The number of CFPs should hit the 75,000 mark by mid-September, the CFP Board reported.
The new high-water mark represents growth of about a third since 2007, when the current CEO, Kevin Keller, began his tenure, according to Keller and other board leaders. They made their comments in a webinar following one of the board's regular business meetings.
Public awareness of the CFP designation has doubled over the past six years, helped by its advertising campaign, the board says.
In the past, critics have charged that the campaign touts CFPs as fiduciaries, while the board lacks the resource to police all its certificants to ensure this claim is true.
At a cost of $10 million a year, or $60 million since its inception, the advertising campaign is by far the costliest of the board's programs and is funded by fees that CFPs pay annually .
