CFP Board New Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct: Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest Part 2
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
The Code and Standards note that no business model is conflict-free and that CFP advisors have a specific set of conflicts which they must disclose and manage under the new guidelines.
A CFP professional must make full disclosure of all material conflicts of interests that could affect the professional relationship, and obtain the informed consent of the client before providing any financial advice.
A commenter suggested that the standard should apply to all conflicts, not just material conflicts. However, the CFP Board did not agree with this comment stating that materiality is an appropriate limitation on the requirement. Therefore, if a reasonable client or prospective client would not consider the conflict information important in making a decision, then the CFP professional is not required to disclose the conflict.
Finally, some commentators also requested that the CFP Board define “informed consent.” The CFP Board does not agree that such a definition is necessary.
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Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston
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