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Professional Designations Definitions

Certified Financial Planner™ or CFP®

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® and federally registered CFP (with flame design) marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”).

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients. Currently, more than 62,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States.

To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

• Education – Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
• Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
• Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
• Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP®

Chartered Financial Consultant^® (ChFC^®)

The Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation is for the advanced financial professional. This course provides an overview of the financial planning process, including communication techniques, behavioral finance, financial planning approaches and applications, financial statement preparation and analysis, time value of money concepts and applications, education planning and funding, economics and understanding of the role and responsibilities of a financial planner, along with some analytical skills to aid in the financial decision-making process. This is a voluntary certification comprises of 8 modules and an extensive final examination must be passed to obtain the designation.

Certified Public Accountant or CPA 

A Certified Public Accountant certification is granted by the State Board of Public Accountancy. Mr. Honkomp is registered in the state of Iowa. The CPA certification is the respected mark of excellence for public accountants.

To attain the right to use the CPA designation, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

• Education- 120 college credit hours of education earned in related
• Examination- Completion of courses focused on financial accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting and ethics.
• Pass the comprehensive CPA 16-hour Certification
• Ethics- Agree to be bound by CPA Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct.
  

Certified Financial Fiduciary® (Certified Financial Fiduciary)

This designation is reserved for those professionals who have successfully completed a rigorous certification and training process established by NACertified Financial Fiduciary and The American Financial Education Alliance (AFEA) which include:

• Exemplified the highest standards of morals, ethics, and fiduciary standards of service
• Passed a certification exam with a score of 75% or better
• Passed full background check and in good standing with regulatory license requirements
• Business office was reviewed for best practices and compliance
• Completed and submitted the signed Certified Financial Fiduciary Application for
• Agreed to the NACertified Financial Fiduciary terms of awarding and maintaining certification
• Agreed to abide by and uphold the Certified Financial Fiduciary Code of Conduct

Retirement Income Certified Professional® or RICP®

The RICP® certification is a voluntary certification: no federal or state law or regulation requires Investment Adviser Representatives to hold RICP® certification.

An RICP® designee is trained to understand how to structure effective retirement income plans, how to mitigate risks to the plan and how to create a sustainable stream of income to last through a client’s retirement. They are education in areas including: Social Security claiming, evaluating and addressing risks faced in retirement, choosing distributions from employer sponsored plans, Medicare and other health insurance choices, planning for long-term care needs, choosing appropriate housing and income tax and legacy planning.

To attain the right to use the RICP® designation, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

• Experience- Three- plus years of relevant work experience
• Examination- Completion of three courses: retirement income process, strategies, and solutions; sources of retirement income; and managing a retirement income plan and pass a 100- question exam following the completion of each course.

Ethics-RICPs must adhere to a code of ethics and meet continuing education and reporting requirements.