CFP Board Statement on White House Support for DOL Fiduciary Rule

News provided by

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

Feb 23, 2015, 02:47 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) issued the following statement regarding the White House's announcement that the Department of Labor's (DOL) long-anticipated proposed rule to amend the definition of "fiduciary" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has been transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review:

"As a fervent advocate for strong fiduciary standards in the provision of investment advice, CFP Board is pleased to see the White House and Department of Labor take a critical step toward protecting American investors and their retirement savings through a fiduciary rule under ERISA.

We remain steadfast in our belief that it is appropriate for every advisor who provides financial planning advice – including professionals providing retirement investment advice – to do so under a fiduciary duty to their clients. We believe that, based on our experience with the application of CFP Board's fiduciary standard across business models, that the fiduciary standard can be applied without reducing the availability of services.

We are eager to review DOL's proposal and urge OMB to follow the President's lead and make its review a priority. An update to this 40 year-old rule will ensure retirement plan participants and beneficiaries are protected from conflicts of interest, benefiting investors and providers alike."

ABOUT CFP BOARD
The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to benefit the public by granting the CFP^® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning. The Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board's mission, acts on behalf of the public, CFP^® professionals and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner™, CFP^® (with plaque design) and CFP^® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 71,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S.

SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.