Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner

Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make for yourself and your loved ones. Financial planners can provide you and your family guidance over your lifetime. A planner can play a central role in helping you meet your life goals and achieve financial well-being.

Most people think that all financial planners are "certified", but that is not true. Anyone can call himself or herself a "financial planner." Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of the CFP Board, like David, can 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.

When you work with David, you are the focus of the financial planning relationship and your needs drive his recommendations. He follows certain standards - called Financial Planning Practice Standards- when providing financial planning. These standards are based on a six-step financial planning process described below.

The Financial Planning Process

• Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
• Gathering client data including goals
• Analyzing and evaluating the client's financial status
• Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations and/or alternatives
• Implementing the financial planning recommendations
• Monitoring the financial planning recommendations

David as a CFP® practitioner will work with you to determine your personal and financial goals, your tolerance for financial risk, and your time frame for achieving results.

 
CFP® Certification Requirements

In order for David to be certified by the CFP Board he was required to submit to the rigorous CFP® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience and ethical requirements. These standards are called "the four Es," and are four important reasons why the financial planning practitioner you select should display the CFP® certification mark.

The "four Es" that David has completed include:

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 the CFP Board.

Examination - CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive two-day, 10-hour CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. 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. David has over 20 years of financial counseling and planning experience.

Ethics - As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as the CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. The CFP Board also performs a background check during the process, and each candidate for CFP® certification must disclose any investigations or legal proceedings related to their professional or business conduct.

 
What You Should Remember When Selecting Your Planner

As more people call themselves "financial planners," finding the right professional to address your financial needs is not easy.

David has built Folino Tax and Financial over the last 20 years by adhering to high professional standards, whether it is for tax preparation or financial planning services. Our firm is dedicated to providing clients professional service that is objective and based on their individual needs.

You can feel confident that when you join our "family of clients" at Folino Tax & Financial you will always receive competent, ethical and personal attention. Our goal in providing you a full-service firm is to make every part of your financial planning experience complete and professional.