A professional designation for the modern adviser

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has recorded a significant increase in enrolments for its masters-level Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP) designation as advisers embrace the realisation that higher minimum professional standards will come into effect this year.

AFA Chief Executive Brad Fox says the FChFP curriculum has been built specifically for the Australian market and takes account of the increased expectations now being placed on the level of education and professional standing of financial advisers. “The FChFP curriculum was totally rebuilt last year. It is contemporary, it is academically robust, and it provides immediate and long term rewards to every adviser who completes it.”

Whilst the curriculum includes ethics, professionalism and technical assessments, it stretches the adviser to think further about the client experience and how to build that into a sustainable, professional service offering. “Along with our principal education partner Kaplan Professional, we ensured that the FChFP connects knowledge with adviser performance.”

Mr Fox says the reason for the changed curriculum was to drive client-centric advice and business models.  “We believe that the education standards debate has to reflect practical advice outcomes. Advice strategy and theory, the technical knowledge, is an important part, but the ability to create advice that deals with the non-technical demands of the client and is effective in helping a client to change their behaviour is also needed,” he says.

“While this is difficult to teach in a formal learning framework, completing business projects that demonstrate that the adviser has thought about and planned how to effectively deliver technically proficient advice, in a way that will change a client’s financial behaviour, is extremely valuable and appropriate in today’s consumer-driven market place.”

The AFA has increased its resourcing to cope with the increase in both membership and FChFP enrolments in the second half of 2014. “The momentum built quickly toward the end of last year and we have responded swiftly to ensure that the AFA can continue to support the financial advice community to manage and deal with the changes being experienced.”

Two new staff members have been added to the Member Services and Campus AFA team under the leadership of Nick Hakes. The AFA is also conducting a significant upgrade to its Membership Experience software.

“We are well known and respected for our member engagement; the sense of community that our members feel. This investment in upgrading our software will further enhance our engagement with our members and, as new members join the AFA, they will immediately experience the value of their AFA membership and feel a part of our professional community,” Mr Fox says.

“It will also support and encourage advisers to participate in the Your Best Interests campaign which will showcase the value of advice to consumers when it goes live in April this year.”