CFP Board Ethics Procedures
I am writing regarding your Web site posting of May 20 ("CFP Board Picks Five Members For Discipline And Ethics Commission"). It seems there continues to be a misperception in the public and in the media regarding changes that the board of directors of CFP Board made regarding the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. Specifically, there appears to be a misunderstanding of what the new procedures involving staff participation in the commission‚s disciplinary process entails.
I‚d like to set the record straight so that any further coverage on the subject by your publication and other news outlets reflects the facts:
CFP Board staff members will be present during the ratification meeting and not in the individual case deliberations and rulings. The staff will serve as a resource and to provide consistency, not to steer deliberations. The staff counsel who attends the ratification meeting will not be the same individual who presents cases on behalf of CFP Board before the hearing panels. In others words, staff won‚t be the judge and jury. The ratification meeting occurs following the hearings, which are conducted in private by the commission‚s hearing panels. Hearing panels have been and will continue to be comprised of unique combinations of three individuals. Rulings, to be fair to consumers and to certificants, require consistency. Building case law is a desired outcome that is dependent on more uniform interpretations.
David G. Strege, CFP
Board Chair, CFP Board

Murray At His Best
If Nick Murray were not already my favorite all-time advisor‚s advisor (he is) he would be now. His "Forty-One Epiphanies" (June 2008)was classic Nick Murray. No. 7 was the best I have seen and deserves to be pointed out to all in this business.
7. Money is love. The wise advisor will always look for clients who wish to use their money as an expression of love.
 Thank you for your wisdom Nick Murray.
Ben G. Baldwin Jr.
Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.

Good Story
I want to thank you for publishing the story about the financial advisory industry shrinking and how intense recruiting is becoming ("As The Number Shrinks, Recruiting Intensifies," June 2008). I get the impression most firms are concerned with succession planning but have done little about it. Hopefully, articles like the one you published are an eye-opener to these firms. I graduated with a bachelor‚s in financial planning from the State University of New York at Alfred, and at most of the interviews I had, the employers had no idea bachelor programs in financial planning even existed. Obviously, there is some sort of disconnect. Let‚s hope your article gets to the people who need it. Thanks again.
Steven Elwell
Schroeder, Braxton & Vogt Financial Advisors
Amherst, N.Y.