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Aurèle Courcelles and Kwok Sum Ho have been selected as recipients of the Fellow of FPSC distinction for 2018, Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) announced Tuesday.

Created in 2011, this lifelong honour recognizes individuals who have helped advance FPSC’s purpose as well as advance certified financial planner (CFP) professional standards, and who have embodied these standards throughout their careers.

Courcelles, assistant vice president, tax and estate planning with the advanced financial planning division at Winnipeg-based Investors Group Financial Services Inc., has played a valuable role in advancing FPSC’s purpose and expanding adoption of CFP standards over the course of his career, FPSC says in a news release.

He has actively advocated for broader adherence to the standards of professional responsibility for CFP professionals and FPSC Level 1 certificants in financial planning and has influenced many financial advisors to pursue CFP certification. Through regular media appearances, he has also helped educate Canadians on the importance of financial planning and working with a CFP professional. He has also volunteered extensively with FPSC.

Ho, an associate professor of finance at the School of Administrative Studies at York University, has made significant contributions to the financial planning profession in Canada over the past 25 years through his research, writing and education of the next generation of financial planners, FPSC says.

Since 1993, he has been teaching “Personal financial planning”—a course he designed, which is part of the FPSC-approved core curriculum at York. He also co-authored the textbook Personal Financial Planning—which has been widely adopted by universities and colleges across Canada, has engaged in extensive financial planning research and has published several academic papers that have influenced the practice of financial planning around the world. Ho has also contributed to the work of the FP Foundation and is currently a member of the FP Foundation Research Committee.

“We are delighted to recognize Aurèle Courcelles and Professor Kwok Sum Ho for their significant contributions to the financial planning profession in Canada,” says Cary List, FPSC president and CEO, in statement. “We applaud these outstanding professionals for their leadership in advancing the financial planning profession.”

The pair will be recognized at FPSC’s celebration of the profession dinner taking place on Nov. 20 as part of Financial Planning Week 2018.

Fellow of FPSC candidates are nominated by their peers and recipients are selected by an independent committee.