your own personal goals.
    Analyze every aspect of your current financial picture. Your financial situation has many aspects (assets, income, insurance, taxes, business interests, wills, etc.) which will benefit from the careful scrutiny of a trained professional who will analyze them in light of your objectives as well as the current legal, tax and economic environments.
    Identify weaknesses and recommend improvements. The CFP practitioner's objective is to help you get the most out of every dollar by designing a strategy which will overcome any weakness in your present program and provide specific recommendations to help you acheive your financial objectives.
    Coordinate the implementation of your plan. Any financial plan, no matter how impressive or well designed, is worthless unless it is implemented. that is the true talent of the Certified Financial Planner licensee; seeing that all elements of your plan are put into effect and that the work of specialists, such as your attorney or accountant, are coordinated on your behalf. Top of page

    Code of Ethics

     These principals are intended to aid Institute members individually and collectively in maintaining a high level of ethical conduct. They are not laws, but standards by which a member may determine the propriety of conduct in relationships with clients, colleagues, members of allied professions, and the public.
    Integrity: A Certified Finanacial Planner shall offer and perform services in the field of financial planning in an honest and forthwrite manner. A Certified Financial Planner shall disclose to the client all information material to their professional relationships, including, without limitation, all actual or potential conflicts of interest. A Certified Financial Planner shall not solicit client through false or misleading advertisements. A Certified Financial Planner shall conduct all activities in a lawful manner consistent with the highest standards of honesty, integrity and ethics.
    Objectivity: A Certified Financial Planner shall perform financial services in a competent, efficient and economical manner. A Certified Financial Planner shall keep abreast of developments in the field and to strive to improve professional competence in all areas of financial planning in which the Certified Financial Planner is engaged. A Certified Financial Planner shall offer advice only in those areas in which the Certified Financial Planner has competence.
    Fairness: All transactions between the Certified Financial Planner and the client shall be fair and reasonable to the client. A Certified Financial Planner shall perform services in a lawful and ethical manner inthe clients best interests. A Certified Financial Planner who holds a client's property shall do so with the care required of a fiduciary.
    Confidentiality: Without the prior consent of a client, a Certified Financial Planner shall not disclose any confidential information obtained as a result of the client relationship nor shall the Certified Financial Planner use any such information to the detriment of the client or the benefit of the Certified Financial Planner, unless such disclosure or use is necessary (i) to comply with legal requirements or legal process, (ii) to defend the Certified Financial Planner against charges of wrongdoing, or (iii) in connection with a civil dispute between Certified Financial Planner and the client.
    Professionalism: A Certified Financial Planner's conduct in all matters shall reflect credit upon the profession. A Certified Financial Planner shal use the marks "CFP" and "Certified Financial Planner" in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), as established and ammended from time to time.Top of page
    The Institute of Certified Financial Planners is an association of professionals who call on its members to aspire to the highest levels of ethical conduct, personal development, professional competance, and service.
    © ICFP - Institute of Certified Financial Planners