FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ben Lewis NAPFA (301) 963-7555 ben@bdlpr.com

NAPFA to Recognize CFP Designation Only as a Requirement for Membership

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (December 4, 2012) Moving to provide more clarity for the public in a sea of financial designations with widely-variable qualifications, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has decided to recognize the mark that best represents financial planning professional standards. Effective January 1, 2013, NAPFA will only accept the Certified Financial PlannerTM (CFP) designation for those applying to be NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors. The NAPFA National Board recognized the need to support the emerging profession of financial planning by rallying around a singular professional designation in the same way the public trusts that those holding a CPA, MD, or JD are meeting education, training, and ethics requirements. NAPFAs decision can be viewed as an important consumer issue in an environment where the public is bombarded by an alphabet soup of designations that only professionals can be expected to understand. NAPFA Chair Lauren Locker, CFP notes, NAPFAs decision to support the broader recognition of a single, defining designation for the financial planning community just makes sense. Less confusion means more consumer confidence, and the CFP designation hits the mark as a strong, baseline standard. NAPFA and the CFP Board have a long history of collaboration on industry issues. Both boards require that all planners put the client first and hold themselves to a fiduciary standard. The CFP Boards standards for becoming a CFP certificant are stringent, as is the ongoing, comprehensive review structure to ensure that all certificants are meeting the educational, experience, ethics, and disciplinary requirements of the mark. The NAPFA National Board made their decision after a two-week open comment period where current members and affiliates were asked for their input. The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of supporting the CFP designation as the baseline educational standard for NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor membership.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards applauds the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors decision to make CFP certification a requirement of membership starting next year, said Kevin Keller, CFP Boards CEO. NAPFA has been a strong strategic partner with CFP Board in advocating policies in support of competent and ethical financial planning. NAPFAs endorsement of the CFP

certification as the standard for financial planning will provide consumers with a clear, strong and unified message.
If you have any questions about this decision and would like to request an interview with a member of the NAPFA National Board, please contact Ben Lewis at 301-963-7555 or ben@bdlpr.com. ABOUT NAPFA Since 1983, The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has provided Fee-Only financial planners across the country with some of the strictest guidelines possible for professional competency, comprehensive financial planning, and Fee-Only compensation. With more than 2,400 members across the country, NAPFA has become the leading professional association in the United States dedicated to the advancement of Fee-Only financial planning. For more information on NAPFA, please visit www.napfa.org. ###