CFP designation to make its mark
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation could gain a fur-ther stronghold in Australia under measures to be considered by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in upcoming months.
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation could gain a fur-ther stronghold in Australia under measures to be considered by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in upcoming months.
The FPA's education and professional standards committees will this week consider proposals unveiled by the CFP Board in the US last week to extend the CFP designation to financial planning groups and a separate Associate CFP designation.
The unveiling of the proposals comes on the eve of a major marketing push for the CFP designation to be rolled out by the FPA in late July which is believed to involve a substantial advertising campaign amongst other measures.
FPA chief executive Michael McKenna describes the CFP proposals as "very significant".
"We welcome the proposals of an entry-level qualification and a CFP accreditation for financial planning firms," he says.
However, McKenna says the process of discussing the proposal to mem-bers, working through the finer points and then seeking approval for the CFP ruling body in the US could take up to a year.
Looking further down the track, McKenna says the FPA may look to change its name to reflect the growing importance of the CFP brand.
In his last post as chief executive of the Australian Society of Cer-tified Practicing Accountants, McKenna was instrumental in the change of name from the Australian Society of Accountants to the Australian Society of CPAs in 1990.
Under the CFP Board proposals, a financial planning group could be accredited CFP status if more than half of the financial planners within the group were CFP qualified and the firm's primary business was financial planning.
An Associate CFP is described by the CFP Board as a "threshhold-level financial planning designation". To qualify, advisers would be required to complete studies authorised by the CFP Board and be "involved in the financial planning process at the time of application."
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