Ongoing training is mostly online — and scores low: Includes chart

“It’s all computer-based — just reading, mostly self-taught. [There’s a] risk of feeling isolated,” says a Bank of Montreal account manager. And a TD Canada Trust respondent reports that there are “lots of courses — online.”

A CIBC account manager adds: “[The bank] tends to launch new tools before they have been tested, so trainers have many issues with which to deal.” Another CIBC banker says: “Company time should be used for ongoing training — not our own time.”

National Bank of Canada was the only firm that garnered a higher score this year — 7.7, up from 7.2 in 2004. But TD retained its top score, 8.1, again this year.

Credit unions saw the biggest drop, falling to 6.3 from 7.8 in 2004. BMO and Bank of Nova Scotia were even with National Bank at 7.7, while CIBC and Royal Bank of Canada were at 7.1.

Royal Bank pays for all training, says Anne Lockie, head of sales for personal and business clients for RBC Financial Group.

“We spend a lot of money and time on training,” she says. “We [have] the largest private television network in Canada; we have a satellite dish in every branch and we do a lot of ongoing training for which people don’t have to leave their branches. It’s all interactive. They get a real opportunity to talk to the fund managers; they get a lot of opportunity to talk to advice and planning specialists,” she says.

Royal Bank has almost 100 people in a centralized support team. “Their job is to help with the advice and planning side,” says Lockie. “They’re the ones who build all our financial planning tools. And they’re available for one-on-one coaching and to answer any questions our account managers and financial planners may have in dealing with clients. They also provide ongoing education.”

Of the Royal Bank account managers surveyed, 57% held the personal financial planner designation and 45% held the certified financial planner designation. Only Scotiabank had more PFPs, at 62%. CIBC had the most CFPs, at 71%.

“If someone new comes to us, we’ll register that person for the PFP,” says Wendy Hannam, Scotiabank’s executive vice president, domestic branch banking, in Toronto. The bank pays the fees for courses leading to designations, as well the cost of other training programs offered through the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

The ICB offers the courses required for both PFP and CFP designations, but awards only the PFP. The Financial Planners Standards Council awards the CFP and a number of educational institutions offer accredited courses leading to the CFP.

Six courses are required for the PFP. These are:

> Fundamentals of personal finance. This course covers the psychological characteristics influencing clients, communication techniques, relationship skills, preparation of financial statements, the time value of money, debt management, the financial planning process and economic concepts.

> Investment and taxation fundamentals.
This course covers the principles of investing, such as risk and return; types of investment products; personal taxation, including calculation of total income, deductions and credits; and the legal aspects of financial planning.

> Insurance and retirement. This course involves an in-depth look at insurance, retirement and estate planning.

> Investment and tax planning. This course explores tax planning and portfolio management, as well as Canadian financial services ethics. Topics include the yield curve, derivative securities, asset allocation and performance measurement, financial markets, segregated funds, income tax liability, capital gains, income-splitting and attribution rules, personal trust taxation and business taxation.

> Risk management and estate planning. This course includes advanced risk-management techniques; the intricacies of insurance, including taxation of insurance products; and how trusts and estate plans are designed for each client’s special circumstances.

> Financial planning integration activity. This course uses case studies to integrate the process, theory and concepts of financial planning. The emphasis is on developing and assessing the student’s ability to create and present a comprehensive personal financial plan. Students must submit a plan for grading.

After completing the courses, PFP candidates write an exam. If they wish they can also write the CFP exam set by the FPSC. The ICB also offers a CFP exam prep course to help advisors “assess your readiness to write the CFP exam.”

@page_break@This year, Scotiabank is launching a few new programs for its financial advisors, including a mandatory intensive investment selling skills program, says Hannam. “Every financial advisor will have two three-day workshops in which the focus is on a financial plan-based conversation with clients that covers not just investments but all their financial needs,” she says.

Scotiabank is also introducing a number of new tools for its financial advisors. One is Blueprint, a financial plan-based selling tool that was piloted in the past 12 months.
Another is Portfolio Analyzer, a mutual fund analysis tool that is now being piloted and is scheduled to be launched this summer.

Don Rolfe, president and CEO of Credential Financial Inc. in Vancouver, says his firm brings credit union account managers to Vancouver for training in systems,
compliance, sales, coaching and for continuing education credits.

Credential pays for courses required for designations, says Rolfe. He can’t speak for every credit union but says that generally there is support and financial compensation for acquiring a designation. IE