Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), owner of the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program outside the United States, reported that the number of CFP
TM professionals reached a global high of 161,826 at year-end 2015. Global growth within the FPSB network, representing 26 nonprofit financial planning standards-setting, certification and professional bodies in as many territories, produced a net increase of 4,240 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals, a 2.7 percent increase over the previous year-end total of 157,586.
Of the 25 FPSB member organizations authorized to administer the CFP certification program (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 percent of the global CFP professional growth, with the United States, the longest-running CFP certification program, accounting for 56 percent of global growth in 2015.
Some of FPSB’s newer member organizations 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 percent), Brazil (32 percent), Ireland (28 percent), Indonesia (22 percent), Chinese Taipei (15 percent) and Thailand (14 percent). Due to strong support for CFP certification among Brazil’s banks, FPSB’s Brazilian member organization 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 – namely, the United States, Japan, Canada, China and Australia – remained at the top of the leader board again this year. FPSB’s member organization in Japan, Japan Association for Financial Planners (JAFP), exceeded 20,000 CFP professionals for the first time.
“Financial Planning Standards Board 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,” said Noel Maye, FPSB Ltd. chief executive officer. “The number of territories where CFP certification is offered has increased 50 percent 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.”
“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,” Maye added.
The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) is the licencing authority for the CFPTM marks in the UK, through agreement with FPSB. To find out more about CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program please visit cisi.org