I attended a refresher workshop for CFP® Professionals hosted by the Centre for Financial Planning Law (UOFS) on Friday. This is part of the continuing education that Certified Financial Planners are required to do in order to maintain their CFP® status. 
One of the interesting things from the workshop was to learn that Financial Planning only started as a career in 1969 when 12 people got together to establish the profession in the USA. 4 years later there were 42 graduates through the CFP® programme. SA joined the CFP® board in 1997 when the old Institute of Life and Pensions Advisors (ILPA) were amalgamated into the Financial Planning Institute and the first CFP’s graduated in SA in 1999.
The FPI is the custodian of the CFP® mark in South Africa and there are about 3500 CFP’s in SA (out of more than 100000 financial “advisors”). W
e are also one of 24 member countries of the Financial Planning Standards Board – the international body that oversees and sets financial planning standards. There are also more than 125000 CFP’s worldwide and Financial Planning is currently the 2nd fastest growing profession (although I’m not sure what puts us into 2nd place).
So when you engage with a CFP® remember that you are dealing with someone who is part of a global standards body and that all CFP’s need to have and maintain appropriate levels of skills and ethics.
