CFP Designation continues global growth as groups from South Africa And Singapore join International CFP Council

Denver, Colorado, January 25, 1999 - Late last year, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) licensed organizations in South Africa and Singapore to allow use of the CFP and Certified Financial Planner marks in those countries.

On November 19, 1998, in Sandton, in Gauteng, South Africa, the CFP Board signed a license and affiliation agreement with the Institute of Life and Pension Advisers (ILPA), a nonprofit financial planning membership organization based in Weltevredenpark, South Africa. On December 18th, in its Denver offices, the CFP Board signed similar agreements allowing use of the CFP marks in Singapore with the Financial Planning Association of Singapore (FPAS), a nonprofit financial planning membership organization based in Singapore.

Under terms of the agreements, effective immediately, ILPA and FPAS will be able to grant use of the CFP and Certified Financial Planner designations to financial planners (in South Africa and Singapore respectively) who meet standards of education, examination, experience and ethics for financial planning.

"We are pleased to add two financial planning organizations of the caliber of ILPA and FPAS to the International CFP Council," said Bob Goss, president of the CFP Board. "As more organizations around the globe seek to protect the public and establish financial planning as a profession, the CFP Board expects the CFP designation will become the globally-recognized standard for competent and ethical financial planning advice."

"ILPA's international affiliation with the CFP Board will help shape the future of financial planning in South Africa," said ILPA president, Peter Nieuwoudt. "Given the globalization of financial planning, there was a need to benchmark ILPA against international standards and have mutual recognition of financial planning qualifications across international borders." "The CFP certification process will play an important role in FPAS' efforts to protect the public and enhance the level of professionalism within the financial planning profession in Singapore," added Andy Ong, president of FPAS.

As the CFP Board's newest international affiliates, ILPA and FPAS join groups from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S. as members of the International CFP Council. An international assembly of financial planning bodies, the International CFP Council was founded in 1990 to promote the professionalism of individuals and organizations offering personal financial planning services and to ensure that such services are offered in an ethical and competent manner throughout the world. For more on the International CFP Council and its two newest members, visit the International CFP Council's website at
www.CFP-Council.org.

The CFP Board is a nonprofit professional regulatory organization founded in 1985 to benefit the public by fostering professional standards in personal financial planning. An independent certifying organization, the CFP Board owns the CFP certification mark and the marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®. At year-end 1998, over 44,000 individuals were licensed to use the CFP marks worldwide.