Financial Planning Association (FPA)

The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is a professional membership organization for financial planners in the United States. In its own words it is "the leading membership organization and trade association for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals and those engaged in the financial planning process," offering practice support, education, advocacy and networking. It was formed in 2000 by the merger of two earlier planning associations, the IAFP and the ICFP, and it publishes the Journal of Financial Planning.

An association, not a certifier. CFP® certification comes from CFP Board, not from the FPA, and the legal authority to give investment advice comes from registration with the SEC or a state. FPA membership sits alongside those: it is a choice a planner makes to belong to a professional community.

Who can be a member. The FPA's membership categories include CFP® professionals and, separately, people who "work in a role critical to the financial planning profession or hold a position in financial planning or financial services" without an active CFP® certification, as well as aspiring planners, educators and retirees. So the letters FPA on a profile do not by themselves mean the person is certified.

Where a consumer meets it. The FPA's PlannerSearch® directory is limited to members who are CFP® professionals ("You must be a CFP® professional to participate"). Through its local chapters and the Foundation for Financial Planning, members also provide pro bono planning to people in underserved or at-risk communities.

How it differs from fee-only associations. Membership in the FPA is defined by role and certification, not by compensation. By contrast NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, restricts membership to fee-only advisors who accept no commissions. A consumer for whom the fee model matters checks it directly, in the advisor's Form ADV or Form CRS, whatever associations appear on the website.

A planner joins as an individual, or through a firm's group membership, in the category that fits their role, pays annual dues plus local chapter dues, and gets access to the association's education, events, research, advocacy and networking. Chapters organize local events and volunteer programs. A member who is a CFP® professional can also create a profile in PlannerSearch®.

For example: a consumer searching for help finds two planners. Paulo lists "CFP® professional, FPA member" on his site; Hana lists "FPA member" only. From the FPA's membership rules, Paulo's listing in PlannerSearch® is possible because he is a CFP® professional, while Hana's membership could be in a category for people who work in planning without the certification. To confirm Paulo's certification the consumer checks CFP Board's verification tool, and to learn how either is paid, whether by an hourly rate, a flat fee of, say, $3,000 for a plan, a percentage of assets or commissions, the consumer reads their Form ADV or Form CRS. The FPA membership answers neither question.

Pros

• Membership signals participation in a professional community with education, research and networking for planners.
• PlannerSearch® gives consumers a free way to find CFP® professionals.
• Its chapters and partners run pro bono planning programs for people who could not otherwise pay.

Cons

• Membership is not a license or a certification, and some categories do not require CFP® certification at all.
• Its membership categories set no fee-model requirement, so membership says nothing about how a planner is paid.
• As a trade association, its advocacy speaks for planners, the members it represents.