We follow the CFP® Standards of Professional Conduct.
These standards define financial planning as “the process of determining whether and how an individual can meet life goals through the proper management of financial resources. Financial planning integrates the financial planning process with the financial planning subject areas.”
There are six steps to the financial planning process:
- Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
- Gathering client data including goals
- Analyzing and evaluating the client’s current financial status
- Developing and presenting recommendations and/or alternatives
- Implementing the recommendations
- Monitoring the recommendations
A CFP® professional must:
- Act with honesty, integrity, competence, and diligence.
- Act in the client's best interests.
- Exercise due care.
- Avoid or disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
- Maintain the confidentiality and protect the privacy of client information.
- Act in a manner that reflects positively on the financial planning profession and CFP® certification.
