WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CFP Board has formed the Academic Pathways & Standards Working Group (APSWG) to evaluate the bachelor’s degree requirement for CFP® certification as part of its comprehensive approach to reviewing CFP® Certification Competency Standards. The Working Group was first announced alongside the updated Competency Standards on January 27, 2026.
The APSWG will conduct a careful analysis of the bachelor’s degree requirement, assessing whether the requirement continues to reflect current practices, emerging trends, and the evolving needs of the financial planning profession and the public it serves. Based on this analysis, the APSWG will provide a recommendation to the Board of Directors on whether the requirement should be maintained or modified.
The Board of Directors will review the recommendation and may revise it as it deems appropriate. CFP Board will put any proposed modification to the bachelor’s degree requirement out for public comment before the Board of Directors makes any final decision. No final decision is anticipated in 2026.
“Strong competency standards are essential to the credibility of CFP® certification,” said CFP Board CEO K. Dane Snowden. “That credibility matters — to the profession, to Americans and to every CFP® professional. Reviews like this help keep our standards aligned with the expectations and needs of the families CFP® professionals serve.”
The Academic Pathways & Standards Working Group includes the following members:
- Anthony Battle, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, ChSNC®, AIFA®, Assistant Director Planning and Retirement, Principal Securities Inc.
- Jack Brod, CFP®, 2020 CFP Board Chair, Savant Wealth Management
- Kamila Elliott, CFP®, 2022 CFP Board Chair, Founder and CEO, Collective Wealth Partners
- Brett Esselburn, CFP®, ChFC®, Head of Advisory and Investment Consulting, Equitable Advisors
- Bonnie Harper, CFP®, RICP®, CLU®, CPWA®, Vice President, Private Wealth Consultant, Raymond James
- Jason Kelly, Director, Financial Planning, Edward Jones
- Phuong Luong, MEd, CFP®, Program Director, Financial Planning Program, Boston University
- Martin Schamis, CFP®, Vice President/Head of Wealth Planning, Janney Montgomery Scott
- Denise Streeter, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Business, Howard University
- Demetra Sullivan, CFP®, Regional Market Executive, Branch Network, Charles Schwab
ABOUT CFP BOARD
CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public’s benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP® certification is held by more than 107,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession’s body of knowledge.
Contacts
Jane Riley Jacobsen, Director of Public Relations, O: 202-379-2305
M: 703-801-5376, Email: [email protected]
