The Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), owner of the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM certification program outside the United States, reported that the number of CFPTM professionals reached a new global high of 161,826 at year-end 2015
At year-end 2015, global growth within the FPSB network, representing 26 non-profit financial planning standard-setting, certification and professional bodies in as many territories, produced a net increase of 4,240 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals, a 2.7% increase over the previous year-end total of 157,586.
Of the 25 FPSB member organisations authorised to administer the CFPTM certification program (the FPSB’s member in Turkey joined as an Associate Member in 2014), 19 (or 76%) saw the number of CFP professionals in their territory increase last year, with the five territories adding the most CFP professionals during 2015 being: Malaysia (213), Indonesia (222), Japan (518), Brazil (563) and the United States (2,388). These five territories, representing a spectrum of market types and CFP certification program maturities, account for 92% of global CFP professional growth, with the US, the longest-running CFP certification program, accounting for 56% of global growth in 2015.
Some of the FPSB’s newer member organisations that are ramping up delivery of their CFP certification programs showed the largest rates of growth in the number of CFP professionals last year. The top six territories in terms of rate of growth for CFP professionals in 2015 were: Israel (56%), Brazil (32%), Ireland (28%), Indonesia (22%), Chinese Taipei (15%) and Thailand (14%). Due to strong support for CFP certification among Brazil’s banks, the FPSB’s Brazilian member organisation had the distinction of being second overall, both in terms of the number of CFP professionals added and in the growth rate of CFP professionals last year, moving Brazil into 10th place overall for CFP professional population per territory (with 2,304 CFP professionals). Asociación Colombiana de Planeación Financiera (ACPF) in Colombia certified the first CFP professionals in Colombia in 2015.
The territories representing the five largest CFP professional populations in 2014, the US, Japan, Canada, China and Australia, remained at the top of the leader board again this year. The FPSB’s member organisation in Japan, the Japan Association for Financial Planners (JAFP), exceeded 20,000 CFP professionals for the first time, while the FPSB’s member organisations in Canada and China saw modest drops in their number of CFP professionals at 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively.
Noel Maye, FPSB CEO, said: "The FPSB is pleased to see that the message about the value of CFP certification, and of working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, is being heard around the world. The number of territories where CFP certification is offered has increased 50% in the last 12 years, and the global number of CFP professionals has doubled in the same time period. Much of this growth can be attributed to the value the public places on CFP certification and the benefits firms experience from hiring CFP professionals.
“The FPSB and the global network of professional bodies offering CFP certification have set a target of 250,000 CFP professionals in 40 territories by 2025, and the momentum gained from our 2015 growth keeps us on track for that goal.”
The CISI is the licencing authority for the CFPTM marks in the UK, through agreement with the FPSB. To find out more about the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program, please visit cisi.org