CFP Board poised to make advisers' arbitration results public

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. has tweaked terms of its new rule requiring advisers to settle disputes in arbitration instead of court, giving itself an opportunity to make the results public. All registered investment advisers and brokers who are certified financial planners have been required to settle disputes with the CFP Board in private arbitration since May. The CFP Board said Thursday that starting Sept. 12 it will have the right to publicly disclose facts surrounding a case. While the CFP Board can reveal the nature of the dispute and which party prevailed in the arbitration hearing, the name of the certified financial planner and other personal details won't be revealed unless the adviser goes public first, according to the changed provision. In March, the CFP Board deemed arbitration a more appropriate forum to review advisers' conduct because it's private, faster and may be less expensive than litigation in court. It's not a new concept, as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., the self-regulatory organization for the brokerage industry, also relies on arbitration panels to handle disputes.