Professional Designations

CFP®: CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® and federally registered professional certification marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) granted by 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 a CFP® certification. To attain the right to use the CFP® designation, 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 as of January 2007, 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 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 ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks. This requires 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 renewal of 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

CIMA®: CERTIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYST

This designation focuses on asset allocation, ethics, due diligence, risk measurement, investment policy and performance measurement. Only individuals with at least three years of professional experience are eligible to try to obtain this certification, which signifies a high level of investment management expertise. The Investment Management Consultants Association offers the CIMA courses.

CIMA designations are required to prove their expertise through continual recertification, which requires CIMA designees to complete at least 40 hours of continuing education every two years.

Prism Planning Partners, LLC dba Prism Planning Partners is an SEC registered investment advisor.