Enrolment for this year’s second intake into the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Certification Program closes at the end of the week (July 13), amid claims that clients increasingly expect their planner to hold the CFP mark.
Australian financial planners who hold the qualification number about 5500 – out of 130,000 around the world who have achieved the professional standard.
“Amid some uncertainty surrounding financial planners with the FoFA reforms, the CFP designation has stood firm as the global standard representing the highest professional standards in financial planning today,” says Mark Rantall, chief executive of the FPA.
“Feedback we receive from FPA members is that an increasing number of clients expect their planners to hold the CFP mark.”
Asked by Professional Planner Online to respond to industry speculation that the FPA would consider offering the CFP credentials to non-FPA members, Rantall was adamant that this is not the case.
“This is not just an education program but an ongoing standard of professionalism and we have no plans to unbundle the one from the other,” he says.
The FPA cites recent research by market analyst Investment Trends, which shows that 67 per cent of financial planners believe the CFP designation has a positive influence on their reputation and 41 per cent believe it has a positive influence on their business growth prospects.
“We encourage financial planning practitioners to take up their certification journey as it demonstrates to clients that they embrace the highest standards and accountability of their profession,” Rantall adds.
The CFP Certification Program is comprised of the Four Es: Ethics, Education, Examination and Experience. The program can be completed over a four-year period.
To enrol in the CFP Certification Program, individuals must:
- Hold either an approved Bachelors or a Masters degree;
- Hold Authorised Representative or representative status with an Australian Financial Services Licensee (AFSL); and
- Be employed in a position that satisfies the definition of ‘approved practitioner experience’.
Sitting alongside the CFP designation are two further specialist designations – Life Risk Specialist (LRS) and Accredited Estate Planning Strategist (AEPS).
These three designations are complementary and there are currently only four FPA practitioners in Australia who hold the trio.
Sean McGowan is one such FPA practitioner.
“Financial planning is a continuous process of discovery and applying your knowledge and skills. New strategies occur all the time, and of course, you need to keep on top of legislation,” he says.
“That’s why ongoing education is so important in our profession. By doing these additional designations, you’re improving your own learning and understanding of the financial planning process.
“Then you can improve outcomes for your clients, which is a sure measure of professional success.”
More information on the CFP Certification Program can be made through the FPA website.
Fact. FPA policy is not formulated by member vote, it is formulated at secret FPA committee meetings. If you doubt this then ask yourself who are the members of key FPA committees, who were even members of the FOFA Task Force, how are they even chosen? Certainly not by member vote.
Fact. There are five product groups that own 80% of the advice industry, they are AMP, ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac. The business objective of these groups is simply to push their financial products, they are assisted by their ownership of the advice industry, and they are enabled by the FPA that allows this structural corruption to continue.
Fact. Product group executives continue to push their agenda within the FPA. Fact, the CEO is a former product group executive, and has never even been a Financial Adviser. Fact, previous CEOs have never been Financial Advisers. FPA stands for Financial Product Association, not a fact, but sadly very believable,
Fact: FPA policy is formulated by the board of directors in conjunction with management. All practitioner directors (the majority) are directly elected by individual practitioner members. Subcommittee members are selected by the Board from members who express interest in participating. All Board & Committee compositions are freely disclosed, in fact feel free to contact me if you are a member of the FPA and would like to know who they are.
Fact: The big Five make their own decisions. If they are as strong as you say, they don’t need and don’t get any ‘enabling’ from the FPA. The FPA is focussed on promoting financial advice as a profession which puts individual client needs first.
Fact: The CEO is there to run a professional association, not be a financial planner. And he does a fantastic job of it. The majority of the board to which he reports are practitioner financial planners (including me), most of whom are self-employed or self-licensed.
While I am at it, let me also assure you that the moon landing wasn’t faked and Harold Holt wasn’t kidnapped by a Japanese mini-submarine.
The FPA speaks for product groups not advisers. Membership of the FPA has become a condition of employment or licensing for many advisers. Rather than a sign of professionalism, the CFP is simply the badge of a structurally corrupt product pushing industry.
Putting aside whatever a ‘product group’ is, you are incorrect in the intent of your statement. FPA membership is only available for natural persons. Any criticisms will be much more persuasive if they have some basis in fact.
