Journal of Financial Planning
The Journal of Financial Planning welcomes article submissions from financial planning professionals as well as academic researchers, thought leaders and subject matter experts who support the financial planning profession. We accept academically rigorous research papers that go through our double-blind peer review process, as well as practice management articles, guest columns, thought leadership pieces, or commentaries that go through our editorial review process.
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- Submission Guidelines for Articles: Editorial Review
- Submission Guidelines for Research: Peer Review
- Next Generation Planner
Editorial Calendars
Click the links below to download editorial calendars for the Journal of Financial Planning and Next Generation Planner.
- 2024 Journal of Financial Planning Editorial Calendar
- 2024 Next Generation Planner Editorial Calendar
Submission Guidelines for Articles: Editorial Review
The Journal of Financial Planning and FPA Next Generation Planner welcome original, thought-provoking, informative, and actionable articles on any aspect of financial planning.
Non-technical, non-research-based articles are considered for publication by the editorial team. When needed, the editorial team may ask a subject matter expert to review an article submission. Consider the elements below to give your article its best chance of succeeding through editorial review to publication.
Audience
Journal of Financial Planning readers are primarily Financial Planning Association members who are financial planners in all stages of the practice lifecycle, from just getting started, to growing a practice, to retiring from the profession. Many are experienced planners, so assume the reader has fundamental but not necessarily esoteric knowledge.
Topic Areas
The Journal generally covers the practice management topics of: marketing, technology, compliance issues, client skills, operations, leadership, communication skills, and HR/staff. Contributed articles may cover topics such as retirement planning, tax planning, investment planning, and regulatory issues, among others. Next Generation Planner covers topics related to new planners and career changers just starting out in the financial planning industry.
Style
Your writing style should be easy to read and follow, yet professional. When appropriate, first-person accounts are acceptable. The more timely, actionable steps you can provide to help planners solve practice management and financial planning issues, the better.
Objectivity
Content should be balanced, objective, and avoid promoting a specific financial product, service, or company you have a vested interest in. Self-promotion is not allowed in editorial content.
Length
Features are generally 2,000–2,500 words in length. This is just a guideline.
Format
A Microsoft Word document is preferred. Include your name, contact information, and a brief bio. Bios are included in published articles.
If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Andrus, editor.
Submission Guidelines for Research: Peer Review
To submit an unpublished manuscript, email Bridger Cummings with a Word document of your paper and a completed Author Checklist. When submitting a paper for peer review, please indicate if any portion of the manuscript has been published or posted online elsewhere, and if it has, please provide the citation and/or web address.
The Journal of Financial Planning publishes academically rigorous, advanced research papers on all aspects of financial planning through a double-blind peer-review process. Consider the elements below to give your paper its best chance of succeeding through peer review to publication.
Audience
Keep Journal readers—primarily experienced financial planning professionals—in mind as you write. Provide timely, practical material that applies to, or will directly benefit, financial planners in their work. Assume the reader has a fundamental but not esoteric knowledge.
Length
Manuscripts should run approximately 5,000 words.
Format
Each author’s name, contact information, and a brief biography (30–50 words for each author) should be included on the cover page. For blind peer review purposes, the second page should consist of the title and an executive summary of no more than 250 words, but no identifying information.
Style
The Journal of Financial Planning uses The Chicago Manual of Style as a guide for formatting, writing style, and references. Your writing style should be easy to read and follow, yet professional. Thoughts and concepts should be clearly presented and easy to comprehend. Examples that illustrate key points are encouraged.
- Avoid the use of first-person narrative, when possible. For example, rather than: “I added an unconstrained variable to the model,” write: “An unconstrained variable was added to the model.”
- The review of literature and presentation of results should generally be written in past tense. For example, writing: “Grable (2013) presented findings regarding past portfolio performance” is preferable to: “Grable (2013) presents findings . . .”
