FPSC clarifies designation guidelines following deal with ICB

(February 10, 2003) The Financial Planners Standards Council, which controls the Certified Financial Planner mark in Canada, is clarifying its position on other professional designations after agreeing to accredit the Institute of Canadian Bankers as a registered financial planning education provider. Several advisors have complained that the FPSC is guilty of a double standard, by allowing the ICB to continue promoting its own Personal Financial Planner program.

As long as the ICB does nothing to undermine the CFP program, the banking industry’s educational arm is free to promote any designation it wants, says Cary List, the FPSC’s vice-president of standards and certification. “We have never required that any organization registering a curriculum offers no other designation,” List says, pointing to the Canadian Securities Institute’s promotion of the FMA designation. “ICB has not joined our board as a member organization — it has simply registered its curriculum.”

One advisor noted that the former Canadian Association of Financial Planners was forced to essentially create a new organization to administer the Registered Financial Planner mark in order to continue its relationship with the FPSC. But Ann Bowman, the FPSC’s vice-president of communications, says that’s an unfair comparison.

“They were promoting the R.F.P. as superior to the CFP and they were a member of our board,” Bowman says.

“CAFP never had an education program they were trying to register,” List adds.

ICB applied for CFP accreditation in October 2002, List says, and the FPSC conducted a rigorous two-month review of its educational programs. “We have a very strict set of criteria and guidelines we use for measuring applications.”

When considering educational providers, designation issues are irrelevant, List told Advisor.ca. “The issue here is an academic institution looking at registering a curriculum with the FPSC for accreditation.”

The ICB announced details of the agreement with the FPSC on its Web site last week. Students who have completed the five accredited courses of the new PFP program are eligible to write the CFP exam. Other PFP holders must complete an online self-assessment to determine if they are ready to take the exam.

“We’re very happy to see people in the banking industry have a route through their own educational provider to come to the CFP designation,” List says. “We’re delighted to add them.”

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca