CFP Board Seeks Comment about Disciplinary Rules

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), is looking for public comment about proposed revisions to its Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.
Reported by Ellie Behling

The Disciplinary Rules outline the CFP Board’s procedures for enforcing its code of ethics for Certified Financial Planner certificants, according to a press release.

The proposed revisions outline the duties of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (Commission), the body that administers disciplinary hearings, and the relationship of those duties to those of CFP Board’s board of directors, CEO, and legal counsel. The CFP Board said the revisions are intended to align the Disciplinary Rules with changes the Board made in February regarding oversight of the Commission and to establish stated policies for certain activities related to the Commission that are not specifically addressed in the current Disciplinary Rules. The proposals were developed through discussions with current and past members of the Commission.

CFP Board’s Bylaws and Standards of Professional Conduct—which include the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Rules of Conduct, and Financial Planning Practice Standards—do not require revisions to the Disciplinary Rules to be released for public comment. However, a board-appointed task force thought it important to seek further input from CFP Board’s stakeholders and recommended that the proposal of be released for a 30-day comment period, the CFP Board said.

An overview of the proposed revisions and a chart displaying the proposed revisions beside the current text of Article 2 can be reviewed on CFP Board’s Web site, www.CFP.net.

Any individual or group wishing to comment about the proposed changes should submit written comments no later than 5 p.m. February 2. Comments should be sent to CFP Board by e-mail to: compliance@CFPBoard.org,; or by mail to: CFP Board, c/o Michael P. Shaw, Esq., 1425 K St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Comments received will be posted to CFP Board’s Web site and considered by CFP Board’s Board of Directors when it meets in February.