AMP Horizons prepared for new education framework

With the Government promising to increase education requirements for financial planners through its Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms package, the AMP Horizons Academy is bracing for the likely change, according to director Tim Steele (pictured).

Steele said while AMP Horizons had embraced some of the considerations that were being made by the regulators to raise the education standards for financial planners, the company still needed to position itself so it could operate in an environment of increased professional standards.

“Through the academy we already offer a professional year and we know that that’s one of the proposals that regulators and professional bodies like the Financial Planning Association are considering,” Steele said.

“And one of the enhancements we’re considering is actually mapping that experience to a formal qualification that will put the planner on track for [the Certified Financial Planner designation],” he said.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently released a consultation paper, CP153, which contains recommendations that all existing and new advisers complete a national competency exam followed by knowledge updates every three years, and be subject to ongoing continuing professional development requirements.

ASIC’s paper also proposed all new planners complete a mandatory professional year before being allowed to deal with clients unsupervised.

AMP Horizons Academy, which also served as one of AMP’s main recruitment tools, had 95 graduates in 2010 – 89 of whom currently work as financial planners at AMP.

This year, 140 new planners will graduate from the academy, with Steele announcing plans to double this number in the next few years.

The introduction of the professional year was a way of staying relevant and retaining the ability to provide an entry door to the industry for both new planners and career changes even after the changes were introduced, Steele added.