CFP Board New Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct: Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest Part 2

Posted on July 25th, 2019 at 5:19 PM
CFP Board New Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct: Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest Part 2

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

The Code and Standards note that no business model is conflict-free and that CFP advisors have a specific set of conflicts which they must disclose and manage under the new guidelines.

 A CFP professional must make full disclosure of all material conflicts of interests that could affect the professional relationship, and obtain the informed consent of the client before providing any financial advice.

A commenter suggested that the standard should apply to all conflicts, not just material conflicts. However, the CFP Board did not agree with this comment stating that materiality is an appropriate limitation on the requirement. Therefore, if a reasonable client or prospective client would not consider the conflict information important in making a decision, then the CFP professional is not required to disclose the conflict.

Finally, some commentators also requested that the CFP Board define “informed consent.” The CFP Board does not agree that such a definition is necessary.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, cfp board, certified financial planner, code of ethics, standards of conduct

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We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

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