Keystone Financial Services is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Keystone Financial Services and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. This website is solely for informational purposes. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Keystone Financial Services unless a client service agreement is in place.
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation is a voluntary certification that is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education, (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice, and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification is the standard of excellence in financial planning. CFP® professionals meet rigorous education, training and ethical standards, and are committed to serving their clients’ best interests today to prepare them for a more secure tomorrow.
To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:
- Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). The CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
- Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
- Complete a minimum of three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
- Agree to be bound by the CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for the CFP® professionals.
Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks:
- Complete thirty hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours related to the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and
- Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.
CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are certification marks owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, LLC.
These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
In accordance with Rule 206 (4)-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, our firm may provide a flat fee to participate in non-affiliated programs that seek to match prospective advisory clients with investment advisers. These programs provide information about investment advisory firms to consumers who have expressed an interest in such firms. The program also provides the name and contact information of such persons to the advisory firms as potential leads. The flat fee we pay for being provided with potential leads may vary depending on the region or territory we request to receive referrals in. Such compensation arrangements will not result in higher costs to the referred client. The following information will be disclosed clearly and prominently to referred prospective clients at the time of introduction to our firm:
- Whether or not the unaffiliated program/person is a current client of our firm,
- A description of the cash compensation provided by our firm to the unaffiliated person in exchange for the referral/endorsement, if applicable, and
- A brief statement of any material conflicts of interest on the part of the unaffiliated person giving the referral resulting from our firm’s relationship with such unaffiliated person.
