If you disagree with the FPA’s plan to require a tertiary degree for all new planners, just briefly why do you disagree?
TEPANA: Advisers that disagree with the FPA plan to require a tertiary degree think that an unrelated degree that covers topics that are of no benefit to financial planning will not help create proficient planners and they think the ongoing study required for CFP is already equivalent to a tertiary degree.
RESPONDENTS SAID:
“Academic qualifications don’t guarantee integrity in the adviser. The current academic theory does not assist in wealth accumulation and management. With all their qualifications, economists, fund managers, treasurers and bankers didn’t predict a drop in asset value and did nothing to prevent clients from losing wealth. Only an adviser who was prepared to throw the academic theory away and make his own decision that assets were overvalued and therefore get out and go to cash saved his clients wealth.”
“There is the counter argument that: experience is a key indicator of effectiveness; that soft skills are as important as technical skills (and way more profitable); that life’s experience is more valuable in an adviser than academic study; and that study without experience is a menace.”
“Firstly you would have to define ‘a degree’. The degree must be relevant to the field of financial planning. I know of planners who studied languages as their degrees or arts etc. who qualify to under- take the CFP program, but someone with years of practical experience and multiple post graduates (of Graduate Diploma level) in finance and financial planning related fields are not eligible because they do not have ‘a degree’ and are somehow less qualified – so in order to do so they would be forced to study any old degree in order to be considered professional enough to we worthy of the CFP program. If that is the FPA’s idea of a professional industry then it is a bad joke and will never succeed in being viewed as a profession by the general public. More financial planning-related degrees need to be made available. Not low level courses.”
If you are a CFP practitioner, just briefly what improvements could be made to the program?
TEPANA: There were numerous negative comments made about having to continue ongoing study and pay an annual membership to retain the CFP status. Some advisers influence others not to study for CFP and advise them instead to select another qualification that they can retain and take with them without having to continually study and pay an annual membership to retain CFP status.
Advisers would like more group and face to face training included in the CFP study such as tutorials, lectures and team work. In addition, they would like interactive workshops to discuss issues with other participants.
The following subjects would be considered improvements to the CFP program:
- Client and relationship aspects such as psychological and lifestyle studies and mentoring
- ETFs, indexing, derivaties
- SMSFs
- Debt management
- Tax structures
- Estate planning
- Succession planning
- Less focus on managed funds
RESPONDENTS SAID:
“More university based lectures and tutorials, CFP 5 – less should be on SOA plan and more should be on the complexities of financial advice from global standpoint, advising from an independent view. Practitioners who obtained the qualification without having to meet the current standards and tests should be made to do so. CFP – should aim to be viewed at accountant’s CA or the analyst CFA program,”
“Continue to raise the bar, especially around professional standards and holding CFPs to public account – the way CPA/CA do”
“Unfortunately the designation was too easy to get in the past. It is not a reliable indication to the public as to the abilities of the planner. And the code of ethics is not enforced by the FPA, so some use the CFP designation to hide their ways. The current CFP course is good and planners need to be competent to pass it.”
“I have my CFP qualifications; however, I will not pay $600 per year to put the 3 letters after my name. This is ridiculous and obviously money making scheme as no other professional after completing their degree needs to pay a yearly basis for the privilege.”
“More emphasis needs to be placed on soft skills rather than often technical areas that occur irregularly in the real world. More specialist qualifications for those who wish to work in particular areas such as SMSF, derivatives and synthetic products etc.”
“Attend regular classes (doesn’t have to be every week) – break course assignments and exams down into smaller components that get assessed individually – would help with workload of study and test all areas of importance. A six-hour exam for CFP5 is ridiculous. Financial Planning is not about being able to memorise potential exam answers – it is about understanding different client situations and knowing that different strategies may apply. With regulations changing frequently it is pointless encouraging the marathon memory test – as a professional you should always be referring to current data. It is the knowledge of application of that data that is important.”
“I would like to see ethics and client relationships be something that has to be redone or refreshed every few years as a requirement for maintaining CFP designation. For those that got their CFP without doing the CFP program then it should be mandatory to have completed the ethics unit and perhaps one other unit as a requirement to maintain their CFP. This is the cornerstone of being a CFP and should be for those to be a member of the FPA if the FPA was serious about standards.”
“The program was a joke; it just repeated things from DFP. It attempted to go further in depth, however mixed topics, skimmed some while going to deep in some areas without first setting the context.”
“Interactive workshops to discuss with others studying and in the industry. Rural areas don’t have access to workshops which I feel would benefit a lot of non-city advisers wanting to study.”
“I encourage all prospective persons to rather go for a masters. This will go with them wherever they go and do not rely on ongoing practice and/or membership of an organisation.”
“Most current learning revolves around investments and the statistics. Some clients come in with a simple problem and a simple solution. A lot of clients come in with complex situations requiring tax structure and relationship help. The program could be improved with more relationship handling skills and “scenario handling” skills. The program needs to allow advisers to be trained in handling complex situations in respect to Tax structures/estate planning/succession planning.”
“Get rid of the exam multiple choice compo- nents for CFP. If you’ve proved yourself at every other level and have 5 years continuous customer facing experience, with highly proficient file ratings at audits and no registered / formal complaints then this should be good enough for discretion to be applied to be granted CFP status. I have seen good people leave the industry because the CFP exam is the final hurdle that some just cannot get past, yet it does little to prove ability and does plenty to demote morale. It is unnecessary, costly and based upon an American model which is not suited here. Also the SoA should be a commercial SoA, not the non-Commercial SoA; there’s another $150 just to learn how to write a Plan that we’d never use in the real world. Ridiculous!”
THE FPA EXPECTS
1. By 2015 we would like to see that all new entrants who wish to become professional financial planners have as a minimum a tertiary qualification in financial planning.
– Consideration will be given to including this in membership criteria of the FPA for new members joining after this date. – All Certified Financial Planners are currently required to be tertiary qualified.
2. By 2012 we would like to ensure that most qualifying programs on offer through University or pathway qualifying programs on offer through Vocational institutions will be built on professionally aligned and commonly recognised curriculum.
– The FPA will “engage the educational community” to share a globally-recognised curriculum framework for financial planning.
– The FPA will collaborate with the educational community to an Australian financial planning education system that meets our collective curriculum objectives.
