What it means to work with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
With more than 300,000 calling themselves “financial advisor,” only those who have completed a rigorous 1000 hour course and testing successfully in six three-hour tests and a two-day, 10-hour final exam can earn the designation, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®). In addition, CFP® practitioners must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years.
CFP® practitioners are required to adhere to a strictly defined planning process consisting of six steps:
- Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
- Gathering client data including goals
- Analyzing and evaluating a person’s financial status
- Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations and/or alternatives
- Implementing the financial planning process
- Monitoring the financial planning recommendations
Finally, CFP® practitioners must agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct and ethics based on seven principles:
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Competence
- Fairness
- Confidentiality
- Professionalism
- Diligence
As an independent Registered Investment Advisor, Greg Ferguson combines the strict fiduciary standards established under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 with the CFP® Code of Ethics to offer his clients the ultimate in transparency and full disclosure in a client-first environment.
