The Financial Planning Standards Board, the global body responsible for the Certified Financial Planner designation, has published its first Guidance Practice Note to support Financial Planning professionals working with vulnerable clients. 

The Denver-based FPSB says the move is “in response to increased regulatory concern about the financial exploitation of vulnerable populations” around the world.

Other factors influencing its decision include the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion’s call for lifetime Financial Planning to support the financial inclusion of ageing populations.

The FPSB says its guidance will encourage Financial Planning professionals working with vulnerable clients to exercise “an appropriate level of care, applied consistently through a documented policy.” 

FPSB CEO Noel Maye said: “All adults have the fundamental right to make their own financial decisions, and vulnerable persons have a right to be protected against financial abuse, even when the vulnerability is temporary.”

"This Guidance Practice Note is part of the global Certified Financial Planner professional community’s commitment to supporting financial inclusion and access to Financial Planning from competent, ethical Financial Planners who put their client’s interests first."

FPSB’s Guidance Practice Note provides general and practical, principles-based guidance for Financial Planning professionals developing a policy for how they will work with vulnerable clients, based on best practices and current understanding of issues related to financial exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

The FPSB says its Guidance Practice Note is intended to supplement, rather than replace existing local laws and regulations.

The FPSB operates in 27 territories and as of the end of 2018, there were 181,360 CFP professionals worldwide. There are about 1,000 CFP professionals in the UK.