All senior financial planners working for Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL) will need to hold Certified Financial Planner accreditation by 30 June, 2017, as part of the group’s move to boost educational standards across its wealth management division.
The bank’s latest statement follows its announcement last week that all CFPL financial planners will be required to join an industry association.
Under the new policy, all new financial planners and individuals in planner supervisory roles for CFPL will need to hold a degree in finance, business, commerce, or a related field. They will also be required to join an industry association.
Gaining CFP certification means CFPL’s senior financial planners will have to become members of the Financial Planning Assocation (FPA), which is the Australian certification body for the global CFP designation.
An approved tertiary degree is a pre-requisite for membership of the two practitioner categories of FPA membership: CFP and Associate Financial Planner (AFP). Only the Affiliate category of membership is open to non-degree qualified individuals, such as paraplanners.
CFPL’s senior financial planners who don’t already hold an approved degree, but have the minimum CFPL requirement of an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (or equivalent) will need to complete a Master of Financial Planning at one of a number of FPA-accredited universities.
In a statement, the FPA said it welcomed today’s announcement from the CBA about measures to improve adviser education and training, increase transparency in adviser quality and support the FPA 10 Point Plan.
Mark Rantall, chief executive officer of the FPA said: “We recognise the strong move the CBA has made in its Open Advice Review program. It demonstrates commitment to deliver a fair and consistent outcome for customers.”
“CBA has listened to industry feedback and acted,” Rantall said.
“When all financial advisers are members of a professional association, we are in a better position to build a self-regulatory model under which all planners act in accordance with both regulation and a fully enforceable professional code that commands conduct above legal requirements.”
Dr Adrian Raftery, senior lecturer in financial planning and superannuation at Deakin University, said he applauded CBA’s announcement.
“We encourage other institutions in the financial planning industry to make similar announcements in coming weeks,” Raftery said.
“It is good news for enrolments in Master of Financial Planning degrees, which have been losers in the past to alternatives who provide eight-week solutions to current RG146 requirements.
“We can only hope that the Financial Systems Inquiry, as well as ASIC, will re-initiate proposals contained with Consultation Paper CP212 of a degree qualification from 2019, rather than the national exam alternative.
As one of only a few that are on the FPA Approved Degree list Deakin would welcome the senior financial planners at Commonwealth Bank to enrol in our Master of Financial Planning.”
CFPL reveals all planners to join an industry association by 2015
Industry or professional, if you’re talking about an association the difference matters
No easy ride for CBA advisers, say associations
CBA must improve financial planning, boost compensation: FPA
CBA breaks cover to announce expanded advice victim compensation scheme
This is a great move by the CBA to improve standards, however I believe their recent problems are more about ethics than education.