Definitions
Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®)
Certified Financial Planners must obtain authorization by the Certified Financial Planner Board to call themselves CFP professionals. To earn this certification, they must have completed the established and rigorous education, examination, experience and ethical requirements of the CFP® certification process. A CFP has a deep knowledge of Financial Planning and holds the industry standard by which customers judge the quality and integrity of financial planners.
Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®)
Chartered Financial Analysts must complete a rigorous course of study and pass a three part examination to become a CFA. A CFA has a deep knowledge of Securities and Markets and agrees to hold to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct of the CFA Institute. The CFA designation is recognized internationally as the gold standard among investment analyst designations.
Financial Advisors
All of Opes’ Financial Advisors are licensed Series 65 Investment Advisor Representatives. They work with clients to help them define and achieve their short and long term financial goals. They utilize Opes proprietary software to create personalized financial forecast for our clients and determine which variables can be adjusted to create the most significant impact on a client’s financial future. Based upon these findings and our clients’ risk tolerance, our Financial Advisors determine effective investment strategies and appropriate asset allocations to help clients build their wealth. Our fee based Financial Advisors are held to a fiduciary responsibility that far exceeds standard industry norms.
Personal Financial Advisors
All of Opes’ Personal Financial Advisors are licensed Series 65 Investment Advisor Representatives. In their role as Personal Finance Advisors, they work with clients to assess their financial and investment concerns. They utilize Opes’ proprietary software to create personalized financial forecasts for our clients and determine which variables can be adjusted to create the most significant impact on a client’s financial future. They review the details with our Wealth Management group which gives our Chartered Financial Analysts™ and Certified Financial Planners® the information they need to determine effective investment strategies to help clients build their wealth. As an advocate, your Personal Finance Advisor is available to participate in meetings with your other financial professionals.
Series 65 Investment Advisor Representative
An Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) is an individual who provides advice to others about investments for a fee, and who is required to become licensed. Successful passing of the Series 65 exam and approval by the NASD is required to become licensed. The exam covers topics that have been determined to be necessary to understand in order to provide investment advice to clients. An Investment Advisor Representative has also agreed to operate to Fiduciary standards, which require him or her to put the client’s interests ahead of his or her own at all times.
