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| 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. | |||||||||||||||||
| Return to Home Page | Consumer Information | Membership Information | |||||||||||||||
| Board of Directors | Directions & Map to Meetings | More About Us | |||||||||||||||
| Calendar of Events | FPA National Website | Newsletters (PDF Files) | |||||||||||||||
| Career Development | FPA No. California Chapter | Nor Cal Conference | |||||||||||||||
| CFP® Certification | FPA San Francisco Chapter | Our Chapter Sponsors | |||||||||||||||
| Committees (PDF Page) | FPA Silicon Valley Chapter | ||||||||||||||||
| Community Service | Media & Press Information | e-mail the Webmaster | |||||||||||||||
| Please send any comments or corrections to our webmaster, Steven "Shags" Shagrin at Shags@PlanningForLife.info | |||||||||||||||||
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