Addressing the FPSB Council today in Wales, Mr Helmlich said that the latest figures showed that the number of Certified Financial Planner professionals had reached 139,818 and should reach 150,000 by the year end.
He said there had been substantial growth in some of the 24 territories around the world where the CFP mark is recognised and promoted. China showed the strongest growth with numbers up 31 per cent. There had been growth of over 20 per cent in Ireland and 17 per cent in Thailand.
Mr Helmlich said he expected strong growth in coming years but admitted that tougher economic conditions around the world had slowed growth in some areas and there was also competition from other designations.
On the positive side he said strong growth in HNW numbers in some territories was likely to lead to a greater demand for good quality Financial Planning advice.
There was a lack of trust in financial advisers prevalent in a number of markets and this was something the FPSB was trying to tackle by promoting high quality professional Financial Planner advice and designations which consumers could trust.

There was also progress in moving forward some of the tenets of the Financial Planning community, such as abolishing hidden commission payments.
He said: "We are moving towards eliminating commission around the globe and other conflicts of interest."
He added that professional body regulation of advisers was also being "embraced" by regulators around the world as it was in the UK.
* Mr Helmlich also reported that the FPSB had become a member of IOSCO – the international securities body. The  International Organization of Securities Commissions is an association of bodies that regulate the world’s securities and futures markets. Members are typically the Securities Commission or the main financial regulator from each country, according to Wikipedia.