CFP Board Establishes Competency Standards Commission to Evaluate Standards for CFP® Certification

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) today announced it has established a Competency Standards Commission to review and evaluate CFP Board’s competency requirements for Education, Examination, Experience and Continuing Education. CFP Board also announced the appointment of the Commission’s members: Jack Brod, CFP®, Chair; Khiara Cureton; Nandita Das, Ph.D., CFP®; Kamila Elliott, CFP®; H. Amos Goodall, Jr. Esq.; Jake Greenberg, CFP®; Archie Hoxton, CFP®; Susan John, CFP®; Sonya Lutter, Ph.D., CFP®; Peter Richardson, CFP®, J.D.; Josh Schneider, CFP®; Joyce Schnur, MBA, CFP®; Neal Solomon, CFP®; Roy Swift, Ph.D., COL, Ret.; and Grace Yung, CFP®.

All Competency Standards Commission members begin their terms of service on March 20, 2023, and will continue through 2024 to ensure a thorough review and deliberation process.

The Competency Standards Commission will be tasked with validating current requirements to obtain CFP® certification and/or recommending changes for improvements that reinforce its value and relevance to the financial planning profession. The commission’s review will address the competency of candidates for CFP® certification as well as the continued competency of CFP® professionals — in line with best practices for certifying bodies and established professions.

“The creation of the Competency Standards Commission demonstrates CFP Board’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that the CFP® certification is the standard for competency and professionalism in financial planning,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “The Competency Standards Commission will work to ensure that CFP Board’s competency standards remain current and relevant to those who pursue and carry the mark, for the benefit of both the profession and the public served.”

The Competency Standards Commission is a select group of volunteers consisting of individuals from financial services firms, educators, certification and credentialing professionals, and other stakeholders, including members of the public. Based on its evaluation, the commission may propose changes in competency standards or may recommend that CFP Board maintain current standards.

“We are excited to have such a talented and experienced group of professionals serve on the Competency Standards Commission,” said CFP Board Chair Dan Moisand. “Their collective expertise will be invaluable in ensuring that the CFP Board’s competency standards continue to serve both the public interest and the financial planning profession by providing the highest level of competency and professionalism in financial planning.”

Following completion of its review, the commission will finalize its recommendations on any proposed changes, subject to a public comment period and the Board of Directors’ deliberation and approval. CFP® professionals and other stakeholders will be given the opportunity to provide feedback to CFP Board on the current standards for CFP® certification.

The Competency Standards Commission consists of the following 15 members:

Jack Brod, CFP® (Chair) is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board (2020). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Savant Capital Management. He began his career as a financial planner and RIA in the late 1980s. During his time at Price Waterhouse, he became a regional leader of the RIA executive wealth advisory practice. In 1995, he joined Vanguard to launch the company’s first advice offering for high-net-worth retail clients. After retiring from a senior executive role at Vanguard he now teaches, consults, mentors, serves as a Director on several boards and advises financial technology companies. Brod speaks about trends in the financial advice field at industry conferences and in the media. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Khiara Cureton is a Financial Planning Intern at Abeona Wealth and a candidate for CFP® certification. She is a Board member of Freshly Minted Finance, a Conference Committee member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and a 2021 externship participant with the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Cureton earned her master’s degree in Organizational Development & Leadership from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and her bachelor’s degree in biology from Spelman College.

Nandita Das, Ph.D., CFP®, CFA, RICP, EA, is Founder and Owner of Das Financial Health LLC and a Professor of Finance, Director of the CFP Board Registered Financial Planning Program, and Director of the Financial Literacy Institute at Delaware State University. She is a former member of CFP Board’s Council on Education (2018-2020) and has authored and co-authored articles in the Journal of Accounting and Finance, International Research Journal of Applied Finance, Journal of International Finance and Economics and others. Das has received awards from InvestmentNews, Annual Meetings of the Association of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University and Pennsylvania State University Business and Economics Faculty. She earned her Ph.D. in Business & Economics and her master’s degree in Economics from Lehigh University, and she holds an MBA in Finance from University of Saskatchewan.

Kamila Elliott, CFP® is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board (2022) and is CEO and Founder of Collective Wealth Partners. She spent much of her professional career at Vanguard, where she worked with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, endowments and foundations. She is a member of the Junior League of Atlanta Inc., Women Against Abuse Inc. and the Association of African American Financial Advisors. She is also a volunteer for the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. Elliott earned her MBA in Finance and her bachelor’s degree in Communications from Pennsylvania State University.

H. Amos Goodall, Jr. Esq., CELA, LLM, practices law with Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak. He is past President of the National Elder Law Foundation and a Certified Elder Law Attorney. He is a public member of the CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission. He served as Drafting Committee Chair of the National Elder Law Foundation; a member of the Military Pro Bono Project, “Operation Standby,” at the American Bar Association; and a committee member of the PA Joint State Government Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Law. For more than 20 years, Goodall has also served as Solicitor for the Centre County United Way in Pennsylvania. He earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, his LL.M. in Elder Law from Stetson University College of Law and his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Franklin & Marshall College.

