Lauren Stansell Earns CFP® Certification
After years of hard work and dedication, we are very proud to announce that Lauren Stansell, Assistant Financial Planner in our Virginia office, became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional on Friday, February 6th. After learning that she had officially received the certification, we asked Lauren, “What three words would you use to describe how it feels to have earned the CFP® certification?”
“The three words I would use to describe how it feels to have earned the CFP® certification are: relieved, proud, and excited.
I am relieved because the certification process is intense and lasts multiple years. It begins with the education requirement, which I fulfilled during my time in Virginia Tech’s CFP® Certification Education Track; studying for three to four months for the two-day, ten-hour exam is next; and it is completed by fulfilling a two-year apprenticeship practicing the six steps of the financial planning process, which I have been lucky enough to complete here at Yeske Buie.
I am proud because I dedicated myself to accomplishing all three steps above. And did it with excitement – I love every day in this profession!
I am excited to continue to learn every day and grow as a member of this Yeske Buie team and the financial planning profession. Becoming a CFP® certificant was one great stepping stone in this pursuit.”
To obtain certification, a planner must have satisfied the CFP Board’s “Four Es” – Education, Examination, Experience, and Ethics. Specifically, candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree and must have completed a CFP Board-approved education program covering 78 financial planning topics. After the education requirement is complete, candidates sit for a 10-hour exam administered over the course of two days. As you may recall, we sat down with Lauren days before she took her exam to learn more about her diligent study schedule and announced in late August that she had passed her exam. After the examination requirement is complete, candidates must then accumulate three years of full-time practice experience (two years if under the direct supervision of a CFP® practitioner) and complete an ethics certification, which includes an inquiry into the candidate’s background and agreement to adhere to the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics. To maintain certification, a CFP® professional is required to complete at least 30 hours of “Continuing Education” credits every two years.
CFP® licensees are held to a fiduciary standard, which requires them to act in utmost good faith in a manner that is in the best interest of their clients. Over its now 40-year history, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM marks have emerged as the dominant professional standard in the United States and, through the Financial Planning Board of Standards (FPSB), in 22 other countries as well.