“To help consumers make an educated decision about choosing and hiring a financial advisor, we have also updated the set of “Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor (https://www.letsmakeaplan.org/blog/view/lets-make-a-plan-blogs/ten-questions-to-ask-your-cfp-professional)” on the letsmakeaplan.org website. These questions are now more easily accessible, with a direct link placed prominently on the letsmakeaplan.org home page,” the CFP Board wrote.
Ron W. Roge, CFP and founder of R.W. Roge & Co. in Bohemia, N.Y., asked, “Why would the CFP Board want to make its website search engine less consumer friendly? Compensation is important. It is one of the first three questions an advisor should be asked.”
In the CFP Board’s “Ten Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor” section, compensation does not come up until question numbers seven (How will I pay for your services?) and eight (How much do you typically charge?).
The CFP Board said it will roll out the next phase of publicity for its website and search engine this spring.
It is likely that many RIAs will be seeking those details in the coming weeks.
“Fee-only advisors should be concerned,” said Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. “Not only is the Securities and Exchange Commission trying to erase their legal distinctions with Regulation Best Interest, but now the CFP Board is in lockstep, too.” He added that he is hearing from RIAs who are irate about the organization’s change.
“I’m mystified why the CFP Board chose this time to make an anti-consumer, anti fiduciary decision,” Rostad said.
Patricia Houlihan, CFP, a former Chairman of CFP Board of Standards, said making it harder for consumers to find information is problematic. “I would like to know why this decision was made,” she said.
“It could possibly be an enforcement issue, but I do not know,” added Houlihan, who is president of Houlihan Financial Resources Group Ltd. in Ashburn, Va. “I do remember CFP Board taking down compensation methods several years ago during a lawsuit.”