By James Langton

(April 17 – 11:50 ET) – The Investment Dealers Association has published an information package on its new mandatory continuing education program.

The presentation is being published to assist firms in communicating and implementing CE programs for employees. It contains information on CE cycles, entry dates, CE requirements by registration category, reporting requirements, and penalties for not completing the cycle. The presentation also includes information from the Canadian Securities Institute on existing courses and seminars.

The IDA has just completed the first year of its mandatory CE program. The program operates on three-year cycles for all registrants. The first cycle of the CE program began on Jan. 1, 2000 and ends on Dec. 31, 2002.

New registrants are exempt from CE requirements for their first three years of registration because they have recently completed industry courses and are required to complete the Professional Financial Planning Course or the Investment Management Techniques Course within the first 30 months of initial registration.

Those whose third anniversary of registration is in the first year of a cycle (for example 2003) must complete CE requirements during that cycle. Registrants whose third anniversary is in the second or third year of a cycle (for example 2004, 2005) do not have CE requirements until the next cycle.

There are one-time exemptions for those with more than 15 years of continuous registration as of Jan. 1, 2000. Such registrants must only complete the compliance component. Those with more than 10, but less than 15 years of experience, must only complete the product knowledge and compliance components in the first cycle, and then compliance only after that. This is a one-time only exemption. Those reaching 10 or 15 years experience levels in future years do not become exempt; they continue to have full CE requirements throughout their careers.

IDA staff have used breaks of two months in registration, with no outside employment during that period, to determine whether an individual has been continuously registered. When a break has been longer, the member firm may write a letter giving reasons why the break in registration should not negate the exemption. Registration in other capacities, with a mutual fund dealer for example, is not counted in determining the length of continuous registration.

The IDA is currently upgrading its CE tracking system. CE Reports were scheduled to be sent at the end of 2000, but have been delayed until mid-2001. Further reports will be sent at the end of 2001, and three times in 2002, leading up to the end of the first cycle.

The penalties for not completing the CE requirements: at the beginning of year one of the next three-year cycle, a $500 monthly fee, payable by the firm, shall be imposed until the participant completes the course requirements, or for six months, whichever comes first. If the program requirements have still not been met by the end of the sixth month, the participant’s approval shall automatically be suspended. If the participant has not completed the compliance portion of the program within the three-year cycle, they shall also be subject to mandatory close supervision.

The IDA’s education arm, the Canadian Securities Institute, is introducing 20 new online CE courses. Topics were developed based on an industry survey of ongoing education needs. Each course takes three hours to complete. They are available individually or in packages of five. Courses include:

  • Understanding Chart Formations;
  • Money Laundering;
  • Selecting a Money Manager;
  • Exchange Traded Funds;
  • Broker Liability;
  • Practice Management;
  • Industry Trends; and
  • Commission to Fees.