10 New Case Studies Bring CFP Board's Code and Standards to Life

CFP Board is pleased to share a new set of 10 “Case Studies” designed to provide practical guidance to CFP® professionals and their firms in understanding and complying with the new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct that became effective October 1, 2019 and will be enforced beginning June 30, 2020.

The new case studies supplement the 12 case studies released in June. Each case study presents a hypothetical factual circumstance and then asks a question about a CFP® professional’s duty in that circumstance under the Code and Standards. The case study presents the response options, identifies the best response, and then discusses the rationale for why that response is the best and why the other response options are not the best.

CFP Board intends for these and other case studies to enable CFP® professionals to apply the Code and Standards to situations that may arise in their own practice.

Read the Case Studies

Topics addressed in the 10 new case studies include:

• Duties When Recommending Additional Persons to Provide Financial or Professional Services to a Client
• The Duty to Disclose and Manage Material Conflicts of Interest Involving Proprietary Products
• Determining Whether Financial Planning Is Required When an Engagement Expands Over Time
• When Financial Advice Does Not Require Financial Planning
• The Delivery of Firm Research Does Not Constitute Financial Advice
• A CFP® Professional Firm’s Sales-Related Compensation
• The Fiduciary Duty When a Client Exhibits Signs of Lack of Capacity or Undue Influence
• Applying the Fiduciary Duty to Client Instructions that Conflict with the Duty of Care
• Duties When Recommending Another Service Provider
• The Fiduciary Duty and an A Share Class Recommendation

CFP Board will also be releasing a series of short animated videos based on each case study. The first video in the series focuses on a situation applying the Code and Standards’ fiduciary duty to rollover recommendations.

You can view the case studies and additional resources related to the new Code and Standards on our website at www.CFP.net/Code.

Through the new Code and Standards, CFP Board is advancing the value of CFP® certification. We look forward to continuing to work with you and other CFP® professionals in your adoption of the new Code and Standards, and our collective work to elevate public trust in CFP® professionals.