Planning is an integral aspect of lifelong wealth management. Whether addressing daily financial needs or long-term objectives, we believe your ability to pursue your goals is only as effective as the roadmap guiding your financial journey. From our perspective, having a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certificant on the advisory team helps offer clients the deep planning support that upholds strategic wealth management in all life stages.
Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make for yourself and your loved ones. Financial planners can provide you and your family with guidance over your lifetime, or work with you to address specific concerns, as needed. A planner can play a central role in helping you meet your life goals and achieve financial well-being.
Financial Advisor Carlton Morse is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a credential awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc (CFP Board). Carlton pursued this credential because he felt our clients were better served by having a professional advisor on their side who is a true investment planner. In fact, only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of the CFP Board can display the CFP® certification marks, providing further assurance you are working with a competent, ethical advisor (Cfp.net).
Once certified, CFP® practitioners are required to:
- Maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations.
- Complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education every two years to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve clients. Two of these hours are spent studying or discussing CFP Board’s Code of Ethics or Practice Standards.
- Voluntarily disclose any public, civil, criminal or disciplinary actions that may have been taken against them during the previous two years as part of the renewal process.
CFP® Certification Requirements
Education
CFP® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by the CFP Board. Other options for satisfying the education component include submitting a transcript review or previous financial planning-related course work to CFP Board for review and credit, or showing the attainment of certain professional designations or academic degrees.
Examination
CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive two-day, 10-hour CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.
Experience
CFP® professionals must have three years minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP® certification marks. As a result, CFP® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.
Ethics
As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. CFP Board also performs a background check during this process, and each individual must disclose any investigations or legal proceedings related to their professional or business conduct.
