By taxclubadmin 
The CFP Board will “have to invest” in technology to ensure its continuing education providers can meet the mandates of the board’s newly announced increase in CE requirements, according to the organization’s new chief executive.
K. Dane Snowden was named as the firm’s new CEO in January, succeeding Kevin Keller, who announced his intention to retire in February 2025. The board selected Snowden (who’s been the board’s chief operating officer since 2023) after a year-long national search.
In an interview with Wealth Management, Snowden (who was originally scheduled to start Monday) said he started his role in the top spot late last week. Before joining the board, Snowden was president and CEO of the Internet Association, COO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and a member of the CFP Board’s board of directors between 2017 and 2020.
Snowden cited the board’s recently announced competency standards as a key area of focus in the early months of his tenure, particularly the changes to the CE requirements, which he expects will be in place by the first or second quarter of 2027.
Among the CE-related changes is an increase to 40 hours over a two-year cycle, up from 30 hours in the same period. Up to five hours may be devoted to practice management, with a separate, mandatory two-hour ethics requirement. However, 10 CE hours may carry over between cycles (an increase from none currently). Additionally, the CFP Board may designate mandatory CE topics “in response to significant changes in laws, tax codes or regulations affecting the financial planning profession as determined by the board of directors,” a shift from certificants selecting CE requirements solely from personal topics.
According to Snowden, getting “the implementation done correctly and efficiently” is a “key focus” for year one so certificants fulfilling the more time-intensive CE mandates aren’t tripped up by tech or operational snafus. According to Snowden, the CE requirements are becoming increasingly essential as developments in artificial intelligence continue to rock the industry.
Snowden particularly cited the Psychology of Financial Planning domain, which candidates for CFP certification are tested on, calling the area of focus “critical in ensuring the advisors stay at the forefront as humans, not technology.”
“That domain is critical in this era of AI. Those are the durable skills. Those are the bedside manners,” he said. “Those are, ‘How do you deal and work with a client in this AI world?’”
Following the formation of the CFP Board’s AI Working Group last year, Snowden said the organization is continuing to offer resources for certificants on regulatory-compliant AI use, particularly for smaller RIAs that don’t have the financial back-office support that larger firms do. Snowden also wants the board to advocate for younger planners who are out of college so they are not boxed out of lower-level opportunities that help qualify them for CFP certification.
Snowden also stressed that he was “not contemplating any immediate fee increases” while defending last year’s increase for CFP certification and renewal. Last year, the board raised the annual cost by $120 to $575, a dedicated boost to fund the board’s public awareness campaign for the designation.
At the time, some certificants questioned the value of the bump (with one planner preferring the marketing budget remained stable), Snowden stressed that in return for the boost, $280 of every certificate’s fee (at $24 a month) will fund a national campaign on television twice a year (as well as additional ad placements), talking about the certification.
Snowden also touted internal numbers indicating that since 2011 (when the board first began its public outreach efforts) to 2026, the “unaided awareness” of the CFP designation rose from 17% to 47%, which he called “a significant trend.”
“If we get that right … it cuts through the clutter of all the alphabet letters that are out there and says ‘if I go to a CFP professional, I know I’m getting standards, ethics and competency,” he said.