BECOME A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERCM PRACTITIONER
More than a decade ago, financial planners were almost unheard
of. With Malaysians becoming more affluent, the demand
for the service of financial planners is growing rapidly.
People these days have more sophisticated demands. They
are no longer satisfied with simple investment planning,
and are seeking out financial planners not only to manage
their wealth but also to extend their kitty while maintaining
or improving their lifestyle. Why financial planning?
Financial Planning is the process
of meeting an individual’s life goals through
the proper management of his finances. Life goals can
include creating wealth, buying a house, going for vacations, saving for
a child’s education or planning for retirement.
Local Recognition of CFP by Bank Negara and Securities Commission
Bank Negara has recognized the CFP qualification as a prerequisite for application of the Financial Adviser’s licence.
Prior to this, Modules 1 and 2 of the CFP certification program had been recognized by Bank Negara for the purpose of complying with the requirement that all life insurance agents of more than one year need to attend these modules.
The latest recognition by Bank Negara is a further testament of the standard of the CFP qualification and its credo of the "Highest Standard in Financial Planning".
Earlier, CFP was already recognised by Securities Commission as a prerequisite for application of the Investment Adviser’s licence
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals meet competency, ethics and professional practice standards based on an international platform of education, examination, experience and ethics/professional practice requirements (the 4Es). CFP certification standards for each country/ region have been adapted to meet domestic marketplace, regulatory and educational needs. For data on the global growth of CFP Professionals over the past decade, visit Global Growth of CFP Professionals. For an overview of the international CFP certification program and the state of the financial planning profession globally, visit FPSB web site HERE.
What a Certified Financial Planner is (US Version)
Take the challenge
For those who are interested in pursuing CFP qualification in Malaysia, do take note that candidates with certain qualification and/or professional
credentials can apply to Financial Planning Association
of Malaysia (FRAM) for approval under the CFP Challenge
status. Under this status, the approved member is only
required to complete a 40 hours of class-room based lectures
to be followed by 6 hours of Module 6 examinations. They
are exempted from Module 1 to 5 examination of the CFP
programme.
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERCM andCFP®certification
marks identify what a financial planner is, establishes
a standard of professional practice and creates a “mark
of quality” that consumers can recognize and for
which practitioners may aspire to attain. The financial
planner who uses this mark is recognized as having met
the highest standards for the practice of financial planning.
The international CFP®Council works to ensure
that a well-defined six-step process used by a financial
planner will place the client’s interest and needs
first. As of September 2008, there are more than 111,000 CFP® certified
practitioners worldwide and the number is growing.
In Malaysia, CFP certification programme has becoming more and more popular. The Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) currently enjoys with more than 11,000 members and over 4000 of them are CFP® certified
practitioners with another 7000 of them still pursuing CFP® certification programme. Majority of Malaysia's CFP holders are mainly from financial industry: about 65% of them are attached to banks, unit trust, insurance, financial advisory and stock broking companies, with another 18% are accountants. About 16% of CFP holders in Malaysia are from non financial corporations.
Benefits of becoming a CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNERCM Practitioner :
* Acquire knowledge and develop expertise in retirement
planning, insurance, investment, tax and estate
planning.
* Be associated with the most internationally recognized
and accepted designation in financial planning.
* Earn your credibility and respect from the public
and distinguish yourself from your competitors.
* Increase your business earning potential and add
to your career growth and professional fulfillment.
The Certified Financial Planner
certification will be earned by individuals who
have demonstrated technical competency combined with
practical experience which enables them to write a comprehensive,
functional financial plan for an individual, all the
while conforming to the international CFP mark.
The Associate Financial Planner Malaysia will
be competent to recommend general financial planning
strategies and to advise on the appropriate selection
and use of various financial products for individuals,
e.g., insurance, unit trust and a broad range of securities
and banking products.
Everyone Ought to Learn Financial Planning
The CFP® and AFPM Certification Requirements
In order to be certified, a candidate
for the CFP® certification must meet all four requirements
of the certification process described below, while
a candidate for the AFPM certification must meet the
education, examination and the ethics requirements. In Malaysia, KDU Management Development Centre (KMDC) is the leading educatio provider of CFP programme. For enrolment and more informaiton about CFP course offered in Malaysia, please contact KMDC.
Before applying for the Certification
Examination, a candidate must complete academic coverage
of the financial planning curricula including :
- Foundation in Financial Planning
- Risk management and insurance planning
- Tax planning
- Investment planning
- Estate planning and Retirement planning
- Financial Plan Construction and Professional Responsibilities Examination
Upon successful completion of
the academic requirement, the candidate is eligible
to apply for the Certification Examination. The Certification
Examination is designed to assess the candidate’s
ability to apply his financial planning education to
financial planning situations in an integrated format,
thereby protecting the consumers by assuring that the
financial planner is at the appropriate level of competency
required for practice.
Experience
This centres on work which involves
personal financial planning-related experience. It is
designed to provide the public with the assurance that
the candidate understands the counseling nature of personal
financial planning. The requirement is three years,
performed before or after the successful completion
of the Certification Examination.
Ethics
Once the education, examination
and work experience requirements are met, the candidate
for the CFP® certification will receive a Declaration
Packet which includes an ethics statement form and his
licence application with a bill for the initial licence
fee. The candidate for the AFPM certification will also
receive a Declaration Packet on completion of the education
and examination requirements.
Prior to certification, the candidates will be required
to disclose past or pending litigation or agency proceedings
and to acknowledge the right of FPAM to enforce its
Professional Standards and Code of Ethics through due
process described.
Corporate rate available for all employees (both full time and part time) of financial institutions and media companies: enjoy about 20% off the standard fee.
