CFP Board sees record participation at March exam

The community of certified financial planners is closing in on a milestone.

The CFP Board said the March CFP certification exam had a record-breaking number of participants.

During the March 12-19 testing period, 3,683 candidates took the exam, marking the highest participation for a March session and surpassing last year’s record of 3,527. Just over two-thirds of test-takers (68 percent) passed the CFP exam.

March’s exam saw the highest-ever number of examinees, according to statistics from the CFP Board going back to 1991.

“This unprecedented turnout for the March 2024 CFP exam reflects the recognition of CFP certification as the standard for competent, ethical financial planning,” Kevin R. Keller, CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., said in a statement.

“As more Americans seek trusted and qualified advisors, the value of CFP certification becomes increasingly evident,” Keller said, adding that the board “[looks] forward to welcoming the new CFP certificants to our community of dedicated financial professionals.”

The recent exam results paint a positive path for the CFP Board, which projects that the total number of active CFP professionals in the US will soon exceed 100,000. Put another way, it won’t be long before CFP certificants come to represent about one-third of all retail financial advisors.

The board also conducted a post-exam survey that looked at the motivations of those pursuing the certification. Eighty-seven percent of exam-takers said they aim to demonstrate expertise in their job, while nearly three-quarters (73 percent) sought to distinguish themselves as fiduciaries.

The survey also showed that three-fifths (59 percent) of the candidates received some level of financial support from their employers for the certification process.

The demographic data for the March exam indicates a youthful group of test-takers, with 68 percent under 40 years old and 37 percent under 30.

The states with the highest number of candidates were California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Colorado, and Massachusetts, which collectively contributed 1,895 exam-takers.