FAQ

A financial advisor is a person who is employed to give financial advice that is reasonably suitable.  No specific training is required other than any licenses that may be required by state regulators.  A Certified Financial Planner, CFP®, is a financial advisor who holds a Certified Financial Planning® Certification.  The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law requires it.  It is recognized 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.  Approximately 71,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States.

To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must 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.
• 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
• 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:

• Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, 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.

Yes, although it doesn’t have to be a 40 page document with complicated abbreviations that no one can understand.  A financial plan should be a roadmap that tells you if you are on track to meet your goals or not.  It should lay out which bank and investment accounts you need and how much to save in each.  It should be flexible enough to allow for emergencies, like car repairs, without throwing the whole plan off course.

Yes! Campos Financial is registered in Florida but we can help clients anywhere in the US.  Our client portal system allows clients to easily upload any documents necessary.  We can meet in-person or have a Virtual meeting.  Once completed, the final plan will be available on our client portal for you to review and print.  We could also send you a paper copy if you prefer.  The whole experience is designed to be customizable to your needs and schedule.

If your question can be answered within the first 30-minute consultation – then it’s free! Most of the time it does take a little more time to research the details to avoid unwanted risk or taxes.  If a financial topic requires a modular or comprehensive financial plan, we can break up the fee into monthly payments as low as $100.  If only one brief meeting is needed to fully address your question, we can charge as low as $200 per hour.