Disclosures

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, CFP® and federally registered CFP (with flame design) marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”).

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients. Currently, more than 95,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States.

To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

• Education – Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
• Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
• Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
• Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP® professionals.

Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks:

• Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and
• Ethics – Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.

CFP® professionals who fail to comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT (CPA) CPAs are licensed and regulated by their state boards of accountancy. While state laws and regulations vary, the education, experience and testing requirements for licensure as a CPA generally include minimum college education (typically 150 credit hours with at least a baccalaureate degree and a concentration in accounting), minimum experience levels (most states require at least one year of experience providing services that involve the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills, all of which must be achieved under the supervision of or verification by a CPA), and successful passage of the Uniform CPA Examination. In order to maintain a CPA license, states generally require the completion of 40 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) each year (or 80 hours over a two year period or 120 hours over a three year period). Additionally, all American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) members are required to follow a rigorous Code of Professional Conduct which requires that they act with integrity, objectivity, due care, competence, fully disclose any conflicts of interest (and obtain client consent if a conflict exists), maintain client confidentiality, disclose to the client any commission or referral fees, and serve the public interest when providing financial services. The vast majority of state boards of accountancy have adopted the AICPA’s Code Professional Conduct within their state accountancy laws or have created their own.

PERSONAL FINANCIAL SPECIALIST (PFS) The PFS credential demonstrates that an individual has met the minimum education, experience and testing required of a CPA in addition to a minimum level of expertise in personal financial planning. To attain the PFS credential, a candidate must hold an unrevoked CPA license, fulfill 3,000 hours of personal financial planning business experience, complete 80 hours of personal financial planning CPE credits, pass a comprehensive financial planning exam and be an active member of the AICPA. A PFS credential holder is required to adhere to AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct, and is encouraged to follow AICPA’s Statement on Responsibilities in Financial Planning Practice. To maintain their PFS credential, the recipient must complete 60 hours of financial planning CPE credits every three years. The PFS credential is administered through the AICPA.

CHARTERED FINANCIAL CONSULTANT (ChFC) The ChFC designation indicates that your financial consultant has completed the most extensive educational program required for any financial services credential. Each ChFC has taken nine or more college-level courses on all aspects of financial planning from The American College, a non-profit educator with the highest level of academic accreditation. The average study time for the program is over 400 hours, and advisors frequently spend years earning this coveted distinction. Each ChFC must also complete a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education every two years, adhere to strict ethical standards, and meet extensive experience requirements to ensure that you get the professional financial advice you need.

ACCREDITED ASSET MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (AAMS) Individuals who hold the AAMS designation have completed a course of study encompassing investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning issues. Additionally, individuals must pass an end-of-course examination that tests their ability to synthesize complex concepts and apply theoretical concept to real-life situations. All designees have agreed to adhere to Standards of Professional Conduct and are subject to a disciplinary process. Designees renew their designation every two years by completing 16 hours of continuing education, reaffirming adherence to the Standards of Professional Conduct and complying with self-disclosure requirements.

AWARD DISCLOSURES

Five Star Wealth Manager Award

This award was issued on 12/01/2023 by Five Star Professional for the time period 3/13/2023 through 9/29/2023. A self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 6,515 New Jersey-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 7% of the candidates were named 2024 Five Star Wealth Managers. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Wealth managers only pay for the use of marketing materials. To learn more about the statistics used, click here.

Future 50 RIA Award

The Future 50 RIA award is sponsored by Citywire USA. The 50 firms are chosen using a proprietary scoring system based on their degree of independent ownership, assets under management growth, percentage of the fee-based business, approaches to sustainability, processes for attracting and maintaining talent, succession planning, staff credentials, investment offerings, and capabilities, client education, charitable work, and firm service offerings. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the list of RIA firms.

Medical Economics Magazine’s Annual “Financial Advisors for Doctors” Directory Listing

Medical Economics magazine’s “Financial Advisors for Doctors” was a paid directory published by Advanstar Communications Inc. It was an annual feature providing its readers with access to advisors with experience in meeting the unique financial goals and challenges of doctors. All applications were reviewed based on the following criteria: knowledge and experience (minimum of 10 years), assets managed, fee arrangements, and minimum portfolio requirements.