CFP Board’s Regulatory Regime for CFP Certificants

Executive Summary

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") is comprised of hundreds of member firms that employ tens of thousands of individuals who hold the Certified Financial Planner ("CFP") private certification ("CFP Certificants") issued by CFP Board. SIFMA member firms employ a significant percentage of the total number of CFP Certificants, which currently stands at over 100,000. CFP Certificants provide a wide variety of products and services on behalf of their firms, and many serve as financial advisors to their firm's clients in their capacity as a registered representative of a broker-dealer ("BD") and/or as a representative of a registered investment adviser ("RIA"). CFP Certificants, and their firms, are subject to extensive regulatory oversight by the SEC, FINRA, and state securities regulators, among others, as well as the associated, robust standards of conduct imposed by those regulators.