CFP Marks Usage Guide For Education Providers Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB Ltd.), the US-based organization owns the CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks outside the United States, and permits qualified individuals to use these marks to indicate that such individuals have met FPSB Ltd.'s initial and ongoing certification requirements. Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB India) is the CFP CM Marks licensing authority through an agreement with FPSB Ltd. For more information please refer to our website www.fpsbindia.org or FPSB Ltd. s website www.fpsb.org FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 1 of 7
CFP Marks usage CFP Marks enforcement is consistent with the efforts of US-based principal body Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB Ltd.) globally in their mission to benefit and protect the public. The CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks are owned by FPSB Ltd. outside the United States. The CFP CM Certification Program is administered and monitored within India by Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB India) through a license agreement with FPSB Ltd. CFP Marks stand for a globally accepted competency level, ethics and professional practice standards in order to protect the public and other stakeholders in Financial Planning. It is important that the CFP Marks do not fall into common use. If the marks fall into common use, the public may not be able to differentiate a personal financial planner who has completed FPSB Ltd. s rigorous certification requirements from the one who has not. It is necessary that the stakeholders in Financial Planning use CFP Marks in the correct perspective in all usages - soft content as well as printed material. The mark usage guidelines are given below with illustrative examples. The CORRECT usage is highlighted in BLUE color, whereas INCORRECT usage is highlighted in RED color. 1. Use Financial Planning Standards Board India or FPSB India or FPSBI when referring to the Indian Affiliate to distinguish from the US based FPSB Ltd., which is the Principal Body. For instance, incorrect usages when referring to FPSB India, could be Financial Planning Standards Board Financial Planning Standards Board of India Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), India Financial Planning Standards Board, India Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB) etc. 2. Use the following tagline in all content wherever a reference is made to CFP CM Marks or to FPSB India: CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and are certification marks owned outside the US by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB Ltd.). Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB India) is the marks licensing authority for the CFP Marks in India, through agreement with FPSB Ltd. 3. Always use CFP in capital letters and without periods between letters, and with the symbol CM in superscript, as in CFP CM Certification, CFP CM Certificant, CFP CM Professional, etc. For instance, incorrect usages could be FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 2 of 7
CFPCM C F P C.F.P. cfp 4. Always use CFP CM as an adjective instead of a noun, e.g. always use CFP CM certification, CFP CM certificant, CFP CM credential, CFP CM designation, CFP CM exam/examination, CFP CM professional, CFP CM practitioner or CFP CM mark. These are eight approved noun usages with CFP CM Marks. Incorrect usages are CFP advisor, CFP course, CFP education, CFP program, CFP syllabus, etc. 5. Never use CFP CM as standalone noun but it can be used as an acronym to qualify a noun, as in A N Sharma, CFP CM. 6. Always use CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM in capitals followed by certification, certificant, credential, designation, exam/examination, practitioner, professional, mark as mentioned in (4) above. It should always be used as a descriptive adjective. Incorrect usages could be Certified Financial Planner, certified financial planner 7. Do not use plurals as in CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERs or CFPs. The correct usages are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM Professionals CFP CM Practitioners The incorrect usages could be CFPs, CFP s, CFPs 8. Do not use CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM as a parenthetical abbreviation for CFP CM or vice versa. For instance, incorrect use could be CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM (CFP CM ) CFP CM (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM ) The correct usage is CFP CM or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM Professional. 9. The CFP CM flame logo must always be reproduced from original artwork with proper compliance for the three components, viz. the flame, the acronym CFP and the symbol in appropriate color, size and background specifications as elaborated on our website www.fpsbindia.org. FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 3 of 7
10. The consistent use of color in the mark is important to establish immediate recognition of individuals certified by an FPSB Affiliate. The logo should be legible, should not be compressed or stretched and should not be in any color other than PANTONE 280 Blue for the flame element and Black for the CFP. 11. The form of the CFP CM Marks shall not be altered by modifying in text form, animating, making threedimensional, or using them on a patterned background, as a watermark, or as part of the background itself. 12. The Education Providers of FPCIL will not adopt, use or promote any mark that is confusingly similar to any of the CFP CM Marks. 13. The CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and Marks may be used on promotional materials provided the following requirements are met: (i) Link the Marks clearly to an individual or group of individuals certified by FPSB India. Promotional materials may not contain the CFP CM Marks alone. (ii) Use the Marks only on promotional items that are in good taste and that do not degrade the marks. (iii) Use only original artwork to reproduce the CFP CM Logo Mark. (iv) Identify FPSB Ltd., US as the owner of the Marks. [see (1) & (2) above] (v) Do not alter or modify the Marks. 14. FPCIL s authorized Education Providers will not adopt, use or promote any mark that is confusingly similar to any of the CFP CM marks, as determined by FPSB Ltd. 15. The form of the CFP CM Marks shall not be altered by modifying in text form, animating, making threedimensional, or using them on a patterned background, as a watermark, or as part of the background itself. 16. Domain names: The CFP CM and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM Marks may not be used as part of a domain name. They may appear as text or images throughout the website, in accordance with FPSB Ltd. s or FPSB India s rules for proper use. For instance, incorrect use is www.institutecfp.com The correct use can be www.institutefinancialplanning.com 17. E-mail Addresses: The CFP CM and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM marks may not be used as part of an e-mail address by either the Education Providers or any of their students, staff, faculty, directors, etc. For instance, incorrect usages are rameshs@cfp.com rameshs@cfpcfp.com, rameshs@cfp4u.com FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 4 of 7
