Kitces Critiques Move by CFP Board

Advisors took to Twitter in early March to voice their concerns about the CFP Board announcing that it would remove from its consumer-facing website, letsmakeaplan.org, any information on how advisors are compensated.

“Woa. Big announcement from @CFPBoard going out to CFP certificants this week: the CFP Board is entirely removing any discussion of how advisors are compensated from its Let’s Make A Plan website, and instead will force consumers to dig into advisor disclosures,” tweeted Nerd’s Eye View blogger Michael Kitces.

Kitces added that “In the long run, though, the @CFPBoard isn’t doing itself any favors by hiding compensation information from consumers & telling them to work harder to find it. It’s ALREADY required disclosure under Form ADV. Why make consumers do more work if there’s nothing to hide?”

The CFP Board’s email sent to certificants states that “The three compensation method categories previously provided by the search tool — Commission-Only, Commission and Fee, and Fee-Only — were broad enough to capture the various compensation methods that financial planners use today, but not very specific or helpful to consumers.”

CFP Board “believes the best way for consumers to select their financial advisor is to have a conversation with their prospective advisor.” Will Nunn, CFP, of Horizon Financial Planning in New Orleans agreed, stating in a response to Kitces’ tweet string that: “This is a move in the wrong direction, we need more clarity

CFP Board was criticized last July by the Wall Street Journal for omitting client complaints about CFPs, as well as planners’ criminal or regulatory problems, on LetsMakeaPlan.org. —Melanie Waddell