Whether it’s in our initial conversations with new clients, or our ongoing planning and reviews with existing clients – we want to help! During our planning meetings, Meredith and I are often surprised by how many times clients say – “I know you’re not a (CPA, Lawyer, Insurance agent, or government benefits expert), but do you know anything about…” It is true, other than some limited licensing in insurance, we are not those things.
But as CFP® professionals, we do have a very broad and comprehensive education about many of those, and other topics. I thought we might take a moment to share the areas where we have been specifically educated to help you feel confident engaging us.
According to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Board, the CFP® certification process identifies eight principal knowledge domains that make up the areas of financial planning. These areas define the comprehensive knowledge and services a CFP® professional is expected to provide to clients.
The eight principal areas are:
- Professional Conduct and Regulation: This domain covers the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct that all CFP® professionals must follow, as well as financial services regulations and the fiduciary standard.
- General Principles of Financial Planning: This foundational area includes cash flow management, financial statements, and strategies for debt management and financing. It also covers economic concepts, time value of money, and education funding.
- Risk Management and Insurance Planning: This involves analyzing a client's risk exposures and evaluating different types of insurance to mitigate those risks. This includes life, health, disability, and long-term care insurance.
- Investment Planning: This area focuses on developing investment strategies based on a client's goals and risk tolerance. It covers investment vehicles, asset allocation, diversification, market cycles, and portfolio analysis.
- Tax Planning: This domain includes understanding fundamental tax law and a variety of tax reduction and management techniques. It also covers the tax implications of specific transactions and circumstances, as well as charitable contributions.
- Retirement Savings and Income Planning: This area deals with preparing for retirement, including retirement needs analysis, different types of retirement plans, and strategies for Social Security and Medicare.
- Estate Planning: This involves arranging for the transfer of property and includes concepts like property titling, beneficiary designations, wills, and trusts. It helps clients manage gift, estate, and inheritance tax issues.
- Psychology of Financial Planning: The CFP® Board formally added this area to its curriculum to emphasize the behavioral and emotional factors that influence a client's financial decisions. It includes topics such as client and planner biases, sources of money conflicts, and effective communication.
We are always excited to engage in these areas with you and work towards comprehensive solutions. We are also happy to refer you to specific professionals that can help complete your planning or provide additional expertise that is outside our scope or ability. Whatever it is that you are working on – LET US HELP!