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Certified Financial Fiduciary

Finding a financial professional you can trust is key to achieving a successful retirement. By choosing to work with a Certified Financial Fiduciary®, you can be confident that your best interests will always come first.

The National Association of Certified Financial Fiduciaries was created to provide financial professionals with the information, tools, and resources needed to ensure compliance with all DOL and ERISA Fiduciary rules and guidelines. We have taken it a step further by providing a comprehensive fiduciary training program and certification process that, upon successful completion, further grants authorization for qualified financial professionals to hold the designation of Certified Financial Fiduciary® (CFF)

WHAT IS CFF CFF is a professional designation for financial professionals, namely, those who have successfully completed a rigorous certification and training process established by NACFF and AFEA (The American Financial Education Alliance), and who agree to uphold the highest moral, ethical and fiduciary standards of service when providing advice to potential or existing clients.

WHAT IS A FIDUCIARY? WHY SHOULD I WORK WITH ONE? Federal pension and tax law protects investors by imposing fundamental standards on their investment advisers. Individuals and firms that are held to these standards are called "fiduciaries". The department of labor states that fiduciaries are required to act impartially and provide advice that is in their clients' best interest. Additionally, fiduciaries are not permitted to receive payments creating conflicts of interest unless they comply with certain conditions of exemption that minimize the effects of a conflict

Choosing a Certified Financial Fiduciary® (CFF) as your advisor is important because, under the DOL's regulatory package, the CFF Code of Conduct, and the strict guidelines of the NACFF, they are required to give you advice that is in your best interest, not their own. CFF CODE OF CONDUCT

•Practice the Duty of Loyalty - A CFF designee will first and foremost agree to always put the client's best interest first

•Practice the Duty of Good Faith - fundamental obligation to treat all clients fairly.

•Practice the Duty of Good Care - fundamental obligation to exercise the skill of an expert and to only advise in those areas where expert skill level has been obtained

•Educate First - provide comprehensive and unbiased education to clients ensuring they have a firm grasp of the subject matter prior to making specific suggestions or advice

•Holistic Approach - consider all aspects and factors that affect a plan prior to making suggestions or advice about any part of a client's financial plan or circumstance

•Full Disclosure - always divulge all fees and commissions as well as disclose any conflicts of interest •Comparison - always provide a comparison of suggested products with detailed explanations of why one is being suggested over the other

•Confidentiality - protect and keep all client's information confidential and securely stored

•Professional Practice Management – CFF designees must agree to run their practice with the utmost professionalism using proper documentation and procedures set forth by all relevant governing bodies including the SEC (where applicable) and the DOL.

They must also agree to be audited by the CFF organization to ensure that all the above standards are being met at all times “CFF IS 'THE STANDARD

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