Different Steps to obtain a CFP certification

Interested in a Financial Advisor Career?

        Click Here

 

The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification is an internationally recognized, industry gold standard for financial planning. Granted by the Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC), CFP certification provides assurance that the planner is committed to internationally-recognized professional standards of this designation. An advisor with a CFP is professionally qualified to move ahead into financial planning and offer advice to the businesses as well as individuals on investment products and strategies.   

CFP professionals comprise over 17,500 licensed financial planners in Canada, meeting the standards of competence, ethics and practice as set and enforced in Canada by FPSC. Those who are looking for competent and ethical financial planning services, they may choose to go for a financial advisor with CFP certification.  The certification program is designed to equip the candidates with the right skills, abilities and knowledge necessary to provide financial planning services to the clients. It assures the following professional standards:

• Successful completion of the relevant education in financial planning
• Successful completion of examinations designed for the certification
• Relevant work experience in this field
• Commitment to clients’ interests
  
  

If you are interested to obtain a CFP certification in Canada, the first step would be to complete your core curriculum education. For this you may choose to enrol yourself for any of the FPSC-approved Core Curriculum education programs. The official website of FPSC maintains a list of such FPSC-approved providers of the relevant education program. However, you may be exempt from this requirement if you hold any FPSC approved prior credential like CA, CGA, CMA, CFA, CLU, FCIA, PhD in Finance, Business or Economics or member of any provincial law society.  Core curriculum education is also not a must if you are a CFP professional with an international affiliate of FPSC.  

According to the new CFP Certification guidelines effective 1st July, 2010, the single six-hour CFP Examination is replaced with a two-staged examination process- Financial Planning Examination Level 1 and Level 2. Upon completion of the Core Curriculum education, you will be eligible to write the Level 1 examination. Once you pass the examination, you must become a registered candidate with FPSC.

You also need to complete an approved Capstone Course before writing the level II examination. Please note that you must have completed at least one year of work experience in financial planning before you qualify for the examination. There are several reputable financial services firms offering jobs to interested candidates. CFP Certification requires the candidate to demonstrate at least three years of work experience in the relevant field. Upon successful completion of the level-II examination, you must complete the remainder of three year work experience.    

Once all above mentioned requirements are met and you agree to abide by the CFP Code of Ethics and CFP Financial Planning Practice Standards, you may submit your licensing application. The certification program makes sure you get the relevant work experience, educational opportunities and the vast array of knowledge required for financial planning.  For more information on CFP Certification and financial advisor jobs, please visit http://www.canadafinancial.ca.