Organization
Start the paper with an executive summary no longer than 250 words, presented as a bulleted list. Early in the paper, state the paper’s purpose, the material it will cover, and why that material is important to financial planning professionals.
Include a literature review of previous research on which the paper builds, and explain how the paper differs from and adds to the existing literature.
Clearly explain the methodology and identify the datasets used in all analyses. Clearly summarize the paper's key findings or recommendations and practical implications for financial planners. How does your work impact how financial planners do theirs?
Objectivity
Content should be objective and avoid mentioning or promoting specific financial products or services. Any statements or assertions should be supported by sufficient research and data.
Charts, Graphs, Tables, and Infographics
Visual material and graphics should not be excessive in length or in number (no more than five), and should support, illustrate, or directly report relevant data and results from the research.
Endnotes/References
The Journal uses in-text citations, endnotes, and references/bibliography. Keep the reader in mind when including endnotes and references/bibliography, ensuring that what is included is pertinent to what is in the text. Clarity and readability are the main criteria for inclusion. Endnotes should include URLs when possible. If you include works in your references that informed your research but are not cited in your manuscript, please note them as such in the bibliography.
Examples of references:
Articles: Last Name, First Name [subsequent authors are First Name, Last Name]. Year. "Article Title." Publication Title 1 [volume] (2) [issue]: 22–32 [page numbers].
- Blanchett, David M., and Larry R. Frank. 2009. “A Dynamic and Adaptive Approach to Distribution Planning and Monitoring.” Journal of Financial Planning 22 (4): 52–66.
- Grable, John E., and Sonya L. Britt. 2011. “An Investigation of Response Bias Associated with Electronically Delivered Risk-Tolerance Assessment.” Journal of Financial Therapy 2 (1). http://jftonline.org/journals/jft/article/view/1347.
Books: Last Name, First Name [subsequent authors are First Name, Last Name]. Year. Book Title. Nth ed. City: Publisher.
- Fithian, Scott, and Todd Fithian. 2007. The Right Side of the Table. Denver: Financial Planning Press.
- Lennick, Doug. 2010. Financial Intelligence. 2nd ed. Denver: FPA Press.
Initial Screening
Editorial staff screens manuscripts for appropriateness and quality, and may suggest revisions before sending a manuscript to double-blind peer review.
Authors are notified of the editorial staff's decision generally within three weeks of submitting it for consideration.
Double-Blind Peer Review
Manuscripts with merit will be reviewed by members of the Journal of Financial Planning's peer-review board. The initial screening and double-blind peer-review process takes approximately three to six weeks.
Once we have received all manuscript reviews, you will receive a decision (publish, revise, reject), along with copies of the reviewers' evaluations.
While your manuscript is in the review process, we ask that you do not submit it to any other publication for consideration. The Journal of Financial Planning will not publish any articles that have been accepted or printed by other publications.
Preprint Policy
Manuscripts that appear in preprint servers will not be disqualified for consideration in the Journal of Financial Planning, with some limitations:
- When submitting a research paper for peer review, indicate if any portion of the manuscript has been published or posted online elsewhere. If it has, provide the citation and/or URL.
- Authors should retain the copyright of the manuscript during the preprint process. If their paper is accepted by the Journal of Financial Planning, authors will transfer copyright to JFP.
- Authors should update preprint versions of the manuscript with a notice that the final version will be published in the Journal of Financial Planning.
Remuneration
Authors receive no remuneration or reimbursement for any expenses incurred in conjunction with the preparation of articles published in the Journal of Financial Planning.
Submit Today
Complete the submitting author’s checklist (below) and email it with your completed manuscript to Bridger Cummings, assistant editor, as a Microsoft Word file. Questions? Contact Bridger Cummings, or Danielle Andrus, editor.
Next Generation Planner
Next Generation Planner is a special section within the Journal that focuses on new planners and career changers to enhance their skills and build the careers they want. The section complements the Journal’s mission to be a trusted partner for financial planners by helping new planners take their first steps on their path to success. See submission guidelines above.
