We Are Now a CEFEX Certified Fiduciary Firm

Mar 07 2025 | Back to Blog List

We are excited to share a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to providing the highest level of fiduciary care: Cedar Point Capital Partners has been named a CEFEX Certified Investment Adviser by the global Centre for Fiduciary Excellence.

CEFEX is an independent certification organization that assesses and certifies firms against a global fiduciary standard of excellence, which has been validated through decades of legislation, case law, and regulatory opinions. 

Our registration and certification shows that we conform to these high standards—as verified by an annual, independent audit—and have documented and structured processes in place making that possible.

This achievement is particularly meaningful as we are the first wealth adviser based in Eastern Iowa to attain this demanding certification. But it’s not just about having a new plaque on the wall—CEFEX certification is truly a game-changer that allows us to serve both individual investors and institutional clients with the same level of fiduciary rigor. We pursued it to show our clients that we’re worthy of their trust.

What does CEFEX certification entail?

The months-long certification process is rigorous and involves an audit by independent analysts. It covers virtually every aspect of our firm’s processes, including:

• File administration
• Information gathering
• Custody and brokerage verification
• Investment management processes
• Due diligence
• Risk assessment
• Conflict of interest management
• Cybersecurity

To put the demanding nature of this certification into perspective, as of this writing in March 2025, fewer than 250 investment advisers worldwide have attained CEFEX certification. Meeting this stringent standard requires incredible commitment and dedication, and we’re proud to do it all for you.

What This Means for Our Clients

For our existing clients, the honest answer is not much. You’ve come to expect the highest level of fiduciary investment management and prudent guidance from our team, available when you need us. That’s not going to change in any way.

For new and prospective clients, however, our CEFEX status proves that you can trust us to put your interests first, and expect things you maybe didn’t experience with your last financial advisor or investment manager. Those include:

• Better designed portfolios and lower costs. Our structured due diligence processes force rational investment and service selection, thereby ensuring the best value for your portfolio. This also means your investment strategy will be prudently managed with a steady hand.
• Enhanced portfolio outcomes. Our documented processes and decision framework allow for better portfolio outcomes over time, because they are not dependent on timing, luck, “in-fashion” or unsubstantiated decisions.
• Increased transparency. Far too many advisors operate like black boxes. They cannot (or will not) describe their process, thereby avoiding accountability to the investor. Our prudent approach has nothing to hide.
• Increased oversight. Independent fiduciary assessments supplement our internal compliance practices and the statutory regulations we must follow as an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. The rules associated with statutory compliance are designed to constrain bad conduct, but it’s impossible to set rules for every situation. Independent fiduciary assessments focus oversight on process, so virtually every situation is covered.

Institutional investors, like foundations, endowments and retirement plans, will appreciate our CEFEX certification for its ability to reduce fiduciary risks and provide tangible evidence of our trustworthiness as a fiduciary partner. Institutional investors managing substantial assets have their own legal and ethical obligations under the law, and this certification shows that institutions working with our firm are exercising those duties prudently, to the fullest extent possible.

We are incredibly grateful for this honor, as well as the trust and ongoing support of our clients. This achievement recognizes we do not take that trust for granted, and it motivates us to continue bringing you the best fiduciary investment portfolio guidance possible, right here in the Corridor.

Reach out to us if you’d like to learn more about the certification process and the steps we take to build a hand-crafted investment strategy that puts you first. Start your planning journey today.

A quick disclosure:
CEFEX is an independent global assessment and certification organization. It works closely with investment fiduciaries and industry experts to provide comprehensive assessment programs to improve risk management for institutional and retail investors. CEFEX certification helps determine the trustworthiness of investment fiduciaries. CEFEX provides an independent recognition of a firm's conformity to a defined Standard of Practice. It implies that a firm can demonstrate adherence to the industry's best practices and is positioned to earn the public's trust. This registration serves investors who require assurance that their investments are being managed according to commonly accepted best practices. CEFEX assessment is based on the international standard, ISO 19011: Guideline for quality management system auditing. The assessment is evidence-based, and all work is reviewed by the CEFEX Registration Committee to ensure impartiality and consistency. The assessment includes document review, client file sampling, on-site visits, a background check and interviews with senior executives at the firm. The assessment is conducted by CEFEX Analysts who must hold the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® designation and maintain annual training by CEFEX. The assessment methodology includes attorney-developed schedules based on regulation.

Cedar Point Capital Partners (CPCP) pays an annual assessment and registration fee in order to be considered for CEFEX certification. CEFEX independently sets their assessment methodology and CPCP has no influence on the criteria.

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