Our goal at the Christian Financial Advisors Network is to help the general public find a financial advisor who shares their Christian values, has a high level of expertise, and lives with integrity.  To best help the general public find a match, we've put in place the high standards listed below for advisors to be part of this network.  While there are certainly many excellent planners who don't meet all of these criteria, we believe that meeting all of these standards sets our advisors apart.

Requirements

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)

All of our advisors hold the CFP® certification. This certification is obtained by completing five courses, passing a challenging exam, obtaining 2-3 years of full-time experience, and a commitment to ethics standards. Not only does the CFP demonstrate a high level of competence for those who have it, but also a high level of commitment to serving clients well.

Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®)

All of our advisors have or are pursuing* their CKA®, which trains advisors to integrate technical expertise and biblically wise counsel as they guide their clients. All who have this designation must also receive a letter of recommendation from at least two clients that they are integrating Christian principles into their advice as well as a letter from a pastor or church leader.

*Advisors that have started their CKA® education and pursuing the certification may apply to join the network but will not be listed on the website until they’ve fulfilled all of the requirements to use the designation.

Fee-Only

Fee-Only financial planners are never paid on commission and are only ever paid directly by their clients.  While there is no perfect business model and there are certainly many excellent financial advisors who use different models, we believe that the fee-only model is the one that removes the most conflicts if interested and allows advisors to be the most objective.

Fiduciary

This is the highest legal standard in financial planning and requires advisors to give advice that is in the best interest of their clients.  While as Christians we believe our standard is even higher in that we are accountable to Christ, we feel that this fiduciary standard is important.

Openly Serve Christians

Our advisors make it clear on their websites that they are Christian and serve clients who are Christians.  While our advisors don't exclusively serve Christians, we think it's important that the general public can clearly see that our advisors will give them financial advice from a Christian perspective.

Consistently Producing Content

All our advisors have a strong desire to make sound financial planning advice accessible to more Christians, and one way that they do that is by consistently providing free content on their company website.

Focus on Comprehensive Financial Planning

We see good financial stewardship as including one’s full financial situation, which is why we feel it’s important not just to focus on investment management in a financial planning relationship with clients. While our advisors do manage investments for their clients, their focus is on comprehensive financial planning.