Even with such high legal standards in place, there will always be some number of advisors who behave unethically. As notorious high profile examples such as the Bradford Bleidt case clearly illustrate (Bleidt was both an RIA and a CFP), if the threat of being held personally liable or going to jail for misconduct does not deter unethical behavior among registered investment advisers, the threat of being stripped of the CFP designation is not likely to scare the “bad apples” away either. In his “Collective Wisdom” commentary, Mr. Moisand states, “Almost every planner I know can recite a number of cases in which another advisor put a client into something in a way that complied with regulations, but, when viewed from a financial planning perspective, was simply wrong.” He goes on to intimate that “faux-planners…blithely ignore the critical initial steps of the planning process that lead to the implementation and the importance of monitoring and adjusting.” To the contrary, over the past 20 years, I have met more than one glorified insurance salesman along the way who, armed with his CFP designation, pawned himself off as a “fee-only planner” while receiving commissions from index annuity sales and the like on the side.
In his “Collective Wisdom” piece, Mr. Moisand also claims that many planners are drawn to the CFP program by “a higher calling.” My more cynical inclination tells me that a fair number of candidates are drawn to the program in a quest for the “three little letters” and the aura of credibility they create, with ethical standards being a secondary consideration at best.
As someone who has written and published numerous professional papers on a wide range of planning topics (including the CFP Board of Standard’s 2008 Outstanding Financial Paper Award winner), I take umbrage at Mr. Moisand’s suggestion that advisers like me are not qualified to provide financial planning guidance, and I do not appreciate the effort to eliminate his competitors through legislation. In his commentary, Mr. Moisand stated that he hoped his proposal would stimulate debate. The RIA community would do well to take him up on this.
Yours truly,
John H. Robinson
Honolulu, Hawaii
(808)564-0654
Note: Mr. Robinson is an independent, dual-registered financial advisor. The opinions expressed in this letter are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his firm or the RIA/broker-dealer with which he is affiliated.
