The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) CEO, Phil Kewin today welcomed the appointment of AFA General Manager, Member Services, Partnerships and Campus, Nick Hakes, as Vice Chairman of the Asia Pacific Financial Services Association (APFinSA) International Certifications & Standards Board.
“Nick’s appointment demonstrates that the Australian advice profession and our education program are held in the highest esteem by our Asia-Pacific neighbours,” he said. “APFinSA council members represent the voice of over 100,000 financial service professionals across 11 country associations and we are delighted that Nick has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the APFinSA International Certifications and Standards Board and lead adviser education on a world scale.”
Mr Hakes says he is honoured to accept the appointment which coincides with the signing of an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between APFinSA and the European Financial Planning Association (EFPA). The signing of the MOU starts a process for the EFPA to formally recognise APFinSA’s Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP) designation.
“The MOU will effectively extend the global footprint of the FChFP designation and demonstrates that, with its focus on balancing academic studies with applied practice development, the FChFP is a very highly recognised and respected designation across the world,” Mr Hakes said.
The MOU also implies that APFinSA will recognise the EFPA’s professional designation.
EFPA Chair, Josep Soler-Albertí, said the MOU is an important development and both parties are already working cohesively to develop a mutual recognition framework of designations. “The MOU with APFinSA presents an exciting opportunity to strengthen the global recognition of both sets of professional designations.”
