Number of Certified Financial Planner professionals worldwide tops 203,000

Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), the standards-setting body for the global financial planning profession and owner of the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program outside the United States, reports the number of CFP professionals worldwide has surpassed 200,000.

With a net gain of 10,550 CFP professionals last year, FPSB and its global network of organizations grew the number of CFP professionals worldwide by 5.5 percent to a total of 203,312, as of 31 December 2021.

“We’re pleased to report that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, momentum in the global growth of CFP professionals remains strong, and is increasing,” says FPSB CEO Noel Maye.

“Last year, the number of CFP professionals reached the highest ever, with growth from emerging, developing and mature markets demonstrating the broad appeal of financial planning and CFP certification worldwide.”

Global CFP professionals by territory and growth

CFP Board, owner of the longest-running CFP certification program, finished 2021 with 92,055 CFP professionals in the U.S., an increase of 3,329.

FPSB China, with the second-largest CFP professional community in the world, ended the year with 26,800 CFP professionals, up 3,221 from the previous year.

Rounding out the top seven growth markets for CFP professionals were:

• Brazil, with a net increase by Planejar – Associação Brasileira de Planejamento Financeiro of 1,971 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 7,385;
• Japan, with a net increase by the Japan Association for Financial Planners of 969 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 24,064;
• Indonesia, with a net increase by FPSB Indonesia of 415 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 2,281;
• Canada, with a net increase by FP Canada of 397 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 16,797; and
• India, with a net increase by FPSB Ltd. in India of 349 CFP professionals for a year-end count of 2,338.

The six territories with double-digit growth rates in the number of CFP professionals in 2021 were:

Brazil (36.4%), Indonesia (22.2%), India (17.6%), the People’s Republic of China (13.7%), Chinese Taipei (12.9%) and Israel (11.7%).

The program in Brazil is noteworthy for its achievements in both growth and rate of growth of CFP professionals for the third year in a row.

“Doubling the number of CFP professionals globally since FPSB’s creation in 2004 and increasing the number of CFP professionals ten-fold since CFP certification first went international in 1990 is a tremendous accomplishment,” added Maye.

“This effort is thanks to FPSB’s global network of certification bodies and the hundreds of thousands of CFP professionals worldwide who commit to rigorous standards of competency, ethics and practice, and to delivering financial planning in their clients’ interests.”

FPSB and the global FPSB Network are committed to establishing financial planning as a global profession, with CFP certification its symbol of excellence. To maintain growth and relevance in existing territories, and introduce financial planning and CFP certification to new territories, FPSB and the FPSB Network will continue to develop, enforce and promote rigorous competency, ethics and professional standards and certification requirements for financial planning; promote the value of financial planning and CFP certification to the public; and future-proof the financial planning profession and CFP certification by focusing on the needs of next-generation financial planners and their clients.

Click here to find out more about CFP certification.

Check these out: Articles from Certified Financial Planners on Money Playschool

Including digital assets in your will and estate planning

Digital Wealth Management: Do robo-advisors replace financial advisers?

Money tips for single parents