January 23, 2023

Via CFP Board website @ https://www.cfp.net/ethics/enforcement/Comment-on-2022-Proposed-Revisions-to-Procedural-Rules?_zs=rldxe1&_zl=LiAh8

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
1425 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington DC 20005

Re: SIFMA comment re: CFP Board’s Proposed Revisions to Procedural Rules

Dear Sir / Madam:

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”)1 appreciates the opportunity to comment on the CFP Board’s Proposed Revisions to its Procedural Rules, which outline the process for investigating alleged misconduct by CFP certificants (the “Proposal”).2 As you know, SIFMA member firms employ tens of thousands of CFP certificants, representing a significant percentage of the total number of certificants, which current stands at nearly 94,000.3 These certificants provide a wide variety of products and services on behalf of their firms, and are subject to extensive regulatory oversight by the SEC, FINRA, and state securities and insurance regulators, among others. They are also subject to robust supervision by the firms with which they are associated.

The Proposal would revise the Procedural Rules to allow Enforcement Counsel to direct investigative requests not only to CFP certificants, but also to third parties, including the firms with which CFP certificants are associated. Such requests may include: (i) requests to produce documents;4 (ii) requests to produce information;5 (iii) requests for admissions;6 (iv) requests for oral examination under oath;7 and (v) requests for witness interviews.8

 

1 SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate on legislation, regulation, and business policy, affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.

2 CFP Board’s Proposed Procedural Rules (Nov. 14, 2022), https://www.cfp.net/-/media/files/cfp-board/standards-and-ethics/enforcement/2022/Redline-of-Proposed-Revised-Procedural-Rules-2022-11.pdf?_zs=rldxe1&_zl=KiAh8

3 See https://www.cfp.net/knowledge/reports-and-statistics/professionaldemographics#:~:text =The%20CFP%C2%AE%20professional%20 demographic%20data%20below%20is%20drawn, certification%20renewal%20cycle.%20Number%20 of%20CFP%C2%AE%20professionals%2089%2C753