About Our Members

Our members place extraordinary emphasis on credentials, ethics, and client-centered practices.

Our membership requirements including the following:

Professional credentials: ACA Members are required to maintain CFP®, CPA/PFS or equivalent designations.

Peer Review and Continuing Education: ACA Members are required to also maintain membership in the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)

Cambridge System training: ACA Members must successfully complete our proprietary training program.

Tax training: ACA Members must acquire the tax expertise needed to integrate tax preparation with other financial planning services.

Compliance: ACA Members must be state or SEC-registered as RIAs or RIA reps.

Client commitment: ACA Members must abide by [The Cambridge Pledge to Clients].

Canon of Ethics: ACA Members must uphold the Cambridge Canon of Ethics.

• More than one-third of our members have advance degrees in addition to their professional designations
• More than 10% of NAPFA-Registered members are ACA Members
• More than 40% of our members are Enrolled Agents or CPAs.

Our members minimize compensation conflicts of interest

All members are fee-only work predominatly on an open-ended annual retainer. Retainer fees take into account the client's income, assets, and the complexity of their situation. Many ACA Members also offer one-time or short-term engagements on an hourly basis for clients with the least complex financial planning needs.

Our members come from a variety of backgrounds.

• 25% of our members transitioned from commissioned life insurance or mutual fund sales
• 15% of our members are CPAs or tax professionals who added financial planning to their practice
• 15% of our members were existing fee-only practitioners looking for alternatives to the assets-under-management or hourly planning models
• 45% of our members started their practice from scratch with ACA. These are second (or third) career professionals who wanted a system that fit their values and their lifestyle

Our members are recognized by their peers and the industry

While our membership represents far less than one percent of the financial planning community in the United States, our members consistently account for three percent or more of the top financial advisors in the country (as selected by Worth magazine and Mutual Funds magazine).

Our members value both their independence and their interconnectedness

We support, but do not direct, members in their pursuit of the ideal practice. This allows for tremendous variety and flexibility among practices while maintaining shared concepts and values.

Each ACA Members is free to design a practice that best serves the needs of both the client and the advisor. While there is variation among services offered, how services are packaged, and how those services are priced, there is no variation in the dedication to an exceptional client experience.