Two common designations for those in the finance field are CFP, which stands for Certified Financial Planner, and CFA, which stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. Typically, CFP professionals help clients address their investment, insurance, tax, retirement, and estate planning needs. CFA professionals are generally responsible for analyzing, selecting, and managing investments for their clients. Their clients may be individuals, but they are often large institutional clients, such as pensions, insurance companies, endowments, and hedge funds.

In the Module One Reading and Resources section, read and review the code of ethics and standards of conduct from the CFP Board and the code of ethics and standards of professional conduct from the CFA Institute.

Compare and contrast the CFP code of ethics and standards of conduct to the CFA standards of professional conduct.

• What are the similarities?
• What are the differences?
• Choose one ethical requirement and explain how the requirement may be beneficial for a client.

In your response to your peers, identify which organization you believe has the highest ethical standards (CFP Board or CFA Institute), and explain why. In addition, explain whether these standards would influence your choice of a financial professional to help with your personal finances.