18. Individuals who have met some, but not all, initial certification requirements are not authorized to use the CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks, or any variation of these marks. Organizations that offer programs affiliated with the CFP CM certification should not refer to students, or encourage students to refer to themselves, using such terms. For instance, You can say: Ajay is working to obtain the CFP CM certification and has applied for the CFP CM Certification Examination. You cannot say: Ajay is a CFP CM candidate. 19. The director of FPCIL s registered Education Provider should not refer to himself or herself as a CFP Program Director. You can say: Mr. Sen, Program Director, FPCIL Education Provider Mr. Sen, CFP CM, Program Director, FPCIL Education Provider (assuming Mr. Sen is a CFP CM professional) You cannot say: Mr. Sen, CFP CM Program contact 20. An Education Provider of FPCIL may not confer a designation or mark, such as PFP or Certified Financial Consultant (CFC), that infringes on the CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks, as determined by FPSB Ltd. and FPSB India. 21. FPCIL s Education Providers that refer to the CFP marks in program titles may do so upon FPCIL s approval and only if the following four requirements are met: a) The title is represented as one of the following or a pre-approved variant that has CFP CM Certification or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM Certification as core words, e.g. CFP CM Certification Education Program or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM Certification Education Program FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 5 of 7
b) The word certificate should never be used in the title along with the CFP Marks. c) The following disclaimer must appear on all educational certificates provided by an FPCIL Education Provider and be clearly associated with the program title (in a legible font size proportional to the text being used): This certificate indicates completion of the educational component of FPSB India s CFP CM Certification Program. To be authorized to use the CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks, individuals must complete additional examination, experience and ethics requirements. d) The CFP Marks may not be referenced to describe your education program until the institution has been registered with FPCIL. If FPCIL terminates a program s registered status, the program must immediately cease use of the CFP Marks in program titles or descriptions. Correct Use: This educational program is registered with FPCIL. FPSB India is a certifying organization whose mission is to benefit the public by fostering professional standards in personal financial planning. 22. The CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks may not be used as part of, or incorporated in, the name of a course title, course number or code. Correct Use: Ethics for Financial Planners FP101 Introduction to Financial Planning Misuse: CFP CM Ethics Course CFP101 Introduction to Financial Planning 23. In text documents, including individual Web URLs, when the CFP CM and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM marks are not used in connection with the name of a CFP CM professional or within a title, only the first usage of each mark requires the CM symbol. Use of the CM symbol is optional on subsequent uses. FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 6 of 7
Correct Use: CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM professionals enjoy rewarding careers after earning the right to use the CFP CM mark. As one recent graduate says, Following the rigorous coursework at Acme University, I qualified to sit for the CFP Certification Examination. After completing experience and ethics requirements, I m happy to say that I now have a great job as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER practitioner. Ajay Garg, CFP CM 24. The CFP CM and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM marks may appear once in the meta-text of each Web site page in which a program affiliated with the CFP certification process is discussed. Correct Use: <Meta name keywords content = CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CFP > Misuse: <Meta name keywords content = CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CFP, CFP, CFP, CFP > 25. The CFP CM, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM and marks may be used as hyperlinks on an Education Provider s Web site, provided they link directly to FPSB India s home page, www.fpsbindia.org. 26. Organizations or institutions affiliated with the CFP CM certification process may not purchase or obtain priority placement on Internet search engines with either the CFP CM mark or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM mark. 27. Education Providers of FPCIL acknowledge that the US based body FPSB Ltd. is the sole, absolute and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interest in, and to, the CFP marks outside the United States. 28. Education Providers of FPCIL will not challenge the validity of the CFP marks. 29. The authorized Education Providers of FPCIL are required to follow the guidelines for the usage of CFP marks and the FPSB India Logo in manner as detailed in this document. Any usage of CFP marks, CFP Logo Mark or FPSB India Logo other than the specified usage shall be treated as infringement/unauthorized usage/misuse of the Marks or Logo/s. FPSB India / Public Issue 01/01.12.2008 Ver03/30.06.2011 Page 7 of 7