CFP Board Announces Suite of Academic Initiatives to Advance the Financial Planning Profession

New study of center for financial planning, Ph.D. program and academic journal collaboration provide opportunities for academics, registered programs, students and CFP® professionals

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. today announced a suite of initiatives that will bolster the academic underpinnings of financial planning as a profession; provide new opportunities for research and teaching; and enhance the quality of financial advice to the public.

“As the standard-setting body for the CFP® certification and the authority on financial planning, CFP Board is committed to moving the needle in providing to those in academia – from both within and beyond our existing CFP Board-registered programs – a home to conduct research and teach financial planning to a new generation of CFP® professionals,” said Board of Directors Chair V. Raymond Ferrara, CFP®. “These new efforts reflect the adoption of financial planning as a recognized discipline within academia as well as a growing profession within the financial services industry.

All of these efforts, Ferrara noted, are consistent with CFP Board’s mission to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the standard for personal financial planning.

Announced during the Board of Directors’ periodic update for CFP Board’s nearly 70,000 CFP® professionals, the suite of initiatives include:

1. Center for Financial Planning – CFP Board is exploring the creation of a center that would serve as a credible source of research that advances the financial planning professional in these core areas:  
   • Influencing and supporting academic research that is dedicated to helping financial planners better serve the public
   • Supporting diversity within the profession so that it better mirrors the American public; and
   • Building capacity for the next generation of competent and ethical financial planners to meet public demand.
2. First Business School Doctoral Program - Louisiana State University E. J. Ourso College of Business, Department of Finance is now offering a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Finance) with a specialization in Financial Planning. This is the first CFP Board-Registered doctoral program in an AACSB-accredited college of business.
3. New Academic Financial Planning Journal - John Wiley & Sons and CFP Board are collaborating on a peer-reviewed academic journal focused exclusively on financial planning. With this journal, CFP Board will be creating an academic home for those faculty who are teaching and conducting research in financial planning. The journal will be available free of charge to all CFP® professionals.

These efforts are a continuation of the leadership CFP Board has provided in building the academic foundation for financial planning. Currently, there are 225 colleges and universities offering CFP Board-registered programs with more than 120 of those offering financial planning baccalaureate programs. CFP Board is also conducting the world’s largest study of financial planning’s body of knowledge through its job task analysis. And in 2013, John Wiley & Sons and CFP Board published the seminal work, the Financial Planning Competency Handbook, which is an essential book for financial planners, students and those working within the profession.

“We are thrilled that we can continue to build upon the body of knowledge for financial planning,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE.  “Along with our partners in the academic community, CFP Board is focused on providing rigorous research and publication opportunities, which will only elevate the certification, the profession and ultimately benefit the public.”