OF THE EAST BAY

Financial Planning Association of the East Bay

A Gold Level Chapter of the FPA for the 6th Consecutive Year!

CFP® Certification

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 precise definition of a person’s competence,

experience, and intelligence in the complex profession 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 demon-

strated competence in analyzing  and developing personal and business financial plans through the

successful completion of a series of rigorous financial planning examinations.

The CFP® professional’s area of expertise is in analyzing needs and prudently arranging overall

financial plans rather than in promoting individual financial products. In carrying out this task, one

CFP® certificant may be more knowledgeable in a particular field than another and therefore

recognizes the need to consult with qualified individuals in other specialties and in those areas

traditionally and legally set aside for others, such as attorneys and accountants, among others.

Requirements for Becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional

Education Requirement

The foundation of the personal financial planning profession is based on rigorous educational

standards. There is a model curriculum of more than 100 topics, which must be tested and mastered

in order to sit for the Certification Examination. The educational topics include:

•  The Process of Financial Planning

•  Insurance Planning

•  Investment Planning

•  Income Tax Planning

•  Retirement and Employee Benefits Planning

•  Estate Planning

Currently, there are three paths to the completion of this education requirement:

•  Registered Programs

•  Transcript Review

•  Challenge

Before applying for the Certification Examination, a candidate must first complete academic coverage

of the financial planning curriculum. Typical college course titles covered by the curriculum include

investments, estate planning, individual income tax, retirement planning, risk management, insurance

and finance. In addition to the required curriculum, the CFP Board recommends courses in the areas of

finance, accounting, economics, computer programming and communications, especially for those who are

new to the area of financial services.

Regardless of which educational path you choose, it is important to note that the CFP® curriculum

topics remain the basis for the Certification Examination. You should be certain that the courses you

take cover the subjects contained in this section.

CFP® Examination Requirement

When you have successfully completed the education requirement or you have satisfied the examination

challenge requirements, you are eligible to apply for the Certification Examination. The Certification

Examination is a 10-hour examination, divided into:

•  One four-hour session (Friday afternoon) and

•  Two three-hour sessions (Saturday).

The Certification Examination is designed to assess your ability to apply your financial planning

education to financial planning situations in an integrated format, thereby protecting the public by

assuring that you are at the appropriate level of competency required for practice.

Work Experience Requirement

The third requirement centers on work experience: individual, personal financial planning-related

experience. The experience component is designed to provide the public with the assurance that you

understand the counseling nature of personal financial planning. The general requirement is three

years, performed before or after the successful completion of the Certification Examination.

Ethical Requirement Prior to Becoming a CFP® Professional

Once you have completed the education, examination and work experience requirements, you will

receive a Declaration Packet, which includes an ethics statement form and your license application

with a bill for your initial license fee. Prior to certification, you will be required to disclose past or

pending litigation or agency proceedings and to acknowledge the right of the CFP Board to enforce

its Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility through due process described in its Disciplinary

Rules and Procedures. If you have any questions about the affect of any past or pending action on

your authorization to use the marks, you should contact CFP Board legal counsel directly at this

telephone number:  (303) 830-7500.

Continuing Educational Requirements for a CFP® Professional

Once licensed, (and you have paid the License Fee) you must continue to meet the CFP Board's post-

certification standards in order to continue using the marks. To assure compliance with these require-

ments, the CFP Board oversees licensees through marks licensing and ethics enforcement. Further,

all CFP® certificants are required to meet a continuing education requirement of 30 hours every two

two hours of which must be in the CFP Board's Code of Ethics. Details about the requirement are

provided in the Licensee Manual.

All certificants are required to renew their license on a regular basis. You will be required to sign

the Licensee's Statement on the license renewal form disclosing any legal proceedings, ethics violations,

pending disciplinary matters or litigation in the prior year.

FPA Helps Members Earn CFP® Certification

FPA has created three exceptional opportunities to help members attain the hallmark of financial

planning - CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification:

•  Free Assessment Tests. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses

and determine where you need to spend time studying for the

CFP® Certification Examination - and do it online!  Dalton

Publications' Diagnostic Exam and Keir Educational Resources'

Preliminary Assessment of Certification Exam Readiness (PACER)

are now available at no cost to FPA members.

• CFP Certification Review Materials at Reduced Prices.

Get ready for the CFP® Certification Examination. Take

advantage of Keir and Dalton's highly effective review

materials - both at discounted prices for FPA members.

• Reduced Pricing for Financial Planning Education Programs

for FPA Members

http://www.fpanet.org/member/practice_center/services/tools.cfm

Links to CFP® Courses

Please click here for a list of current CFP® courses registered with the CFP Board of

Standards and Practices.

FPA East Bay CFP® Student Scholarship Information

The Scholarship is available to candidates who are pursuing the Certified Financial

Planner certification or are enrolled in a financial planning program and are motivated

to obtain the CFP® designation.  The information sheet has the qualifications & benefits.

Information Sheet (PDF) -- Click here to download

Application Form (PDF) -- Click here to download

Here are useful links for more information about our Chapter, its activities, the FPA and more.

Please send any comments or corrections to our webmaster, Steven "Shags" Shagrin at Shags@PlanningForLife.info