(December 6 – 14:30 ET) –
The CSA proposal for proficiency
requirements for financial planners
may go far enough for the interests
supporting this initiative. But the
Financial Planners Standards
Council wants Canadians to know
that there are planners committed
to professional standards that
exceed the basic requirements
outlined in this document, the
CAFP said in a prepared statement.
FPSC members are professionals
with the designation Certified
Financial Planner (CFP).
The CSA states they “prefer to
regulate financial planning as an
activity” rather than as a
distinct profession. FPSC
considers this to be a step
backwards in the establishment of
financial planning as a profession.
“This instrument may represent
the minimum proficiency required.
The CFP remains the highest
standard of professionalism in
financial planning in Canada and in
the World. The public deserves to
know the difference,” says FPSC
President Don Johnston.
The CSA cites grandfathering as
a reason the CBA and the IDA left
the FPSC. The instrument allows
for the grandfathering of more than
50,000 people by conservative
estimates, most of whom come from
the banking and brokerage sectors,
says the CAFP.
“Many of these new financial
planners would never have
considered calling themselves
financial planners were it not for
this automatic distinction. And
none will ever have to write a
national proficiency exam that the
CSA says is the cornerstone of this
instrument,” says Johnston. The
FPPE exam will be used as a filter
with no specific requirement for
financial planning education
preceding the examination. To
attain the CFP designation,
candidates must complete an
approved educational program
specific to financial planning,
says Johnston
Many assumptions are made in the
instrument about commitments to
continuing education, says
Johnston. Yet no clear standard has
been set. The organization
responsible for setting and
regulating the proficiency
standards has chosen not to
monitor the continuing education
requirements.
To maintain their designation,
CFP licensees must commit to at
least 30 hours of continuing
education a year to ensure that
they are staying abreast of
changes in their field. CFP
licensees are subject to random
CE audits by FPSC, he says.
The instrument contains no
specific code of ethics which is
one of the cornerstones of a
profession, says Johnston.
-IE Staff
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