The controversy over which advisors can be listed as fee-only on the CFP website continues, as InvestmentNews reports. In what was described as a reactive rather than a thoughtful approach, advisors are concerned that the CFP Board has gone too far in removing the compensation method of the 8,000 advisors (out of a pool of 69,000) listed as fee-only.
In one case, an advisor owns a portion of his brother’s real estate business and receives a dividend — yet that could prohibit him from being listed as fee-only. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) allows members to be considered fee-only if they own up to 2% of a company that receives commissions. Under the SEC’s proposed uniform fiduciary rule, an advisor may be considered a fiduciary yet may not be prohibited from accepting commissions under Dodd-Frank, the law that gives the SEC power to go ahead with the rule.
Which brings us to advisors who are dual-registered. If an advisor’s BD accepts commissions, would that prohibit them from being listed as a fee-only advisor on the CFP website? As one advisor put it, “I don't need a CFP. I do need a broker-dealer…”
