FP Canada Institute has launched its first education programs.
The institute is a division of FP Canada, the certifying body for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation in Canada, and its mandate is to elevate the practice of financial planning.
The new programs, Introduction to Professional Ethics (IPE) and the CFP Professional Education Program, will be mandatory for those seeking CFP certification beginning in 2020. (Changes to CFP certification, effective Jan. 1, 2020, were announced last November.)
The new educational offerings will help financial planners “enhance professional skills, including strong communications and relationship skills, as well as insights in areas such as behavioural economics, consumer psychology and ethics,” FP Canada said in a release on Tuesday.
IPE is offered online, takes about two hours and teaches the distinction between “integrity-based professional obligations and compliance-based obligations,” the release said.
The CFP Professional Education Program is also online and covers principles of human behaviour and professional skills in communications, critical thinking, relationships and ethics. The program has live instructor interaction and FP Canada estimates that it’s comparable in length and difficulty to a full-semester university course.
Registration is now open. IPE has launched, and the CFP Professional Education Program launches Nov. 26.
CFP candidates have until Oct. 29 to register for the November sitting of the CFP exam or FPSC Level 1 exam — the last sitting before the upcoming changes to FP Canada’s certification program take effect. The November sitting is also the final one for the FPSC Level 1 exam before it’s replaced by the Qualified Associate Financial Planner designation on Jan 1.