The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards is introducing a number of initiatives that they say will provide more academic support for the financial planning profession.
The goal of the CFP Board is to provide individuals with more opportunities for research and teaching, while also improving the quality of advice financial professionals provide to the community.
The CFP Board’s initiatives include developing a Ph.D. program, producing an academic journal, and even possibly establishing a Center for Financial Planning.
Encouraging a New Generation of Financial Planning Professionals
The CFP Board is the standard-setting body for the CFP certification and is also an authority on the financial planning profession. As such, the CFP Board says it is “committed to moving the needle” by providing a home where research can be conducted and financial planning can be taught to a new generation of financial planning professionals.
CFP Board Chair V. Raymond Ferrara said that the Board’s newest efforts are aimed at ensuring that financial planning remains a “recognized discipline within academia” and within the financial services industry.
The CFP Board is considering the creation of a Center for Financial Planning, which they say would “serve as a credible source of research” for the financial planning profession.
Advancing the Educational Opportunities for the Financial Planning Profession
In the meantime, the CFP Board is organizing the creation of its first business school doctoral program within the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University. It will be the first Board-registered doctoral program in a business college that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Currently, more than 225 institutions recognize the CFP Board-registered programs, with another 120 offering financial planning bachelor degree programs.
Finally, the CFB Board is currently in the process of developing a peer-reviewed academic journal that will focus on financial planning. Research in the journal will be provided by academic faculty who are currently researching and/or teaching issues in financial planning. The journal, once released, will be free to all CFP professionals.