CFP Designation Receives European Trademark Registration

Denver, Colorado, November 4, 1998 - The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) is pleased to announce that the European Community Trademarks Office in Alicante, Spain, has issued a European trademark registration for the mark "CFP." Only people who meet and maintain rigorous CFP certification requirements set by the CFP Board or its licensed affiliates can call themselves CFP licensees in Europe. Currently, three European financial planning organizations are licensed by the CFP Board to administer the CFP "and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER" marks in France, Germany and the U.K. respectively.

The European Community trademark registration of the CFP mark benefits both the public and practitioners. People who seek the services of CFP licensees anywhere in Europe can be assured that these financial planners have met internationally-recognized standards for the practice of financial planning.

"The CFP Board is pleased to obtain a European registration for its CFP trademark, and views this as an important step in developing financial planning as a profession both in Europe and worldwide," said Bob Goss, CFP Board president. "With organizations in France, Germany and the U.K. currently administering CFP certification programs, and interest being shown by organizations in other European countries, the CFP designation is becoming the globally-recognized standard for financial planning advice and services," said Donna Barwick, chair of the International CFP Council.

"As the European public's need for financial planning advice grows, it is important that people can identify financial planners who are qualified to provide competent and ethical advice," said Kate Gill, chief executive of the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP), Ltd., the organization that administers the CFP certification process in the U.K. Her comments were echoed by Dr. Wolfgang Reittinger, president of the Deutscher Verband Financial Planners e.V. (DEVFP), and Bernard Camblain, president of the Association Française des Conseils en Gestion de Patrimoine Certifiès (CGPC), who represent the CFP certifying organizations in Germany and France respectively.

Established in 1985, the CFP Board is a nonprofit professional regulatory organization that benefits the public by fostering professional standards in personal financial planning. The CFP Board owns the CFP certification mark and the marks CFP "and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER." There are currently over 40,000 individuals who are licensed to use the CFP marks around the world. Visit the CFP Board's website at www.CFP-Council.org.

Established by the CFP Board in 1990, the International CFP Council is a forum of financial planning standards-setting organizations that seek to advance the profession of financial planning by establishing CFP certification programs in their respective countries. Each Council member sets and administers its CFP certification program to accommodate for cultural, educational or regulatory differences. Nonetheless, all CFP licensees throughout the world must meet initial education, examination, and experience requirements, abide by a Code of Ethics and meet continuing competency requirements. For more information on the International CFP Council, visit its website at www.CFP-Council.org.