With Financial Abuse on the Rise, CFP Board Releases 'Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense'

National Football League Players Association, General Services Administration Team Up with CFP Board for the Release of This One-of-a-kind Document; Sen. Herb Kohl Offers Support for New Guide

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two years after the financial crisis threatened to bring down the world economy and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme was exposed, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards released a free guide today to the public so that they know what  to watch out for – ten tips for handling "red flags" when choosing and working with a financial advisor.

CFP Board was joined in the release of the guide by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) as well as a victim of financial fraud.

The public can access an online version of the guide by going to http://www.CFP.net/learn/financialselfdefense/, requesting a copy by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 1-800-487-1497.

The GSA is including the guide as part of its Winter 2011 Consumer Information Catalog for distribution to the public (available November 2010). The guide has been endorsed by the Federal Citizen Information Center, an office of the GSA. The NFLPA will distribute the guide as part of its financial education service as well as promote it among players.

"I appreciate CFP Board being proactive on the issue of financial predators, for whom the elderly are a likely target," said Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "This self-defense guide can help seniors tell the difference between legitimately trained and credentialed professionals who will offer unbiased financial advice, and bad actors who will take advantage of them and their savings."

CFP Board is also making the guide available to Members of Congress, state legislators, Governors, Attorneys General and local elected officials, with CFP Board providing a free electronic copy and at-cost printing for mass quantities.

"I have found recent events particularly disturbing. Fraud and mismanagement by financial professionals have undermined consumer confidence. CFP Board is in an ideal position to advance the protection of consumers from fraudulent, unethical practices that can put their financial futures at risk," said Robert J. Glovsky, CFP®, Chair of the CFP Board and President of Mintz Levin Financial Advisors, LLC in Boston.

CFP Board, a proponent of having anyone providing retail investment advice to adhere to a fiduciary standard of care, has developed this Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense in order to give consumers the information and tools they need to protect themselves from those who would prey upon their lack of financial expertise.  

"The ten 'red flags' outlined in the guide will hopefully help consumers prevent the disastrous financial transactions that, each year, ruin far too many small investors and savers," said Eleanor Blayney, CFP^® - CFP Board's Consumer Advocate.

These transactions stem from fraud perpetrated by a trusted associate; or from the sloppy unprofessional work, lack of due diligence, or bad decisions recommended by an incompetent financial advisor.  

"Financial abuse can happen to anyone: the sophisticated investor, the high profile NFL player with a financial windfall, the recent widow with a small pension, or the average person trying to save for retirement," said Dana Hammonds, Director of Player Services and Development for the NFLPA.  

Adela Pena, a victim of incompetent financial advice that wiped out much of the savings she had put aside for her retirement, will speak at the launch event.  Her case is a perfect example of the importance of practicing the tips for financial self-defense recommended in CFP Board's Consumer Guide.

"We are proud to be associated with CFP Board's Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense, because we believe that it will make a real difference in helping investors and savers to protect themselves from unethical and incompetent advisors – and to avoid the terrible life impact of trusting the wrong people," said Stuart Willoughby, of the Federal Citizen Information Center, an office of the General Services Administration.

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^® certificants and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP^®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and the federally registered 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 61,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S.

SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.