Dallas W. Coffman is Subject Matter Expert for Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards

Dallas W. Coffman, CLU®, ChFC®, EA, CFP® serves as a Subject Matter Expert, (SME) for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER BOARD OF STANDARDS (CFP BOARD), contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. On October 24-25, 2013, Dallas helped lead and participated in an Item Writing Workshop in Washington, DC.   

The CFP® Certification Examination is one of the major requirements for CFP® certification, the standard of excellence for personal financial planning. To attain the right to use the CFP® marks in the United States, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

·         Education – 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). 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;

·         Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, 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;

·         Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year) or two years of full-time “Apprenticeship Experience” focused exclusively on personal delivery of the financial planning process under the direct supervision of a CFP® professional; and

·         Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for 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:

·         Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain professional competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and

·         Ethics – 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® professionals who fail to comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It 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, requiring CFP® professionals to place the interests of their clients ahead of their own at all times.

Currently, more than 68,000 individuals have been awarded CFP® certification by CFP Board, the nonprofit certification organization that owns the CFP® certification marks in the U.S.  CFP Board’s mission is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning.  For more about CFP Board, visit www.CFP.net.

Dallas grew up in Newburyport and graduated NHS Class of 1975, BENTLEY COLLEGE Class of 1979 and has lived in North Reading since 2001. 

Dallas W. Coffman, CLU®, ChFC®, EA, CFP® is also a Branch Manager with LPL FINANCIAL, Member FINRA/SIPC.   He founded WHITMAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC in 1983 and has been located in Wakefield ever since.  His office is at 382 Lowell Street, Suite 203, Wakefield, MA 01880-1983 and he can be reached at 781-246-0902 or via email at dallas.coffman@lpl.com.