1:31 p.m., Nov. 13, 2008----Twenty-two students recently celebrated their successful completion of the year-long Certificate in Financial Planning program in the University of Delaware's Division of Professional and Continuing Studies in Memorial Hall. The program fulfills the education requirement for those seeking the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

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Besides completing the program's education requirement, certification requirements include work experience and a bachelor's degree in any field from an accredited college or university.

Current U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics indicate the position of financial adviser as one of the top-10 fastest growing occupations, with demand expected to increase as more baby boomers and Gen-Xers seek professional advice pn monetary matters.

Daniel Danese, a certified financial planner and UD certificate program director, said that the position of financial planner is considered by many to be somewhat recession-proof, especially in uncertain financial times.

“In good times, there is an insatiable appetite for financial advice. When the markets are doing well, people want advice on how to best grow their funds,” Danese said. “During transitional or uncertain financial times, consumers are all the more concerned with what they should be doing to minimize their risk and best weather the storm. Therefore, they continue to seek out financial planners.”

Equally important, Danese said, is the growing trend of employers transferring the responsibility of retirement funding to individuals.

“With an increased number of consumers directly responsible for making decisions about how to invest for retirement, demand for qualified financial advice will grow,” Danese said. “Today, the gold standard for that qualified financial advice is CPF certification, the most recognizable accreditation in a well-informed marketplace.”

Frank Speace, president of Century Tax & Financial Services, and Fred Welch, first vice president for Wachovia Securities, among the first UD program graduates to earn CFP certification, offered their views on the importance of the work done by certified financial planners.

“Financial planner certification is one of the most recognized and most respected designations, which covers all core areas that affect a client's financial life,” Speace said. “I believe that this designation gives clients the feeling that they are working with someone who holds themselves to a higher standard and provides better overall advice.”

Welch noted that being is a financial adviser means that “I am given the opportunity to make a very meaningful impact on the lives of the families I work with. It is a very rewarding profession.”

Current graduates include Bruce Armstrong, Daniel Adam Baratz, Pamela S. Baumbach, Katie L. Bear, Charles Corbett, Ciela C. Corradin, Joseph Gandolfo, Matthew Hoey, Mark Jackson, Gregory E. Johnson, and Robert W. Kruse. Also gradating were Shirish Kulkarni, Ron Lehman, Mark Marrone, T.J. Methvin, James Edward Mink Jr., Suzanne Nanis, Francis J. Schoen, John Simeone, Stephanie Spence, Anton P. Vegeto and Thomas Wintermantel.

UD's CFP certificate program is cosponsored by the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies and the Lerner College of Business and Economics. CFP certification is granted solely by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.

Article by Tara Kee