highly regulated entities
Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs) with Registered Investment Advisory firms (RIAs), like Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, making IARs and RIAs some of the most highly regulated entities in the financial industry.
It's worth noting that not everyone providing financial services is held to the same standard. We highly recommend that prospective clients research their potential advisors on the SEC Investment Advisor website listed here: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/
An investment adviser’s fiduciary duty under the Advisers Act comprises a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. This fiduciary duty requires an advisor “to adopt the [client's] goals, objectives, or ends.”
In other words, the investment adviser cannot place its own interests ahead of the interests of its client. This combination of care and loyalty obligations has been characterized as requiring the investment adviser to act in the “best interest” of its client at all times.
- U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
What is a CFP Professional?
For 50 years, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification has been the standard of excellence for financial planners. CFP® professionals have met extensive training and experience requirements, and commit to the CFP Board's ethical standards that require them to put their clients' interests first. CFP professionals are also held to a fiduciary level of responsibility to their clients.
A CFP® professional is a Financial Planner that has gone through and met the highest requirements in the industry in terms of ethics, education, experience, and examinations. At the very minimum, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ must obtain a 4 year degree at an accredited university, have 3 years of experience in the financial advising and planning industry, and must pass the rigorous and comprehensive 2 day, 10 hour exam covering topics of Professional Ethical Conduct and Regulation, General Financial Planning Principals, Education Planning, Risk Management and Insurance Planning, Investment Planning, Tax Planning, Retirement Savings Planning, Income Distribution Planning, and Estate Planning. CFP® professionals are also required to complete 30 hours of continuing education every 2 years.