All About FPA and Its Members

All About Us
Who Are Our Members?
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Members’ Code of Ethics
Benefits of Membership
How to Contact Us

All About Us
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) is the membership association for nearly 30,000 CFP^® professionals, financial planners, specialists and organizations dedicated to advancing the financial planning process. FPA of North East Ohio is a dynamic association with over 350 members. The members are dedicated to supporting the financial planning process in order to help people achieve their goals and dreams. FPA believes that everyone needs objective advice to make informed financial decisions and that when seeking the advice of a financial planner, the planner should be a Certified Financial Planner^TM licensee. Our members are committed to honesty, integrity, and open communication. Through the spirit of service, we foster stewardship and the development of recognized knowledge and competence.

Who Are Our Members?
The Financial Planning Association members include:
• Financial Planners: CFP^® certificants and other professionals holding themselves out as financial planners, who have made a commitment to the financial planning process. These members are encouraged to pursue and attain the Certified Financial Planner^TM (CFP^®) mark.
• Allied professionals include practitioners such as accountants, attorneys, bankers, charitable giving specialists, insurance agents, stockbrokers, money managers, investment consultants and others who advance the financial planning process in their work with clients.
• Broker-Dealer membership is for NASD-member firms that are in the retail securities business and whose representatives are allowed to offer more than proprietary products. As a group, FPA’s broker-dealer members account for more than 120,000 representatives and significant market share in the sale of mutual funds, insurance and annuities of all types. FPA is the only national organization that brings independent broker-dealers and securities distribution firms together to share information and ideas with each other--and with individuals from other financial disciplines.
• Corporate membership includes companies that provide products and services to or through financial advisers or broker-dealers. Corporate members help foster FPA’s includsive environment and are offered opportunities to increase their visibility with other members.

All members of the Financial Planning Association subscribe to a code of ethics and are committed to putting their clients’ needs and interests above their own in all recommendations.

Vision Statement
The vision of the Financial Planning Association is to achieve universal acceptance of the value and necessity of financial planning and to be the community responsible for the success of the financial planning profession. FPA encourages and facilitates the attainment of the CFP^® mark by financial planners while at the same time embracing an open and inclusive environment. In our interactions with one another, we are committed to honesty, integrity, and open communication. Through the spirit of service, we foster stewardship and the development of recognized knowledge and competence.

FPA of North East Ohio Mission Statement
Financial Planning Association/Northeast Ohio Chapter exists to help our members serve their clients through the financial planning process. The Purpose of the Financial Planning Association/Northeast Ohio Chapter is to promote to the public the financial planning profession and the CFP mark as the designation of choice. We are dedicated to support our members' success by providing continuing professional development. We Aspire to be the preeminent financial planning organization encompassing associated professionals. Effective for us is meeting needs of members and increasing public awareness of the financial planning process, and is measured by active membership participation and public recognition.

Code of Ethics
This Code of Ethics is an expression of the financial planning profession's recognition of its responsibilities to the public, to clients, to colleagues, and to employers. These principles apply to all Financial Planning Association (FPA) members and provide guidance to them in the performance of their professional services.

Principle 1 - Integrity
An FPA member shall offer and provide professional services with integrity.

Principle 2 - Objectivity
An FPA member shall be objective in providing professional services to clients.

Principle 3 - Competence
An FPA member shall provide services to clients competently and maintain the necessary knowledge and skill to continue to do so in those areas in which the designee is engaged.

Principle 4 - Fairness
An FPA member shall perform professional services in a manner that is fair and reasonable to clients, principals, partners, and employers and shall disclose conflict(s) of interest(s) in providing such services.

Principle 5 - Confidentiality
An FPA member shall not disclose any confidential client information without the specific consent of the client unless in response to proper legal process, to defend against charges of wrongdoing by the FPA member or in connection with a civil dispute between the FPA member and client.

Principle 6 - Professionalism
An FPA member's conduct in all matters shall reflect credit upon the profession.

Principle 7 - Diligence
An FPA member shall act diligently in providing professional services. Diligence is the provision of services in a reasonably prompt and thorough manner. Diligence also includes proper planning for and supervision of the rendering of professional services.

This abridged version of the FPA Code of Ethics was derived from the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility © 2000 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. All rights reserved. For a complete version, please visit the FPA Web Site at http://www.fpanet.org/member/about/principles/ethics.cfm.

Benefits of Membership
FPA is a dynamic association, with 30 years of experience to back it up. Here’s what you can expect from membership in the Financial Planning Association:
• A strong network of nearly 30,000 financial planning professionals
• Opportunities to develop relationships with colleagues and other financial experts through various programs
• Monthly chapter meetings offering outstanding continuing education programs
(Ohio insurance and CFP^®, including expanded Code of Ethics program)
• Nationally recognized conferences at substantial member discounts
• Practice management and business tools, including Journal of Financial Planning, online information and networking services
• Strengthened advocacy and public awareness efforts to promote the value of financial planning and the CFP^® mark

To view the national Member Benefits, click here.
To complete an application to join, click here.

How to Contact Us
28022 Osborn Road • Bay Village, OH 44140
440-899-5055
Fax: 440-899-1010
Email: fpaneo@aol.com