CFP Board announces March exam results

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. announced Wednesday that 52.3 percent of the 2,063 individuals who sat for the March 20-21, 2009 CFP Certification Examination passed. The CFP Board-administered, 10-hour, two-day exam was conducted at 50 sites nationwide.

Since 1995, when the exam was modified to its current comprehensive format, 80,708 candidates have sat for the exam and 46,257 have passed either on their first try or on subsequent attempts. The cumulative pass rate is 57 percent.

The exam covers 89 topic areas based on periodic studies of the job knowledge necessary to practice financial planning. CFP Board's CFP Certification Examination requires full integration of knowledge covered in CFP Board's financial planning topic list, similar in concept to the bar examination for licensed attorneys and the exam for licensed CPAs.