CFP-credentialed advisors now have a new way to obtain CE credits thanks to a partnership between the CFP Board and Harvest Exchange, a distributor of  the latest insights from asset managers.

Under the partnership, advisors using the Harvest Exchange—an online platform that facilitates the free exchange of articles written by asset managers—may also qualify for continuing education credits by completing a Harvest CFP course.

“We have tens of thousands of advisors who are harvesting from our platform every day to consume content,” says Peter Hans, CEO and co-founder of Harvest. “This is our first formal effort to give a tangible offering to advisors.”

More than 40,000 advisors use Harvest Exchange to consume analysis, advice and information, so the partnership with the CFP Board gives advisors credit for what they’re already doing, according to Hans. 

The first CFP course launched on Harvest Exchange, “Principles of Financial Planning,” provides one CE credit. The course covers topics like current markets, portfolio allocation, tax and retirement planning, investment planning and risk management.

“We bucket our content in a lot of ways—by asset class, by strategy or by something that’s more practice management oriented, for example,” says Hans. “We have an enormous library that’s growing by nearly 500 pieces a week.”

Harvest Exchange offers curated materials from investment organizations like BlackRock, Eaton Vance and Fidelity. Content on the Harvest platform is offered for free to readers.

Hans founded the exchange after being frustrated with the slow pace of technology and communications advancement in the asset and wealth management industries.

“I thought that we could deliver a platform that allowed businesses to scale and gather assets in an efficient manner,” he said.

Currently, financial advisors make up 28 percent of Harvest Exchange readers, with another 13 percent consisting of institutional investors like endowments and foundations, family offices and pensions.

Asset managers can use Harvest Exchange to target a specific audience of investors and advisors and to optimize their content marketing efforts, according to Harvest. The company says it uses machine learning to make sure each participant’s content and brand reaches the most relevant audiences.

Harvest also allows content contributors to analyze who is reading their content and what materials are resonating with readers the most. Contributors can further optimize their interactions with a target audience by offering restricted content accessible only via permissions or answers to custom qualification questions, the company says.

Compliance controls on Harvest’s platform include communication and document encryption, database security, trackable account activity, archiving and customizable settings to give users control over their privacy. The platform will include approval chains and use blockchain technology to prove that past messages in a content chain were never altered, according to the company.

“Because of the regulatory nature of the business, and because we’re putting content out there on public and private forms, our platform is built on compliance,” says Hans. “Especially as we think about the Department of Labor’s rule and acting as a fiduciary, compliant communications and transparency are on everyone’s minds right now.”

On Harvest Exchange, advisors and investors can access personalized content, says Hans, which helps them avoid misleading or irrelevant content delivered via email and social networks.

“Instead of being blasted with cold calls and emails, or having to go to disparate places to get insights, you can find all of your content consolidated in one place,” says Hans. “Our machine learning technology makes sure that we’re curating content that advisors and investors are interested in directly.”

According to Hans, the company will roll out additional services for advisors related to client engagement, discovery and lead generation, all with an eye on fiduciary requirements and changing compliance regimes.

Harvest Exchange claims that its reader base now includes more than 500,000 institutional investors, RIAs, financial advisors and high-net-worth investors.