The CFP® and AIF® Advantage

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)
A CFP® is a certification mark owned by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board), which can help you identify financial planners who are committed to competent and ethical behavior when providing financial planning. Individuals certified by CFP Board have taken the extra step to demonstrate their professionalism by voluntarily submitting to the rigorous CFP® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience and ethical requirements.

  • Why are the CFP® certification requirements important?
    Most people think that all financial planners are "certified," but this isn't true. Anyone with the appropriate license can call himself or herself a "financial planner." Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of the CFP Board can display the CFP® certification marks. When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical.
     
  • How does CFP Board's Code of Ethics benefit me, the client?
    Through the Code of Ethics, CFP® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP® practitioners are to act with integrity offering you professional services that are based on your needs.
     

CERTIFIED RETIREMENT COUNSELOR, CRC™ Designee

InFRE, International Foundation for Retirement Education certification, focused on both retirement accumulation and distribution planning needs, reflecting professional competency, credibility and high ethical standards.  CRC was created to advance recognition among retirement planning professionals.

 

ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY™ Designee
Simply put, the term "fiduciary" applies to the more than five million individuals who have the legal responsibility for managing someone else's money. A fiduciary is required by law to always act in the best interests of their client, beneficiary, or retirement plan participant. Yet, many fiduciaries are not even aware of their duties and responsibilities.

An AIF® designee has acquired a thorough knowledge of fiduciary responsibility and can be an invaluable resource to investment fiduciaries and individual investors alike.

  • Why are the AIF® certification requirements important?
    AIF® designees have successfully completed a specialized program on investment fiduciary standards of care at the Center for Fiduciary Studies and have passed a comprehensive examination on the 27 Prudent Investment Practices that formed the basis of their training. The Center, in association with the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, was established in 1999 to provide the investment industry with the first full-time training and research facility focused exclusively on investment fiduciary responsibility and portfolio management
     
  • Prudent Investment Process
    The 27 Practices that designees follow have been fully substantiated by legislation, case law, and regulatory opinion letters that govern the fiduciary. Prudent Investment Practices, the published handbook that describes these Practices, was co-produced by the Center and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Each of the 27 Practices also makes good investment sense, and utilizing the process they define should help to improve long term investment performance.
     
  • The Benefits of Choosing an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® Designee