After a series of comment periods and drafts, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. issued new procedural rules[1] to help certified financial planners navigate ethical practices and standards. The new rules are in effect as of June 30, 2020. They consolidate and replace Disciplinary Rules and Procedures and Appeal Rules and Procedures that provided a framework for ethical standards.
The new rules present several changes, including:
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Establishing an expedited process for complaints involving sole bankruptcy that will allow a respondent to accept a public censure and thereby avoid payment of a hearing fee.
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Expanding on the ways in which CFP Board may access information during the disciplinary process, including questioning by oral examination.
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Placing a time limitation on when CFP Board staff may issue a Notice of Investigation, which ordinarily will be within seven years after the alleged violation, subject to certain exceptions, and placing a limit on when CFP Board staff may issue a complaint after commencing an investigation.
The CFP Board also created an Enforcement Process Guide to help professionals understand the process behind the creation of the new rules, as well as updates to several technical documents, including changes to sanctions guidelines and certain certification and licensing procedures.
‘CFP professionals have committed to the high standards of competency and ethics that are set forth in the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. CFP Board’s new Procedural Rules are aligned with the new Code and Standards and outline a process designed to be credible to the public and fair to those whose conduct CFP Board is evaluating,’ said Jack Brod[2] , CFP, 2020 Chair of CFP Board’s board of directors. ‘The new Procedural Rules clarify important information for CFP professionals and further strengthen CFP Board’s enforcement process.’