CFP Board Unveils 6 Public Policy Priorities

On Thursday, the CFP Board announced six key public policy priorities intended to help consumers and families access “competent, ethical financial advice and plan for a secure future.”

According to the announcement, the professional body for certified financial planners will work with policymakers to expand access to planners who “commit to the fiduciary standard.” The board’s six new public policy priorities are:

• Make fiduciary duty a legal requirement for all financial advisers;
• Enact policies that increase access to financial advice and planning and grow the number of financial planners;
• Increase opportunities and incentives to save for retirement, close regulatory gaps for retirement advice and protect retirement savings in tax reform;
• Protect investors from fraud and financial exploitation;
• Adopt policies that advance the financial planning profession; and
• Preserve nonprofit tax-exempt status, promote policies that expand professional certification opportunities, and educate stakeholders on the role of certification in serving the public. 

“The priorities we identified focus on areas where we believe we can make the greatest difference,” said Erin Koeppel, the CFP Board’s managing director for government relations and public policy counsel, in a statement. “They will drive meaningful change for consumers, CFP professionals and the financial planning profession.”

More than 106,000 people in the United States have Certified Financial Planner certification, according to the CFP Board. In March and July, record-setting numbers of candidates took the board’s certification exam, following last year’s record for yearly exam participation, when 10,437 candidates took the test and 6,763 candidates passed.