The number of certified financial planners has reached an all-time high and the industry is more diverse than ever before, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards announced in a news release last week.
At the end of 2021, the board said there were 92,055 CFP professionals, a rise of 3.8% over 2020. In addition, the year saw record numbers of new women, Black and Hispanic CFP professionals.
The number of female CFP professionals rose to an all-time high of 21,504 last year, representing a jump of more than 4% over 2020. The number of Black and Hispanic CFPs jumped to 4,196, up 13.8% from 2020 and nearly four times the growth rate of all other CFP professionals.
CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller said these milestones are an important step towards the board’s goal of increasing the public’s access to competent and ethical financial planning by certified planners.
“We are especially excited to see strong increases of women, Black and Hispanic individuals pursuing a career in financial planning, as diversifying the financial planning profession is one of CFP Board’s core strategic priorities and central to the work of our Center for Financial Planning,” said Keller. “While we are proud of our growth, there is much work ahead of us as we develop initiatives to further strengthen the talent pipeline for years to come.”
The board added there were a total of 5,273 new CFP professionals in 2021, representing the largest and most diverse class in the CFP Board’s history.
The board said it will now be reporting data on the racial and ethnic diversity of CFP professionals on a monthly basis.
The CFP investigations attorneys at Hyman Cotter PC have helped advisors, brokers and other financial professionals all matters involving the CFP Board, including CFP Board investigations. For more information on our services relating to CFP Board investigations and discipline or other matters, contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
