The results are in for FP Canada’s October sitting of the certified financial planner (CFP) and qualified associate financial planner (QAFP) exams.
The CFP exam was written by 475 candidates, and 71% of first-time writers passed, a release said. Another 45 candidates wrote the QAFP exam, with a pass rate of 77% for first-timers.
In a post-exam survey, 44% of CFP candidates and 58% of QAFP candidates said they were motivated to write the exam because of title protection. Also, 26% and 42%, respectively, said they wrote the exam because the certification was required by their employers.
In Ontario, the transition period for use of the “financial planner” title will end on March 28. On that date, anyone who used the title on or before Jan. 1, 2020, must have a regulator-approved credential — such as the CFP or QAFP designation — to continue using the title.
Anyone who began using the “financial planner” title after Jan. 1, 2020, has been required to have a regulator-approved credential since March 28, 2022.
The next CFP and QAFP exam sittings will be in May 2026 and February 2026, respectively.
Canada had about 17,500 CFP professionals and about 1,200 QAFP professionals as of last Dec. 31, according to FP Canada’s website.
In November, FP Canada named the first five recipients of its Diversity in Action Scholarship, which covers the cost of certification.