Celebrating Success: Kate Earn CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Designation
August 14, 2024
We are thrilled to announce a significant achievement within our Summit Place team: Kate Feeney has earned her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) certification! This prestigious designation is a testament to her dedication, expertise, and commitment to providing exceptional financial planning services.
The CFP® certification is the industry standard for financial advisors. To earn the designation, professionals must complete university-level financial coursework, exhibit 6,000 hours of professional experience, and pass a six-hour exam covering 72 topics – ranging from risk management to investments, tax laws to retirement planning.
Kate joined Summit Place in 2023 as a financial advisor, bringing with her a wealth of experience and a strong track record of excellence. Her career began at Cambridge Associates, where she specialized in investment consulting for both not-for-profit institutions and high-net-worth families. During her tenure there, she earned the highly esteemed Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. More recently, Kate spent nine years at Offit Capital, managing investment portfolios and facilitating smooth wealth transitions for multigenerational ultra-high-net-worth families.
Kate was drawn to Summit Place because of our commitment to personalized and holistic client relationships and solutions. While already a fiduciary, she believes that the CFP® certification, which stands for competent and ethical planning, aligns with Summit Place’s core values of relationships, responsibility, expertise, and excellence. “As a CFP professional, I now bring additional expertise to my clients’ personal goals and financial challenges. As both a CFA charterholder and now a CFP® certificant, I know I bring an incredible breadth of knowledge to the personal solutions I craft for investment portfolios and financial plans, strengthening my client relationships even further,” Kate explains.
Working closely at Summit Place with Liz Miller and Susie McLane, both successful CFP® professionals, Kate found inspiration in pursuing the CFP® certification. She shares, “As proud and successful CFP® professionals, Liz and Susie have offered me a road map and incredible role models in the industry. I had always been interested in the course topics and had experience with them, but this pursuit provided me with such a deeper knowledge in each practice area.”
Her dedication to achieving the CFP® certification underscores Kate’s commitment to her clients and the profession. Kate views the certification as a way to further assure her clients of her commitment to the highest levels of competency and ethics. She shares, “The CFP® certification assures my clients that I am versed in the most up-to-date information in the profession. By studying each topic in great detail, I have strengthened both my knowledge base and the level of expertise that I can offer to clients. I look forward to using all I have learned.”
The path to earning the CFP® certification is challenging, requiring significant dedication and hard work; Kate’s journey exemplifies her commitment to providing her clients with expectational expertise and her strong work ethic. Reflecting on her experience, she says, “After earning my CFA designation, I knew how much hard work and commitment was required to study for these exams. Like most things in life, I’ve learned what I can accomplish when I dedicate myself, keep a positive attitude, and have the support of wonderful colleagues and family. My grandfather always said, ‘Plan your work, and work your plan;’ that was what I did with my studies, and I am delighted that it paid off.”
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Kate on earning her CFP® certification and commend her for her exceptional dedication. We are confident that Kate’s expertise will continue to make a positive impact on our clients and uphold Summit Place’s core values.
Congratulations, Kate! We are incredibly proud of you and your outstanding accomplishment.
Please see our important disclosure.