Congratulations to Aaron Bauer, an investment analyst and financial advisor here at Winch Financial, who recently earned his CFP® designation. The CFP® designation requires some of the most rigorous standards in the industry. In fact, the Certified Financial Planning board bases its highly selective licensing on what it calls the four e’s – education, exam, experience and ethics. Regarding education, the board requires candidates to complete coursework on financial planning through a CFP Board Registered Program and hold at least a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited college or university. After completing the coursework, each applicant must pass a 170-question, multiple-choice exam that consists of two 3-hour sessions over one day. The exam includes stand-alone and scenario-based questions, as well as questions associated with case studies. Candidates also need to complete either 6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process, or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience that meets additional requirements. Lastly, and most importantly, each CFP® must maintain high ethical and professional standards for the practice of financial planning, and to act as a fiduciary when providing financial advice, always putting the clients’ best interests first. We’re very proud of Aaron and fortunate to have him on the Winch Financial team.