I also have never been asked if I am in the FPA or if I am CFP. Clients wouldn’t even know what they mean. Clients want a financial adviser they feel comfortable with and that they can trust.
Having completed CFP & AEPS and currently enrolled for SSA I can safely say the mass of the workload outweighs specialist designations. The programs are in my opinion totally different and to compare CFP to SSA is apples and oranges. Rather than wait to be asked are you CFP why not offer and promote this. Some bitter comments but people should move on and realize that education and professionalism are integral in todays advice world and like it or not CFP(not commoneralth financial planning :) is at the top of the tree for financial planning. I for one am proud of my CFP knowing how much work was required to attain it. I do agree re the grandfathering – thats a joke!
So proud you don’t put your name to this? Quick google search suggests you’re G.C, correct? Not sure why people don’t put their name to comments.
In anycase GC (if I have this right), I agree with your comments about education and professionalism are essential. Being a CFP might be at the top of the tree (I actually disagree, being a member of the IFAAA is top of the tree in my opinion) but the interesting thing about this article and the comments above and below is the poor, sorry terrible, no actually I mean disgraceful, I will settle on complete incompetence that the FPA and CFP program have demonstrated by not re-investing some of the exhorbitant fees they charge into getting the CFP brand out in the marketplace.
Consumers do not know what it means. Massive FAIL by the FPA. Not being bitter GC because my diary is well stocked with new client appointments. Just stating the facts and hopefully some FPA members might read these comments and call the FPA to task about this because I stopped paying membership fees many years ago.
Mark Rantall says above that “the CFP designation has stood firm as the global standard representing the highest professional standards in financial planning today” which is utter rot. Back in 2002 the CFP trademark was market as a “globally recognised trademark”. When I rocked up to the UK in 2002 with my CFP certificate, they looked at it and said “what’s that?” and gave me three units of the Financial Planning Certificate to study. I’m bitter about comments like this have no…reasonable basis.
Wow pretty good sledge on an Association that you haven’t been a member of for years? If you were, you’d be familiar with the FPA’s communication and advertising plan to promote both the Association and the CFP designation. So alas, your ‘facts’ are anything but.
Yes Patrick, they’ve been planning to promote it for years now but evidence above and below shows that consumers are unaware of what CFP is and where the value is. Planning is worthless if the implementation is missing.
Alas Matthew again your conclusions are anachronistic. The FPA spent $2.5m last year implementing our plan, and there is more to come.
Please refer http://www.fpa.asn.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=22592
Or to save you the trouble, independent research on last year’s advertising contradicts your claim. Soon, the next stage of the advertising campaign will begin, in line with the FPA’s publicised strategy.
And, we’ll definitely be emphasising how FPA and CFP members are held to a much higher standard than non-member financial planners.
Damn you google and thanks MR. You are indeed correct that I am GC your detective work is impressive as is the time you appear to have on your hands. IFAAA – I must google this.
Not once in 10 years have I been asked if I am in the FPA or if I am CFP but four times this year I have been asked if I am a SMSF Specialist Adviser and in SPAA. SMSF owners appear more interested in seeking out specific expertise or a just more open about asking for your qualifications to meet their needs.
Agree wholeheartedly below. When the FPA came to see our practice a few weeks back, they told me that it was a must have. I asked a simple question of: “how much revenue will this bring in the door, given the cost of the program and membership?” I was basically told they have no stats on such, but they were “pretty sure” it was worthwhile.
On top of this, they allowed some cowboys (not most planners) in the industry to get grandfather exemptions just for having been in the industry for a period of time. Never mind if some of those planners were giving terrible advice or selling ostrich farms, just keep paying the fees!
Stayed tuned Mark – soon you will see even more evidence for what a compelling value proposition (over and above personal self-development) CFP status is.
Similar experience to Matthew Ross – have been asked once if I was a CFP. Have colleague who was asked once, said he wasn’t, still got client. I am sure most clients don’t know what the term means.
I have worked with CFPs who may as well have sent in the proof of purchase and corn flake vouchers.
Having been a CFP, I see no value except to the FPA by charging higher fees.
16 years experience in financial advice, not once asked by a client if I am a Certified Financial Planner.