Jake Greenberg, CFP®, ChFC, AIF, is a Managing Director at Pure Financial Advisors LLC, overseeing its North Orange County, Los Angeles and Chicago locations. He is a lead strategist in charge of managing and training their financial advisors in areas such as financial planning, onboarding clients and using systems. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance – Investments and Financial Planning from California State University – Fullerton and has served on the university’s Financial Planning Board in various capacities since 2012.

Archie Hoxton, M.S., CFP® is a Financial Planner and Manager at Hoxton Planning & Management. Previously, he was a High Net Worth Financial Advisor for Vanguard. He has also worked as a research assistant at the Center for Financial Responsibility at Texas Tech University and has supported financial literacy programs in the surrounding area. Hoxton earned his master’s degree in Personal Financial Planning, as well as a graduate certificate in Charitable Financial Planning, from Texas Tech University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from West Virginia University.

Susan John, CFP® is Managing Director of Financial Planning and a Private Client Advisor at F.L. Putnam Investment Management Company. She is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of CFP Board (2019) and a former Chair of NAPFA (2010-2012). She also serves on CFP Board’s Appeals Commission and on the boards of Colby Sawyer College and Huggins Hospital. During her varied career, she has received awards including IBM’s Visionary Leaders Award (1994) and the NAPFA Distinguished Service Award (1999). John has also been quoted in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Investment Advisor, Medical Economics and Parenting. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Plymouth State University.

Sonya Lutter, Ph.D., CFP®, LMFT, is Director of Financial Health and Wellness at Texas Tech University and Owner of ENLITE, an instructional community based on bridging the gap between mental health and financial planning. She is the Founder of the Financial Therapy Association and served as its first President (2010-13). Lutter contributed to CFP Board’s book “The Psychology of Financial Planning” as well as to media articles appearing in outlets including Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Kiplinger’s, InvestmentNews, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. She earned her Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University and her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and bachelor’s degree in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University.

Peter Richardson, CFP®, J.D., CFA is Vice President – Planning Excellence at Northwestern Mutual, where he leads a team responsible for the company’s planning philosophy and planning standards. His background was previously in litigation at a law firm specializing in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrations before he moved to Northwestern Mutual, where he worked as an in-house lawyer on retail investment law. He has served as Commissioner of CFP Board’s Standards Resource Commission (2020) and Commissioner of CFP Board’s Commission on Standards (2018). Richardson earned his J.D. from University of Minnesota Law School and his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Speech Communications from Macalester College.

Josh Schneider, CFP® is Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor with The Bethesda Group at Morgan Stanley. He served on CFP Board’s Council on Examinations from 2017 to 2022. Schneider has been recognized by Forbes as a top financial planner several times: Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (2022), Next Generation Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (2019) and America’s Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors (2017, 2018). His team, The Bethesda Group at Morgan Stanley, has been ranked by Forbes as one of the Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams (2023). He earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance from University of Maryland.

Joyce Schnur, MBA, CFP® is Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Financial Services Vertical at Kaplan North America. She has taught financial planning in several university programs, including her alma maters of Duquesne University and Grove City College. She served as Chair of CFP Board’s Standards Council on Education (2017) and is a member of FPA and its Pittsburgh chapter. She also served as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Executive Tax & Management Report and is a former Chair of the Board of Trustees of United Way of Butler County, Pennsylvania. She earned her MBA in Financial Planning from Duquesne University and her bachelor’s degree in Financial Planning from Grove City College.

Neal Solomon, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, CASL is Managing Director of WealthPro® LLC, a Registered Principal with The Strategic Financial Alliance Inc., and Chief Financial Officer with Hearing Care Resources LLC, a healthcare practice. He is a former Board member of CFP Board and a current Board member of the College for Financial Planning® – a Kaplan Company. He is also a former Director with SFA Holdings Inc., which comprises several financial services firms including broker dealers and RIAs. Solomon has served as Chair of FPA’s Government Relations Committee, served on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Financial Planning and was honored with FPA’s Heart of Financial Planning Award in 2012. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from State University of New York (Potsdam) and recently completed the Client Psychology Program at The Wharton School.

Roy Swift, Ph.D., COL, Retired, is a certification expert and Executive Director of Workcred, which focuses on the quality, market value and effectiveness of workforce credentials. He was formerly Chief of the Army Medical Specialist, U.S. Army Surgeon General’s Office. He also served as Executive Director of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (1993-1998). Swift earned a Ph.D. in Continuing Competency in the Professions from University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. Ed. from University of Southern California.

Grace Yung, CFP® is CEO and Founder of Midtown Financial Group LLC, a Houston firm affiliated with LPL Financial. She has served as a CFP Board Ambassador since 2021. Yung is a contributing writer for the monthly financial column for OutSmart Magazine and writes for local newsletter the Houston Medical Times. She co-founded an advisor-led roundtable of women leaders at LPL Financial, serves on the Advisor Inclusion Council (since 2021) and has been featured as a speaker for several of the firm’s advisor development programs. Her awards include the Five Star Wealth Manager Award from Texas Monthly (2012-2022) and the DiversityFIRST™ Leadership Award from the Texas Diversity Council (2015). She earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance & Management from University of Houston.