FP Canada wants 4 more provinces to embrace title reg by 2025

FP Canada wants four more provinces to commit to regulating financial professionals’ titles by March 31, 2025, according to the organization’s three-year strategic plan.

Released Tuesday, FP Canada’s 2022–2025 Strategic Plan outlines how the national certification and oversight body will support its overarching goal of making financial planning more accessible by 2030.

Under the category of government relations, FP Canada stated it would like governments to “recognize financial planning as a profession and support its broad accessibility, through appropriate policy and regulatory frameworks” over the next three years.

The organization would consider that goal achieved if, among other criteria, Ontario and Saskatchewan fully implement title legislation and if at least four more provinces commit to introducing title legislation by 2025. FP Canada would also like the federal government to make policy changes to provide for broader access to financial planning.

The strategic plan includes other broad goals:

• Canadians embrace and have confidence in financial planning as an important professional service on the path to financial wellness.
• The profession operates in the public interest; is accessible and inclusive; is holistic and client-centric; and remains current and relevant to Canadian society.
• The industry embraces professional financial planning, and always in the client’s best interest.
• FP Canada leads the evolution of financial planning as a unified profession that all Canadians can confidently rely on to deliver at consistently high standards.

In May, an FP Canada survey found that only half of Canadians said they feel they can afford professional financial advice (49%) or know what questions to ask (46%). Only one in four (27%) said financial professionals often look like them, and about four in 10 (39%) said they find dealing with financial professionals “intimidating.”

FP Canada said it will conduct the survey annually to measure progress until 2030. The body also stated in its strategic plan that it wants to increase the number of Canadians supported by its pro bono initiatives.

The strategic plan’s end date is March 31, 2025, coinciding with FP Canada’s fiscal year.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.