Accounting

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.

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

While it may seem that there is a high barrier for entry, there are many resources available for advisors who deal with financial services abroad.

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

Unlike many digital advisors, Retirable is not offering investment management or targeting millennials.

The agency has 90 days to review files and reach decisions.

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.

“If you decide to make the portfolio more conservative, make sure you have a plan — an exact plan — on when to come back,” an expert says.

One of the largest professional designation and training schools launched a program to award free tuition to at least 25 students in the next year.

As one of the fewer than 1,400 black CFPs, I hope to be a gateway to economic empowerment and generational wealth for the African-American community, writes planner and contributor Zaneilia Harris.

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

“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.”

Startup Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising is building a network of finance professionals to act as virtual CFOs for small-business clients.

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

One of the certifying organizations has taken a Netflix-like approach to advisor education.

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