Leader, Education - no longer an academic issue

Education is shaping up as one of the big financial planning issues over the next couple of years.

But the debate has shifted. No longer do people argue over the benefits of better education of financial planners. The need for continuous education throughout a planning career has been driven by two related external factors.

Education is shaping up as one of the big financial planning issues over the next couple of years.

But the debate has shifted. No longer do people argue over the benefits of better education of financial planners. The need for continuous education throughout a planning career has been driven by two related external factors.

The first is the need to provide the best advice for clients. Keeping abreast of con-stant legislative change and improving service delivery keeps clients happy and therefore drives loyalty.

The second less altruistic factor comes from a more threatening external pressure than clients — the regulators. ASIC is devoting a huge amount of time and energy to ensuring advisers maintain a focus on excellence. A number of dealer groups, in-cluding Westpac, Count and Suncorp, have been struck by a major clampdown by the corporate watchdog’s compliance operations. There is word around the indus-try more medium size dealer groups could soon feel the heat on compliance.

Even compliance issues aside, the upcoming Financial Services Reform Bill (or CLERP 6) will create a huge demand for ongoing education of financial planners plus basic financial planning education for people working in areas that offer inci-dental financial advice such as banking and real estate.

To keep up with regulations, legislation and consumer expectations, dealers are also increasingly looking for better qualified planners. A quick scan through Money Management’s recruitment section indicates there is a growing demand for people with DFP and even CFP qualifications. Some of the biggest dealer groups in the country, such as AMP, are demanding their advisers have a minimum edu-cation standard.

Continual upgrading of professional qualifications is now expected of all financial planners. So the issue is not whether to invest in education but who will win the battle to woo the bulk of students.

And the stakes are high. Fees generated by providing education are set to go through the roof. More than 8,000 are enrolled in the FPA’s Diploma of Financial Planning course alone.

And the FPA is not the only industry heavyweight jousting for position in the mar-ket. The Securities Institute recently signed agreements with the Institute of Char-tered Accountants as the preferred supplier of financial planning education for its 33,000 members. This is on top of the huge numbers already going through its fi-nancial planning courses.

On top of the big two players, there is sure to be a flood of new providers looking to grab a share of what is sure to be a lucrative market. While not new to the mar-ket, Integratec are understood to be making a serious bid for market share with ac-creditation from ASIC and the distribution power of Internet group Intracorp.

And let’s not forget the universities. While the number of universities offering fi-nancial planning courses is still relatively small, they have set up beachheads and are sure to be an attractive option for planners.

Whatever happens, it is likely to be an interesting competition to witness from the sidelines.