When you hire a CFP® professional, you are hiring an advisor who has made a commitment to putting your interests first. As part of their certification, a CFP® professional commits to CFP Board to act as a fiduciary—which means to act in the best interests of the client at all times when providing financial advice and financial planning. CFP Board may sanction a CFP® professional who does not abide by this commitment and welcomes tips from the public, but CFP Board doesn't guarantee a CFP® professional's services. You want a financial advisor who has made a commitment to you to act as a fiduciary. Therefore, whomever you choose as your financial professional, including a CFP® professional, you should be sure to ask for—and get—a written engagement that requires them to have a fiduciary obligation to you.

Someone who is acting as a fiduciary in accordance with CFP Board’sStandards is required to fulfill the following three duties. We’ve included an example for each duty to illustrate how the duty plays out in real life. Read more here: letsmakeaplan.org 

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.