Second-Generation Advisor Becomes 100,000 CFP Certificant

Simone Lee of Bedminster, N.J., is the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant who leads a Merrill financial planning practice.

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A New Jersey advisor with Merrill Wealth Management has become the 100,000th Certified Financial Planner professional in the U.S., the CFP Board has announced.

“We are honored to welcome Simone Lee as the 100,000th CFP professional,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “Her path to CFP certification reflects the evolving financial planning profession, as younger people pursue financial planning careers and diversity within the CFP professional community grows.”

Based in Bedminster, N.J., Lee, 31, is a first-generation American and a University of Maryland graduate who transitioned from a career in IT to pursue financial planning. Her mother, Judith Lee, CFP, immigrated from Jamaica and leads a Merrill financial planning practice focused on comprehensive wealth management. In 2019, Simone joined her mother’s practice as a financial advisor.

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