CFP Board Formally Launches Competency Standards Commission, Names 15 Members

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards announced Friday that it has formally established a Competency Standards Commission to review and evaluate the CFP Board’s competency requirements across education, examinations, experience and continuing education.

The launch comes several months after the CFP Board announced its intentions to conduct such a review, and several weeks after 2023 CFP Board Chair Dan Moisand told ThinkAdvisor that “everything would be on the table” in the review process, including much-debated requirement that CFP mark holders must have attained at least a bachelor’s degree.

As Moisand pointed out at the time, some stakeholders have suggested this requirement has exacerbated the lack of adequate representation of Black and Latino Americans in the CFP profession, and this contention will be considered in the forthcoming review.

Commission Members

As detailed in a press release published Friday by the CFP Board, members of the Competency Standards Commission include stakeholders from across the financial advisor industry. Jack Brod, a former CFP Board chair and current board member at Savant Wealth Management, will head the new commission, with support from more than a dozen commission members, who serve in industry roles ranging from top-level firm executives to interns seeking CFP certification.

All Competency Standards Commission members begin their terms on March 20, 2023, and will continue through 2024 to ensure “a thorough review and deliberation process,” according to the CFP Board announcement.

In previous discussions with ThinkAdvisor, Moisand has emphasized that the review process is likely to require several years of work, and it will eventually culminate in a proposal and public feedback process in which he encourages all stakeholders to get involved.

Explaining why the commission is being launched now, Moisand says the public’s need for professional financial planning and conflict-free advice has never been greater, but the profession is not regenerating itself fast enough to meet increased demand, and it does not sufficiently reflect the changing demographics of U.S. consumers.

“We are on the verge of seeing tens of thousands of trusted and competent financial planners enter retirement, just when their services are in the greatest demand,” Moisand said in February. “This is a problem that we have an obligation to tackle head on in the years ahead.”

A Big Job Ahead

As detailed in the new announcement, the Competency Standards Commission will be tasked with validating current requirements to obtain CFP certification and/or recommending changes for improvements that reinforce its value and relevance to the financial planning profession.

The commission’s review will address the competency of candidates for CFP certification, as well as the continued competency of CFP professionals, all in line with best practices for certifying bodies and established professions.

“The creation of the Competency Standards Commission demonstrates CFP Board’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that the CFP certification is the standard for competency and professionalism in financial planning,” CFP Board and CEO Kevin Keller says in the announcement. “The Competency Standards Commission will work to ensure that CFP Board’s competency standards remain current and relevant to those who pursue and carry the mark, for the benefit of both the profession and the public served.”

According to the announcement, the forthcoming review process does not have a predefined objective beyond ensuring a thorough review is achieve. In other words, the commission may propose changes in competency standards or may recommend that CFP Board maintain current standards.

Following completion of its review, the commission will finalize its recommendations on any proposed changes, subject to a public comment period and the Board of Directors’ deliberation and approval.

Meet the Commission

According to the announcement, the Competency Standards Commission consists of the following 15 members:

• Jack Brod, who will serve as the chair of the commission. Brod is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board, having served in that role during 2020. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Savant Wealth Management.
• Khiara Cureton, who is a financial planning intern at Abeona Wealth and a candidate for CFP certification. Cureton is also a board member of Freshly Minted Finance, among other roles.
• Nandita Das, who is the founder and owner of Das Financial Health LLC and a professor of finance at Delaware State University.
• Kamila Elliott, who is the immediate past CFP Board chair as well as the CEO and founder of Collective Wealth Partners.
• Amos Goodall Jr., who practices law with Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak. Goodall is also a past president of the National Elder Law Foundation.
• Jake Greenberg, who is a managing director at Pure Financial Advisors LLC.
• Archie Hoxton, a financial planner and manager at Hoxton Planning & Management.
• Susan John, who is a managing director of financial planning and a private client advisor at F.L. Putnam Investment Management Co. John is also a former CFP Board chair, having served in that role during 2019.
• Sonya Lutter, who is the director of financial health and wellness at Texas Tech University and Owner of ENLITE, an instructional community based on bridging the gap between mental health and financial planning.
• Peter Richardson, who is a vice president of financial planning at Northwestern Mutual, where he leads a team responsible for the company’s planning philosophy and planning standards.
• Josh Schneider, who is a senior vice president and financial advisor with The Bethesda Group at Morgan Stanley. Schneider also served on the CFP Board’s Council on Examinations from 2017 to 2022.
• Joyce Schnur, who is a senior vice president of product strategy and financial services at Kaplan North America.
• Neal Solomon, who is managing director of WealthPro LLC and a registered principal with the Strategic Financial Alliance, among other roles.
• Roy Swift, who is a certification expert and executive director of Workcred, which focuses on the quality, market value and effectiveness of workforce credentials.
• Grace Yung, who is CEO and founder of Midtown Financial Group LLC, a Houston firm affiliated with LPL Financial. Young has also served as a CFP Board ambassador since 2021.

(Pictured: Dan Moisand)