TD Ameritrade Institutional and Ameriprise Financial to Support CFP Board Women's Initiative

Companies provide funding for efforts to increase number of women CFP professionals

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is pleased to announce that TD Ameritrade Institutional and Ameriprise Financial are sponsoring a research initiative that will provide information to support the CFP Board's Women's Initiative to increase the number of women who enter the financial planning profession and obtain the Certified Financial Planner^TM certification.

"This is an exciting collaboration among three organizations that care deeply about the future of the CFP® certification, women in the financial planning profession and increasing the number of advisors to help Americans achieve their financial goals," said Nancy Kistner, CFP® - Chair of CFP Board's Women's Initiative and former Chair of the non-profit organization's Board of Directors.

Ameriprise and TD Ameritrade's support of CFP Board's Women's Initiative, which began last year, will help bolster the number of women CFP® professionals, which now stands at 23 percent of all CFP® professionals – a number that hasn't budged for more than a decade.

CFP Board is currently conducting research addressing the root causes of why more women aren't choosing financial planning as a career and earning the CFP® certification. The research will be used by CFP Board's WIN Advisory Panel to provide recommendations on growing the number of women earning the certification. Results of the research along with the WIN Panel recommendations are expected to be released later this spring.

The financial sponsorship will assist CFP Board in completing and promoting the research and recommendations through a white paper and communications initiatives planned for 2014.

Elda Macias, Vice President, Retirement & Segment Marketing with Ameriprise will join the WIN Advisory Panel. TD Ameritrade's Kate Healy, Managing Director for Institutional Marketing, currently serves on the panel.

"We are dedicated to increasing the number of women who want to enter the financial services industry and choose financial planning as a career," said Macias. "We expect the results of this study will bolster the strong initiatives we have in place and help us increase the ranks of the nearly 2,000 women advisors who are already at Ameriprise."

"As a longtime advocate for women advisors, TD Ameritrade Institutional is focused on creating more opportunities for women to enter the growing field of financial planning," said Healy. "We look forward to joining the CFP Board in the effort to cultivate current and future generations of women leaders."

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 69,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S.

About TD Ameritrade Institutional
TD Ameritrade Institutional is a leading provider of comprehensive brokerage and custody services to more than 4,500 fee-based, independent registered investment advisors and their clients. Our advanced technology platform, coupled with personal support from our dedicated service teams, allows advisors to run their practices more efficiently and optimize time with clients. TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE:AMTD).

About Ameriprise Financial
At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for 120 years. With outstanding asset management, advisory and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com.

SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.