Understanding the Fiduciary Difference

Katie Williams is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designee. The fiduciary standard of care requires that a financial advisor acts solely in the client’s best interest when providing financial advice. 

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals providing financial planning services must abide by the fiduciary standard, as defined by the CFP Board. In addition to the fiduciary standard, CFP professionals are held to a strict code of ethics and standards of conduct

Code of Ethics

A CFP® professional must:

  1. Act with honesty, integrity, competence, and diligence.
  2. Act in the client’s best interests.
  3. Exercise due care.
  4. Avoid or disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
  5. Maintain the confidentiality and protect the privacy of client information.
  6. Act in a manner that reflects positively on the financial planning profession and CFP® certification.

Why work with a CFP® professional? 

In addition to being held to strict ethical standards, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can call themselves a CFP® professional.

Learn more about working with a CFP® professional.


The CFP Board Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.

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