CFP Earnings Soar in '04

Like a good grape harvest, 2004 was a vintage year for Certified Financial Planners, as the median earnings for CFPs across the country rose 56 percent, to $219,000, according to a survey conducted by the College of Financial Planning.Meanwhile, 54 percent of CFPs reported that their annual income is derived via a combination of fees and commissions, while 29 percent reported that their income was a result of fee-only planning services.The results were part of the College for Financial Planning's "2004 Survey of Trends in Financial Planning." The poll is conducted among holders of the CFP designation who also are members of the Financial Planning Association.But with added income also comes extra work: The majority of survey respondents reported that they drafted an average of 30 financial plans over the past year, compared to an average of 21 financial plans in 2003.