Since its November 1991 introduction, a total of 14,037 people, or 56 percent, have passed the CFP examination, the board said. Since 1992, 2,602 CPAs have passed the exam.

The 10-hour, two-day test was administered at 47 sites across the country. The next CFP certification examination will be held on Nov. 17-18.

In addition, the board announced that the number of Certified Financial Planner professionals hit an all-time high last month. At the end of September, 36,221 people were licensed to use the CFP marks, the board reported.

"The interest among professionals in attaining the CFP certification indicates that consumers are recognizing the importance of having an ethical and competent financial planner," said Dede Pahl, interim president of the CFP Board.

According to board statistics, one-quarter of all current CFP professionals are women, 89 percent of CFPs hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and 84 percent identify themselves as being in the practice of financial planning. In addition, 41 percent list the focus of their firm as personal financial planning, 15 percent list securities, 7 percent list accounting, 7 percent list insurance, and the remainder list the banking, education, government, human resources, law, real estate or tax preparation, the board said. Sixty-seven percent of CFPs also hold securities licenses, and the same number also hold insurance licenses, while 16 percent hold CPA licenses, the board reported.

California leads the states with the highest number of licensees, at 4,215. New York was a distant second, with 2,592 CFP licensees, according to the board.

-- By Melissa Klein

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