The Board of Directors of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has elected Elizabeth Miller as the 2024 board chair-elect.
The CFP Board voted to elect Miller at its July 2023 meeting, according to a board press release. Current Chair-Elect Matt Boersen will serve as chair of the Board of Directors in 2024, and Miller will succeed him in 2025.
Miller, who holds the CFP and CFA designations, is founder and president of Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC of Summit, N.J., an independent SEC-registered advisor that provides investment management and financial planning services to wealthy individuals and families. She joined the CFP Board as a board director in 2020 and is a member of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning’s Campaign Development Committee.
In a prepared statement, CFP Board Chairman Dan Moisand praised Miller as a leader who had made substantial contributions to the profession.
"We are excited about the wealth of experience she brings to the role, and we look forward to her leadership and vision as we continue to advance the financial planning profession," he said.
Before establishing Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC in 2008, Miller was a principal owner of investment management services firm Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen Inc. She started her career as a mergers & acquisition analyst for The First Boston Corporation, then joined Oppenheimer Mutual Funds as an associate portfolio manager.
Miller serves on the alumni noard of the Sphinx Society of the University of Pennsylvania; the External Advisory Board of New Jersey Institute of Technology; and the Editorial Advisory Board for wealth management journal Trusts & Estates. She is a member of the CFA Institute, the Financial Planning Association, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the National Speaker's Association, and the Women Presidents Organization.
Miller is the author of “Clutter-Free Wealth: A Goal-oriented Guide to Gaining Control of Your Affluence.” She has been regularly quoted and featured in the media as an expert voice for Reuters TV, BNN Bloomberg TV, WealthManagement.com, Bloomberg News, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, MarketWatch, and Financial Planning magazine.
Miller received her bachelor's degree in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and her master's degree from Columbia University. She earned her CFP certification in 2008 and holds the CFA designation as well. The mother of adult twin daughters, she resides with her husband in New York City.
"Our profession is needed now more than ever, and I am thrilled to collaborate with my fellow Board members and the staff at CFP Board to foster a growing and diverse community of CFP professionals, ensuring that more Americans receive competent, ethical financial planning," she said in a prepared statement.
In an email request for comment, Financial Advisor asked Miller what she will do toward establishing a more diverse industry capable of serving the financial planning and investment management needs of all Americans who need them once she is CFP Board chair in 2025.
“As I have traveled with CFP Board, I have observed both the need for more talent in our industry and the challenges some aspiring individuals face on their journey to earning their CFP certification,” Miller said in an email response. “I think we have done a great job building awareness of the certification; my goal is to help address each of the specific obstacles faced by new talent.”
Miller said that although CFP Board offers diversity scholarships to help pay for the education requirement, many CFP candidates hold down a job and family responsibilities while also having to prepare for the CFP exam.
“One challenge for us is reaching those who have completed their education, but feel discouraged when they look at a sample certification exam,” she said in the email. “They realize that it is very difficult to go directly from completing a registered program to taking the exam. We need to figure out how to reach them and support them in continuing their certification journey, particularly women and diverse candidates.”
Miller said one way to inspire diversity scholars was for them to interview with potential employers ahead of taking the CFP exam.
“After completing a registered program, they have learned valuable information,” she said in the email. “They can interview with potential employers and then look to them for support on the rest of their journey, including financial aid and study time.”
Since practicing CFP professionals also look to the Board for assistance, Financial Advisor asked Miller how they could market their investment management services to all those who need them when so many younger investors preferred to go it alone without professional advice.
“Our awareness campaign has made significant strides in helping people of all ages understand that financial planning is a valuable service, and we hope younger clients will capitalize on this awareness and actively seek advisors," she said. "At the same time, like any industry today, advisors need to proactively target and engage with younger prospects through their preferred media channels, adapting to the evolving landscape of communication in the industry.”
Founded in 1985, CFP Board awards and regulates CFP certification held by more than 95,000 professionals nationwide.