ABOUT RAYMOND JAMES & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS
At Eastern Shore Financial, we are a team of financial advisors and professionals who put clients first, we are backed by Raymond James, a financial services company with a conservative, long-term approach.
We are CFP® professionals who have met rigorous qualifications for financial planning. Only those who have fulfilled CFP Board’s rigorous requirements can call themselves a CFP® professional.
About Raymond james
With 145 consecutive quarters of profitability, Raymond James is known for its core values of professional integrity, advisor independence, and a conservative, long-term approach to investing.
Registered associates at Eastern Shore Financial hold their securities registrations with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Raymond James is a national financial services firm with financial advisors located throughout the United States. The firm is member of both the FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) and SIPC (Securities Investors Protection Corporation). The parent company of Raymond James is Raymond James Financial Inc., (New York Stock Exchange symbol RJF), established in 1962 and a public company since 1983. Raymond James' subsidiaries provide a wide range of services to investors, including investment and financial planning, asset management, investment banking, and trust services. Their corporate headquarters are located in St. Petersburg, Florida. They have offices nationally and internationally.
As part of their certification, CFP® professionals commit to high ethical standards. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can call themselves a CFP® professional.
WHY WORK WITH A CFP® PROFESSIONAL
Most people think that all financial planners are “certified,” but this isn’t true. Anyone can claim to be a “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of CFP Board can display the CFP® certification marks.
Individuals certified by CFP Board have taken the extra step to demonstrate their professionalism by voluntarily submitting to the rigorous CFP® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience, and ethical requirements. These standards are called “the four E’s,” and they are four important reasons why the financial planning practitioner you select should display the CFP® certification marks.
When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical. The CFP® certification can help to provide that sense of confidence by allowing only those who meet the following requirements the right to use the CFP® certification marks.
CFP® Certification Requirements: The Four E’s
EDUCATION: CFP® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by CFP Board. Other options for satisfying the education component include submitting a transcript review or previous financial planning-related coursework to CFP Board for review and credit or showing the attainment of certain professional designations or academic degrees.
EXAMINATION: CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive two-day, six-hour CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.
EXPERIENCE: CFP® professionals must have three years’ minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP® certification marks. As a result, CFP® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.
ETHICS: As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients, and employers. CFP Board also performs a background check during this process, and each individual must disclose any investigations or legal proceedings related to their professional or business conduct.
How the CFP Board's Code of Ethics Benefits You
Through the Code of Ethics, CFP® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering you professional services that are objective and based on your needs. They are required to provide you with information about their sources of compensation and conflicts of interest in writing.
Ongoing Certification Requirements
Once certified, CFP® practitioners are required to maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations. Every two years, they must complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve clients. Two of these hours are spent studying or discussing CFP Board’s Code of Ethics or Practice Standards. In addition to the biennial continuing education requirement, all CFP® practitioners voluntarily disclose any public, civil, criminal, or disciplinary actions that may have been taken against them during the previous two years as part of the renewal process.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™, CFP Logo Flame Design and CFP Logo Plaque Design in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.