FSRA approves another credential for financial planner title

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has approved another credential under the province’s title protection regime.

The personal financial planner (PFP) designation has been approved for use of “financial planner.” The PFP is overseen by the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI), a Moody’s Analytics company.

The PFP brings the number of approved credentials for the planner title to four. The other credentials, announced in April, are FP Canada’s certified financial planner (CFP) and qualified associate financial planner (QAFP) designations, and Advocis subsidiary the Institute for Advanced Financial Education’s chartered life underwriter (CLU) designation.

Marie Muldowney, managing director with CSI, said in a release that her organization is “focused on supporting our PFP designation holders to prioritize their clients’ interests.”

Further, “We have appreciated the openness and cooperation of the FSRA staff throughout the consultation and accreditation process,” she said.

“We now have three highly qualified credentialing bodies with the addition of CSI, as it is an existing licensing and designation-granting entity,” said Huston Loke, executive vice-president, market conduct with FSRA, in the release.

For the “financial advisor” title, FSRA has so far approved the Institute’s professional financial advisor (PFA) designation.

In a webinar last month, the regulator suggested advisors and planners check its website weekly for updates on approved credentials, as reviews of applications from potential credentialing bodies are ongoing.

Staff

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