Commbank lifts planner education requirements
The Commonwealth Bank has moved further to address the issues which flowed from a scathing assessment by a Senate Committee by announcing today new minimum education standards for Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited (CFP) financial planners, supervisors and managers of planners.
Money Management understands that the Commonwealth Bank move comes, in part, because of discussions with the Financial Planning Association (FPA) around its 10-point plan.
The bank's announcement points out that the Commonwealth Financial Planning business has been transformed since 2011 with changes in management and structures, and that the new standards represent an important further step.
It said the new education standards entail:
· All new CFP financial planners, recruited from today, must hold a degree in finance, business, commerce or a related field;
· All new CFP direct supervisors or managers, recruited from today, must hold a degree in finance, business, commerce or a related field;
· Existing financial planners authorised under the CFP licence and their supervisors will be required to hold either an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (or equivalent) or a degree in finance, business, commerce or a related field by 30 June 2017;
· Existing Senior Financial Planners will be required to obtain the Certified Financial Planner certification with the Financial Planning Association of Australia; and
· CFP commits to making membership of a relevant financial services industry association a minimum standard required of all CFP financial planners by 30 June 2015.
Commenting on the move, Commonwealth Bank executive general manager Advice, Marianne Perkovic said both the Interim Report of the Financial System Inquiry and the Final Report of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into ASIC concluded that educational levels across the industry need to be enhanced.
"Today's announcement is an important and proactive step to meeting the standards envisaged by those reports," she said.
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