Uniform standard proposed for financial planners

• pass the Financial Planning
  Proficiency Examination (FPPE).
  The exam is being developed for
  the CSA by Dr. Les McLean, a
  specialist in measurement and
  evaluation at the Ontario Institute
  for Studies in Education of the
  University of Toronto, with the
  assistance of a group of experts
  drawn from the Institute of
  Canadian Bankers, the Canadian
  Institute of Financial Planning,
  the Canadian Securities Institute
  and the Canadian Association of
  Insurance and Financial Advisers;
  and


• have had two years securities
  or insurance industry experience
  anywhere in Canada in the last
  five calendar years; and


• commit to a satisfactory
  continuing education program.
  

“We want consumers to have
confidence that individuals who
offer financial planning advice
and implement that advice through
the sale of financial products meet
a uniform acceptable standard of
competence regardless of where in
the financial services sector the
consumer encounters them”,
said Julia Dublin, Chair of the
CSA Financial Planning Committee.

The financial planning
proficiency standard is intended to
be harmonized between insurance and
securities regulators within a
province as well as among different
jurisdictions. In Ontario, for
example, the Financial Services
Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is
undertaking a joint stakeholder
consultation process with the
Ontario Securities Commission.

The proficiency standard would
apply to registrants and licensees
in most jurisdictions as an
additional condition of their
registration or license.
Transitional grandfathering relief
will exempt registrants and
licensees from the FPPE if they
have subjected themselves to
specified objective testing
processes for financial planning
expertise, or are current students
who will do so within two years of
the new rule becoming effective.

The proposal is published in
the form of a CSA Notice requesting
comment on Multilateral Instrument
33-107. This notice, and any
related communications from
insurance regulators and councils,
is intended to solicit comments
from stakeholders in both the
securities and insurance sectors.
Any comments received will be
reviewed by both securities and
insurance regulators.

Interested parties are invited
to make written submissions.
Contact persons in the
jurisdictions which participated
are listed in the Notice.
Parties interested in submitting
comments should consult the Notice
and draft Multilateral Instrument
33-107 on the OSC Website.

-IE Staff

For more please see:

www.osc.gov.on.ca