The number of professionals holding the certified financial planner designation worldwide reached a new record in 2024 as the demand for financial planning shows no signs of stopping, according to the Financial Planning Standards Board.
The latest data snapshot shows 230,648 CFP professionals by the end of 2024, reflecting a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year, with net growth of 6,878 new CFPs across 28 territories.
“With more than 230,000 CFP professionals in our global community across 28 territories, the CFP designation continues to be internationally recognized as the global symbol of excellence in financial planning,” Dante De Gori, CEO of the Financial Planning Standards Board said in a statement announcing the results. “The continued global growth of CFP certification supports the rising demand for financial planners who commit to the delivery of competent and ethical financial planning advice.”
The 2024 numbers appear to show a slowdown from 2023, when 10,768 new CFP professionals were minted on a net basis worldwide, according to the FPSB's annual tally last year.
Based on gross numbers, the United States and Brazil accounted for the largest net increases in 2024, adding 4,218 and 1,255 CFP professionals, respectively.
The CFP Board reported 6,541 new CFP certificants in its own 2024 year-end tally, which together with the FPSB's update implies a loss of roughly 2,300 pre-existing CFP professionals across the US last year. The top firms leading the American charge in advancing the CFP mark last year included Edward Jones, Fidelity, Northwestern Mutual, LPL, Merrill, and Charles Schwab, according to CFP Board.
Several regions experienced double-digit percentage growth, including Thailand, which saw an 18.5 percent rise, followed by India at 17.7 percent, Brazil at 13.4 percent, and Switzerland at 12.2 percent.
The newest addition to the global CFP network, Italy, which introduced the certification in 2023, ended 2024 with 72 professionals. Several other markets broke past significant milestones, including the CFP Board surpassing 100,000 professionals in the US, Planejar in Brazil exceeding 10,000, and the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa reaching more than 5,000.
Other notable benchmarks include FPSB India surpassing 3,000 CFP professionals and FPSB Ireland crossing the 1,000 mark.
At the end of 2024, the five territories with the highest number of CFP professionals were:
In its 2023 fiscal year annual report, the CFA Institute, which oversees the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, reported 206,000 members globally, up from 202,200 at the end of the previous 2022 period.
De Gori highlighted the FPSB's global consumer research, which found clients working with CFP professionals report "better quality of life, greater financial confidence and resilience, [and] higher satisfaction in their financial situations," with 98 percent trusting their CFP professional will act in the client's best interest.
New research launched by CFP Board, the Financial Planning Longitudinal Study, also found that among US clients advised by CFP professionals, just eight percent report money anxiety, and more than half are "living comfortably."
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