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CFP Board Proactive Exam Communication

Posted on December 23, 2008 by in Professional Development

In response to several communication issues regarding the progress of the July 2008 exam results, CFP Board is releasing updates on its website regarding the 2-day CFP® Certification Examination.

The most recent exam was held November 21-22, 2008.  On December 22, CFP Board issued the following statement:

Potentially problematic exam questions have been reviewed by our psychometricians and subject matter experts, and scoring dispositions for these items have been determined, with scoring modifications where appropriate. These modifications are being applied to generate individual score reports.

Click here to view the latest updates regarding the November CFP® Certification Examination.

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No Time For Lengthy Descriptions? See the Crisis Flowchart

Posted on November 25, 2008 by in Professional Development

crisisFrom the great folks over at FiLife:

The speed and severity at which the current economic crisis spread caught many advisers off-guard.  In addition to managing and advising clients today, advisers want to look back at the significant factors that precipitated the event.

Unfortunately, most of the descriptions of the events leading up to the crisis are complicated and verbose.  Have you seen Michael Kitces’ extensive research he published on credit crisis?  It’s fantastic work, arguably award-winning work!  But what if you want the information in an easy to swallow pill?

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Give Back to the Community Through Tax Assistance

Posted on November 7, 2008 by in Professional Development, Taxes

Tax-AideCommunity service is a very important part of my personal goals.  While the demands of managing our firm’s operations, organizing our FPA chapter’s Mid Winter Conference, and starting a family can get quite large, I make the choice to include volunteering in my schedule.

For the past several years I have volunteered with the AARP Tax-Aide program.  Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest, free, volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service.

Click here to go to the AARP website to read about Tax-Aide.

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I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certificant!

Posted on November 5, 2008 by in Professional Development

certificationFinally, after many years of preparation, studying, and experience, I can now call myself a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant!

Frequent readers of FPPad have been following my recent experience preparing for the certification exam, attending Ken Zahn’s live review course, and communicating with the CFP Board regarding exam results.

It’s a tremendous relief knowing that I have finally satisfied all of the elements required of CFP® certificants: Education, Examination, Experience, and Ethics.

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Guide to Financial Planning From FPA and WSJ

Posted on November 3, 2008 by in Professional Development

FP WeekIn case you missed it (like I did), the Financial Planning Association and Wall Street Journal teamed up once again to publish the Guide to Financial Planning for the seventh time.

The Guide is an annual publication generated by the FPA that coincides with Financial Planning Week, a week-long celebration to help individuals discover the value of financial planning and make smart financial decisions to achieve life goals and dreams.

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The Credit Crisis: All You Ever Wanted To Know

Posted on October 21, 2008 by in Professional Development

My good friend Michael Kitces, CFP®, etc. recently published an in-depth review of the events that brought about the current credit crisis.

As a resource for its members, the Financial Planning Association has made Michael’s October newsletter available for a short period of time.

Click here to visit the FPA Financial Crisis Resource Center.  The link to Michael’s credit crisis article is near the bottom, as shown below. As of October 29, the link to Michael’s article has been removed.  Bummer.  There are still other useful resources on the FPA’s Resource Center.

Kitces link

Blog Action Day: Advisers Must Act to Fight Poverty

Posted on October 15, 2008 by in Professional Development, Taxes

Blog Action DayToday’s post is a part of Blog Action Day, a world-wide initiative of all bloggers to discuss global issues and encourage positive dialogue.  For 2008, the Blog Action Day theme is Poverty.

Let’s face the truth.  Financial advisers are some of the best-equipped individuals to help with the financial aspects of poverty.  But as a profession and as a whole, advisers are not unified in their efforts to help those affected by poverty.

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Follow FPA Boston 2008 Events on FPATelevision

Posted on October 6, 2008 by in Professional Development

FPA TVThis year I was not able to attend the FPA Annual Conference held in Boston (though I did attend last year’s conference in Seattle, practically in my backyard).  Nevertheless, I’ll be able to keep abreast on developments happening at the conference through FPATelevision.

I blogged about the addition of FPATelevision here, and I’m happy to see the channel continue to receive attention from the FPA operations staff.

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CFP Board to Increase Transparency, Certificant Communication

Posted on October 1, 2008 by in Professional Development

SatelliteToday the CFP Board announced plans to increase transparency and communications with certificants and other stakeholders.

Through a series of online Webinars and town-hall style meetings throughout the country, CFP Board aims to improve communications regarding its business operations and strategic decision-making process.

David G. Strege, CFP®, Chair of the Board of Directors, had this to say about the outreach initiative:

The diverse and wide-ranging nature of the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant community makes open and transparent communication paramount. Technology, such as Webinars and other online tools, provides us with the means to build a robust communications structure.

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My CFP® Certification Examination Results

Posted on September 19, 2008 by in Professional Development

envelopeThe moment of truth has arrived.  Did all the studying pay off?  Was the Ken Zahn Live Review beneficial?

 

Click here to view my CFP® Certification Examination results.

 

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