A survey released by the Coalition for Professional Standards for Financial Planning reveals that, while many Canadians feel they have insufficient knowledge to adequately plan their financial future, they are also unaware of the lack of regulatory standards in place throughout most of Canada for the financial planners who could help them create a financial plan.

The web survey, which included more than 1,500 Canadians, measured awareness and perceptions of financial planners in Canada.

While most respondents (92%) had heard of the profession of financial planner, less than half (49%) know there is a difference between a financial planner and a financial advisor. Most significantly, 44% of respondents believe there are regulatory standards in place for financial planners.

It’s an inaccurate and potentially risky belief for most Canadians, according to Cary List, chairman of the Coalition and president & CEO of the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC), a not-for-profit organization that develops, promotes and enforces professional standards in financial planning through the granting and enforcement of the Certified Financial Planner certification.

“In most Canadian provinces, there is no legislated standard in place for those who call themselves financial planners or offer financial planning services,” he says. “With the exception of Quebec, where the Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF) is the only organization authorized to grant financial planning diplomas (Pl. Fin.), people who call themselves financial planners are not required to obtain any credentials whatsoever.”

Other key insights from the research include the belief of 66% of respondents that they will need help in planning their financial futures.

“There is no doubt that Canadians need the guidance of competent, professional financial planners,” says List. “An aging population, rising consumer debt levels and gaps in workplace wellness programs have left Canadians in the most financially precarious positions that we have experienced in decades.”

Coalition members, including FPSC, IQPF, Canadian Institute of Financial Planners and Institute of Advanced Financial Planners are in the process of developing a professional self-regulatory framework which would see the official recognition of financial planning as a profession across Canada.