Enhanced Search Tool from CFP Board Helps Americans Find CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professionals Right for Them

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Sep 08, 2011, 11:27 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. announced today that it has released a new online search tool on www.LetsMakeaPlan.org to help consumers find Certified Financial Planner™ professionals ready to provide the financial planning services they seek.

This new tool includes a broader set of search criteria that allow consumers to identify the CFP^® professionals who best meet their needs. New search options include:

Compensation structure (commission, commission and fee, fee-only, salary)
The amount of the consumer's investable assets
Languages spoken
Areas of specialization (i.e., retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, etc.)

Search results provide contact details and expanded information about the CFP^® professional's business, including a typical client profile with age, profession and income. The search tool continues to display notice of any public disciplinary action CFP Board has taken against a listed CFP^® professional.

"Americans are looking for ethical and competent financial professionals to give them advice about how to achieve their financial goals," said CFP Board Chief Executive Officer Kevin Keller, CAE. "This new search tool will help consumers take the first step in reaching those goals by matching their needs with CFP^®professionals in their area who are uniquely qualified to put together all the pieces of a person's financial life."

The new search tool provides listings only for CFP^® professionals who are accepting new clients and have indicated to CFP Board that they currently provide financial planning services, and as a result, the listings do not provide information for all CFP^® professionals. The public may continue to check the current certification status and disciplinary history of any individual who holds CFP^® certification through CFP Board's website at www.CFP.net/verify.

To attain CFP^® certification, individuals must meet rigorous education, exam, experience and ethics requirements established by CFP Board. Specific requirements for certification and the process for becoming certified can be found here. CFP^® professionals must also pass a detailed background check, agree to meet ongoing continuing education requirements, and commit to upholding the strict ethical and practice standards of CFP Board's Standards of Professional Conduct, which require CFP^® professionals to follow a fiduciary standard of care – acting in their clients' best interests – when providing financial planning services.

ABOUT CFP BOARD

The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to benefit the public by granting the CFP^® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. The Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board's mission, acts on behalf of the public, CFP^® professionals and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner™, CFP^® (with plaque design) and CFP^® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 63,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S.