Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) reported strong increases in the number and the diversity of CFP® professionals in 2020. The significant milestones support CFP Board’s mission to ensure that the public has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning advice.

“The financial challenges that have impacted so many during the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of financial planning,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “Financial planning also continues to be regarded as a highly sought and attractive career choice, and CFP® certification has become the must-have designation for those providing financial advice.”

As of December 31, 2020, the milestones include:

• The number of CFP® professionals reached an all-time high of 88,726, a growth of 2.7% over 2019 numbers.
• The number of female CFP® professionals increased to an all-time high of 20,633 – 23.3% of all CFP® professionals — reflecting growth of 3.1% since 2019.
• The number of Black and Hispanic CFP® professionals increased in 2020 to 3,688 – a percentage growth of 12.6% over 2019’s number of 3,274. This increase is nearly five times the growth rate of all CFP® professionals.
  • Black CFP® professionals – 1,493 (1.68% of CFP® professionals)
  • Hispanic CFP® professionals – 2,170 (2.46% of CFP® professionals)
  • Biracial Black and Hispanic – 25 (.028% of CFP® professionals)
• In 2020, CFP Board’s Candidate Forum connected candidates for CFP® certification with a valuable online community to provide support on their path to certification, with nearly 79,000 subscribers sharing 1,136 discussion threads related to all stages on the path to CFP® certification.
• The Center for Financial Planning’s Career Center, now in its seventh year, connects firms with qualified job seekers in the financial planning profession. During this time, 3,800 employers have posted 6,000 jobs that have been promoted to 27,000 job seekers.

“The increase in the number of CFP® professionals of color reflects the strong efforts by CFP Board and the Center for Financial Planning to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession,” added Keller. “We will continue to work together toward a future where the financial planning professional reflects that of America.”