More than 75,000 CFP® Professionals Strong

Major milestone reflects growth of certification, interest in financial planning as a career

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) today announced that there are more than 75,000 active CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals – a historic milestone that marks the highest number of CFP® professionals ever serving the public’s need for competent and ethical financial planning.

“Over the years, more and more financial professionals have recognized the tremendous value that the certification holds in advancing their careers and giving them the credibility and expertise needed to help consumers plan for the future,” said CFP Board Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “We are especially proud that our relatively young profession has surpassed 75,000 active CFP® professionals. Our efforts to increase access to CFP® professionals will only continue as we carry out our mission to benefit the public through certifying individuals who deliver the highest standard of financial planning.”

The first group of financial planning professionals attained CFP® certification in 1973 following completion of a Certified Financial Planners (CFP) course at the College for Financial Planning. In 1985, the College entered an agreement to establish an independent, non-profit certifying and standards-setting organization, and transferred ownership of the CFP® marks and responsibility for continuing the CFP® certification program to the new organization, which eventually became known as CFP Board. The total number of CFP® professionals has grown steadily since then. Since 2007, the number of CFP® professionals has grown more than 35 percent. As of August 31, there are 75,467 CFP® professionals in the United States.

Gigi Guerra, CFP® of Miami is part of the recent class who helped push the number past this historic threshold, having recently passed the July 2016 exam and already having her other requirements met to become certified.

“Helping our profession by being part of a class that moved us past the 75,000th CFP® professional is a true honor. This achievement has boosted my confidence as a young Millennial woman who is just entering the workforce,” said Guerra. “It’s an exciting time for CFP Board, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it and our profession, helping people achieve their dreams through financial planning.”

The need for recruiting CFP® professionals to the profession has never been stronger as it continues to experience growth trends in hiring, retirement and succession planning.

“As we celebrate this significant milestone, we look forward to the next generation of CFP® professionals with the hope that it will be even better positioned to serve the American public by being more representative of the population it serves,” said CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Executive Director Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis. “With the recent launch of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning – which is working to advance a more diverse and sustainable profession – Gigi is helping us usher in that next generation.”

To learn more about CFP Board or becoming a CFP® professional please visit www.CFP.net/getcertified.