LPL tops 6,000 CFP professionals as CFP Board hails new growth milestones

LPL has taken the top spot among wealth firms with CFP professionals as the ranks of certified planners and exam candidates hit new highs in 2025.

LPL now has more than 6,000 CFP professionals on its platform, the first firm ever to clear that mark, according to new numbers from CFP Board released Thursday.

It's not immediately clear how much, if any, of that has been driven by LPL's industry-shaking acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network last year.

Edward Jones, which has led on that score in recent years, now has more than 5,000 CFP certificants, while Charles Schwab, Northwestern Mutual, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Fidelity each added more than 200 new CFP professionals during the year.

The organization said the total number of CFP professionals reached 107,529 as of December 31, up 4.3% from 2024 and nearly double the count when Kevin R. Keller became chief executive in 2007. Last year also produced the largest-ever CFP exam cohort, with 11,037 people sitting for the test, a 5.7% increase from the prior year.

“This unprecedented growth indicates that CFP certification is more valuable than ever,” Keller said in a statement.

He said that as more advisors enter the field and financial planning expands across “academia, public policy and rapidly evolving technology,” the CFP mark “stands as the clear standard, one that firms actively prioritize and consumers increasingly expect.”

CFP Board reported 6,709 new certificants in 2025, the most it has ever added in a single year. The push is skewing younger: 3,964 of those new CFP professionals were under age 35, and 56.5% of all certificants are now under age 50.

Diversity metrics also moved higher. Racially and ethnically diverse CFP professionals rose to 11,195, or 10.4% of all certificants, representing a 9.3% growth rate from 2024 — more than twice the pace of the overall CFP population. Women saw similar momentum, with 1,694 earning the credential last year. That brought the total number of women CFP professionals to a record 25,601, or 23.8% of certificants, also a 4.3% increase.

Behind the headline numbers, CFP Board pointed to a stepped-up effort to build and support the talent pipeline. The group awarded $714,583 in scholarships in 2025, an 8.4% year-over-year increase, spanning 25 scholarship programs. It added 28 new registered academic programs, bringing the nationwide total to 366, and leaned further into career events, virtual career fairs and resources aimed at students and career changers, which a report from Schwab and Amplified Planning identified as a critical new seam for industry talent.

On the policy side, CFP Board adopted six new public policy priorities and increased its outreach on Capitol Hill. The group said its advocacy helped advance the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, which expands 529 plan eligibility to cover expenses tied to professional credentials, including CFP certification.

The credential-granting organization also highlighted a near-doubling in CFP professionals doing pro bono work, from 10,544 in 2021 to 19,354 last year. In 2025 alone, it said CFP holders rendered more than 430,000 pro bono hours.