WHAT IS A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®)?
There are many people in our industry that hold themselves out to be “advisors” or “financial planners.” Most consumers believe that, to a certain extent, all of these individuals are “certified.” The truth is that anyone can call themselves a “financial planner,” but only those that have satisfied the extensive certification requirements of the CFP board can display and use the CFP® marks, which represents the highest level of competency, ethics, and professionalism in our industry.
- In order to use the CFP marks, a financial planner must at least have:An undergraduate degree
- Three years of client experience in financial planning, or two years' client experience while working with another CFP®.
- Completed a financial planning education program including: General Principals of Financial Planning, Insurance Planning, Investment Planning, Income Tax Planning, Retirement Planning, and Estate Planning
- Completed a capstone course that utilizes all of the above material
- Passed a rigorous seven hour comprehensive exam of all the above material with a historical pass rate of 55-60%
- Maintain 30 hours of continuing education bi-annually
- Agree to adhere to the standards of ethics and practice outlined in the CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct
- For more information about the CFP Board and the certification process, click here (https://www.cfp.net/about-cfp-board/cfp-certification-the-standard-of-excellence)
WHO IS YOUR TYPICAL CLIENT?
- While we work with a wide range of clients in different career paths and ages, the majority of our clients are generally: young professionals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s and are in the wealth accumulation phase of life and juggling many financial goals such as debt repayment, retirement savings, and family planning.
- We strongly believe that all people, regardless of net worth or age, need access to quality, independent advice. Corners Financial Planning does not have any account minimums.
- We believe that the financial planning process is truly a partnership. The first few months of a client/planner relationship requires us to ask lots of detailed and personal questions that will delve deeply into your financial life. It will require lots of time on our end (and some on yours) in order to get a clear picture of your current financial situation so that we might provide the best advice possible. Thus, if you are uncomfortable disclosing such financial information or don’t want to take the time to gather the necessary financial information, then we may not be a good fit (or at least it may not be the right time to do this). We want to make the initial planning process as easy on you as possible, but might require a little bit of work on your end as well.
DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FIRST MEETING?
- We know that picking a financial planner is an important decision. Therefore, our initial consultation is free. These meetings are usually an hour in length and allow you to get to know me a little bit better and vice versa. If, after the initial consultation, both sides feel like it is a good fit, then we will proceed into a planning relationship.
- We believe that, in order to provide the most quality advice possible, we need to have a good pulse of what’s going on in your life. Thus, we generally check-in quarterly just to see how you’re doing and see if anything needs to be updated or changed. In addition, we will conduct an in-depth review once or twice a year (depending on personal preference and complexity). Of course, if you ever have a question or need to get a hold of us for whatever reason, we are always available to answer questions and meet.
