Wealth Solutions & Wealth Planning
Number Of Certified Financial Planner Professionals Worldwide Tops 192,000
Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), the standards-setting body for the global financial planning profession and owner of the international Certified Financial Planner certification program outside the United States, has reported steady growth in the number of CFP professionals worldwide in 2020, despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a net gain of 4,658 CFP professionals, FPSB and its global network of affiliate organizations grew the number of CFP professionals worldwide by 2.5% to a total of 192,762, as of 31 December 2020, FPSB said in a press release.
Noel Maye, CEO, FPSB, said: “In 2020, as families faced the impact of job losses and furloughs, forced early retirement and health care challenges, the global financial planning profession stepped up to help people manage their finances and adapt their financial plans. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, people relied on CFP professionals to help build their emergency savings, reconsider debt strategies, and stay on track with longer-term financial and life goals. At a time when the value of financial planning is more apparent than ever, I'm pleased to see thousands of practitioners join our global community of CFP professionals.”
CFP Board, owner of the longest-running CFP certification program, finished 2020 with 88,726 CFP professionals in the U.S., an increase of 2.7%. FPSB China, with the second largest CFP professional community in the world, ended the year with 23,579 CFP professionals, up 6.9% over the previous year. Rounding out the top four growth markets for CFP professionals were Japan, with a net increase by the Japan Association for Financial Planners of 841 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 23,095, and Planejar, the FPSB Affiliate in Brazil, which increased its number of CFP professionals by 740 to 5,414, for a 15.8% growth rate.
Overall, FPSB Affiliates in Asia experienced the largest growth rate by percentage, reports FPSB, led by the Financial Planning Association of Taiwan with a rate of 17.3%, and the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia, with a growth rate of 15.8%.
As part of FPSB's commitment to promote and grow the financial planning profession and CFP certification program globally, priorities for FPSB and the global FPSB network this year include: conducting global research to identify best practices and future proof the profession; developing and supporting career paths to financial planning professionalism and CFP certification; and increasing public awareness of the value of financial planning and working with a CFP professional.
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