By Kenneth Corbin

Large wealth management firms are padding their ranks of Certified Financial Planners, none more than Edward Jones.

Last year, more than 1,000 Edward Jones advisors obtained the CFP credential, the second straight year the St. Louis firm has topped that level.

"I am so proud of our colleagues at Edward Jones for earning their Certified Financial Planner designation in such record numbers," Managing Partner Penny Pennington says. "It reflects the investment our colleagues make in themselves, building their professional acumen in service of our firm's purpose: to improve the lives of our clients, colleagues, and communities."

The CFP designation is widely viewed as one of the most meaningful credentials in the wealth industry, and some firms are requiring their advisors to pursue the certification.

Edward Jones was the runaway leader in new CFPs in 2024, but several other firms added more than 200 credential holders to their ranks, including Fidelity, which saw 414 advisors secure the CFP.

Others on the list included:

   -- Northwestern Mutual, which added 265 new CFPs last year 
 
   -- LPL Financial, which added 244 CFPs 
 
   -- Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America, which added 239 CFPs 
 
   -- Charles Schwab, which added 216 CFPs 

Edward Jones confirmed that it covers the cost for its advisors to obtain the CFP certification, but it wasn't immediately clear whether the other firms paid for the credentialing process, though that isn't a universal practice.

"Not all firms pay for CFP certification," says Michael Donnelly, the CFP Board's interim manager of corporate growth. "Some firms cover the cost upfront for all employees, while other firms offer reimbursement. However, reimbursement policies vary by firm and may differ in terms of amount, timing, and whether they cover all materials or just the education."

Representatives of the firms that added more than 200 CFPs last year didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they paid for their advisors to obtain the CFP or didn't immediately confirm their policy on the matter.

Those large firms accounted for a significant portion of the overall increase in the CFP population last year, when the board certified 6,541 new planners, topping 100,000 overall.

Edward Jones now has nearly 5,000 CFPs throughout its advisor ranks, according to the CFP Board. Other firms with more than 4,000 CFPs include Ameriprise, Merrill, and LPL, the board says.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2025 14:02 ET (19:02 GMT)

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