CFP Board

More than three-quarters of those who passed the test studied at least 10 hours-per-week, according to a recent study.

A new committee staffed by CFP pros and others is tasked with refreshing what consequences advisors will face for failing to comply with the board’s standards.

The systems are expected to be updated by the end of April, following calls from financial advisors on social media to make a change.

Even as the numbers improve, Black and Hispanic advisors are still vastly underrepresented within the industry.

One thing was made clear at the annual event: There’s more work to be done.

Necessary new approaches include better cultural understanding, more flexibility for new entrants and more outreach, advisors and executives say.

The more out-of-left-field the change, the more profound the lesson learned, our columnist has found in the corporate and individual practice realms.

Here are prep techniques and resources for candidates taking a test that can seem daunting.

Director tenures, nominations and committees are changing after an independent task force identified weaknesses.

Financial advisors can help the country’s increasingly diverse population, but we must fully realize our vision of recruiting more young and racially diverse talent.

Industry groups warn of creeping fiduciary obligations, while consumer advocates see it as a setback for investor protections

The widespread popularity of the compensation descriptor, long ballyhooed by RIAs, ultimately proved problematic for the CFP Board which has updated its standards.

Candidates will be allowed “two tissues” while testing at home and are advised to have bed linen handy.

“The face of our industry is typically not me,” says the Vanguard and DFA veteran. “I thought about how many young people that I could inspire. So I raised my hand.”

“If anything, this environment has actually pushed people to complete their credits,” says John Loper, managing director of professional practice for the CFP Board.

The board is “decisively moving away” from allowing advisors to self-disclose, CEO Kevin Keller says.

Thousands of planners have dropped their memberships in recent years. Here’s why I joined them.

“Especially in this time when we are thinking, ‘Is there going to be a shortage of opportunity,’ in comes this one. It’s put a lot of fire in me to learn as much as I can,” says new college graduate Kameron Kindle.

The data on Black and Latino advisors helps track the industry’s progress amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

The change is one of several made to the board’s disciplinary reporting process following a report by an independent task force that found “systemic, long-standing, governance-level weaknesses.”