The requirements for qualification to use the Certified Financial Planner designation could change after a review by a newly appointed Competency Standards Commission, the CFP Board of Standards announced.
The commission will review the standards that are used to determine if an advisor is qualified to use the CFP mark, which will include reviews of educational requirements, the CFP examination, and the experience and continuing education requirements that are applied by the CFP Board, the board said.
Any changes to the competency standards that are used to award the CFP designation will only be made after a public hearing, the board said. Commission members will serve through 2024. The current standards will be evaluated by their relevance to current conditions with the financial planning industry.
“The creation of the Competency Standards Commission demonstrates [the] CFP Board’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that the CFP certification is THE standard for competency and professionalism in financial planning,” CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, said in a statement. The commission “will work to ensure that CFP Board’s competency standards remain current and relevant to those who pursue and carry the mark, for the benefit of both the profession and the public served.”
The commission members are from financial services firms, educators, certification and credentialing professionals, and other stakeholders, including members of the public. Based on its evaluation, the commission may propose changes in competency standards or may recommend that CFP Board maintain current standards, the board said.
The collective expertise of the commission members “will be invaluable in ensuring that the CFP Board’s competency standards continue to serve both the public interest and the financial planning profession by providing the highest level of competency and professionalism in financial planning,” CFP Board Chair Dan Moisand said in a statement.
CFP professionals, other stakeholders and the public will be able provide feedback to CFP Board on the current standards for CFP certification.
The Competency Standards Commission consists of the following members:
• Jack Brod is a former chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Savant Capital Management.
• Khiara Cureton is a financial planning intern at Abeona Wealth and a candidate for CFP certification. She is a board member of Freshly Minted Finance, a conference committee member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and a 2021 externship participant with the Financial Planning Association.
• Nandita Das, is founder and owner of Das Financial Health, a professor of finance, director of the CFP Board Registered Financial Planning Program, and director of the Financial Literacy Institute at Delaware State University.
• Kamila Elliott is the immediate past chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board and is CEO and founder of Collective Wealth Partners.
• H. Amos Goodall Jr. practices law with Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak. He is past President of the National Elder Law Foundation and a Certified Elder Law Attorney.
• Jake Greenberg is a managing director at Pure Financial Advisors, overseeing its North Orange County, Los Angeles and Chicago locations.
• Archie Hoxton a financial planner and manager at Hoxton Planning & Management. Previously, he was a high-net-worth financial advisor for Vanguard.
• Susan John is managing director of financial planning and a private client advisor at F.L. Putnam Investment Management Company. She is a former chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board and a former chair of NAPFA.
• Sonya Lutter is director of financial health and wellness at Texas Tech University and owner of ENLITE, an instructional community based on bridging the gap between mental health and financial planning.
• Peter Richardson is vice president of planning excellence at Northwestern Mutual, where he leads a team responsible for the company’s planning philosophy and planning standards.
Josh Schneider is senior vice president and financial advisor with The Bethesda Group at Morgan Stanley. He served on CFP Board’s Council on Examinations from 2017 to 2022.
Joyce Schnur is senior vice president, product strategy and financial services vertical at Kaplan North America. She has taught financial planning in several university programs.
Neal Solomon is managing director of WealthPro, a registered principal with The Strategic Financial Alliance, and chief financial officer with Hearing Care Resources, a healthcare practice. He is a former board member of CFP Board and a current board member of the College for Financial Planning.
Roy Swift is a certification expert and executive director of Workcred, which focuses on the quality, market value and effectiveness of workforce credentials.
Grace Yung is CEO and founder of Midtown Financial Group, a Houston firm affiliated with LPL Financial. She has served as a CFP board ambassador since 2021.