Mark Rantall

The Financial Planning Education Council (FPEC) has announced the two winners of the 2015 FPEC Academic Research Grants to academics at Deakin University and the University of Western Sydney (UWS).

The FPEC Academic Research Grants are sponsored by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) and they recognise those that have demonstrated a commitment to encouraging the development of financial planning as an academic discipline in its own right.

Recipients of the grants will be awarded $5,000 each to support the research they are doing tofurther grow relationships between the tertiary sector and the financial planning profession.

The project from Deakin University is titled: “The costs, benefits and trade-offs associated with professionalising the Australian Financial Planning industry”, and is led by Dr Adrian Raftery.

The project from UWS is led by Sharon Taylor and it is titled: “Can a link be established between ultimate success in the CFP^® Certification Program and any specific demographic factor of the participant?”

Presentations of both projects will be made at the academic Personal Finance and Investments Conference (PFIS), to be held in November 2015.

Outcomes from the two inaugural grants awarded in March of this year will be presented at the Personal Finance and Investment Symposium at Flinders University on 11 November.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA said, “I am delighted to see that there are now four research projects that have been supported by FPEC Research Grants. They are evidence of a genuine partnership between academia and the profession.”

The FPEC plans to award annual Research Grants and a call for submissions for the 2016 grants will occur in May 2015. The scheme is open to higher education providers with an FPEC-approved degree.

For more detail on the FPEC Research Grants Scheme, please refer to: www.fpa.asn/fpec

Mark Rantall

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) yesterday rolled out its proposed Education and Professional Standards Framework to the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry, as it continues to champion the need to change current education requirements within the financial planning profession.

According to Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, the new framework would see the Financial Planning Education Council (FPEC) be gifted to the industry as an independent body that would become the gatekeeper of minimum education standards and requirements for those providing personal financial advice to consumers.

“Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel – we already have a reputable body in FPEC that can uphold the standards set by the profession. Our proposed framework would allow FPEC to do just that for the industry, without being tied to any one association or group,” Mr Rantall said.

The FPA’s proposal would specifically improve financial planner education through a national financial planning curriculum and University audits. This model would then allow professional bodies and the regulators to work together in setting continued professional development, standards and ethics.

Specifically, the FPA proposes:

• A minimum degree qualification plus one year’s relevant experience for new financial planners from 1 January 2018;
• Minimum 90 hours CPD per triennium for all financial planners; and
• A co-regulatory model that recognises professional bodies to maintain and enforce Codes of conduct

“We welcome the opportunity to put our views forward on what the advancement of our profession should look like in terms of minimum degree qualifications to be a financial planner/adviser. We know however that when implementing new standards, it’s important we lead for the future yet respect the past. That is why we have advised introducing an appropriate transition and pathway options for existing advisers, to be completed by 1 January 2019.

“We are committed to working with government, industry bodies, financial planners and consumers to ensure we live up to the expectations of our profession. We want consumers to feel empowered and to realise the benefits of trusted financial advice. This is why it is important for them to know that their financial planner is a member of a professional association; is listed on a public register; is qualified and carries the world class CFP® designation,” Mr Rantall said.

In conclusion, Mr Rantall pointed to recent ASIC enforcement actions to highlight the clear distinction between financial planners who are members of a professional association and those who are not.

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Mark Rantall

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) yesterday rolled out its proposed Education and Professional Standards Framework to the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry, as it continues to champion the need to change current education requirements within the financial planning profession.

According to Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, the new framework would see the Financial Planning Education Council (FPEC) be gifted to the industry as an independent body that would become the gatekeeper of minimum education standards and requirements for those providing personal financial advice to consumers.

“Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel – we already have a reputable body in FPEC that can uphold the standards set by the profession. Our proposed framework would allow FPEC to do just that for the industry, without being tied to any one association or group,” Mr Rantall said.

The FPA’s proposal would specifically improve financial planner education through a national financial planning curriculum and University audits. This model would then allow professional bodies and the regulators to work together in setting continued professional development, standards and ethics.

Specifically, the FPA proposes:

• A minimum degree qualification plus one year’s relevant experience for new financial planners from 1 January 2018;
• Minimum 90 hours CPD per triennium for all financial planners; and
• A co-regulatory model that recognises professional bodies to maintain and enforce Codes of conduct

“We welcome the opportunity to put our views forward on what the advancement of our profession should look like in terms of minimum degree qualifications to be a financial planner/adviser. We know however that when implementing new standards, it’s important we lead for the future yet respect the past. That is why we have advised introducing an appropriate transition and pathway options for existing advisers, to be completed by 1 January 2019.

“We are committed to working with government, industry bodies, financial planners and consumers to ensure we live up to the expectations of our profession. We want consumers to feel empowered and to realise the benefits of trusted financial advice. This is why it is important for them to know that their financial planner is a member of a professional association; is listed on a public register; is qualified and carries the world class CFP® designation,” Mr Rantall said.

In conclusion, Mr Rantall pointed to recent ASIC enforcement actions to highlight the clear distinction between financial planners who are members of a professional association and those who are not.

The post FPA rolls out education and professional standards framework to PJC appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Julie Knutsen

The Financial Planning Education Council (FPEC) yesterday announced the two winners of the inaugural FPEC University Research Grants.

The winners of the grants have been named as a team from Griffith University and a consortium of academics from Griffith University, University of Southern Queensland and University of New England.

The initial grants, sponsored jointly by Kaplan Professional and the Financial Planning Association (FPA), are for $5,000 each and represent a commitment to encouraging the development of financial planning as an academic discipline in its own right.

Speaking about the grants, Chairman of the Grant Standing Committee of the FPEC, Ms Sharon Taylor of the University of Western Sydney said, “Academic research in financial planning is essential for underpinning the growth of financial planning as a profession. FPEC acknowledges the sponsorship of both the Financial Planning Association and Kaplan Professional in making this scheme possible.

“The two grant recipients were chosen from a total of nine applications and we look forward to the presentations of their research next November,” said Ms Taylor.

The project from Griffith University is titled ‘The economic, financial and psychological benefits of financial coaching in the professional financial planning and advice context’. The lead investigator is Ms Julie Knutsen, working with Assoc. Professor Mark Brimble and Dr Robyn Cameron.

The consortium project is titled ‘Financial Planning Value Proposition: Laying the Groundwork Based on Clients’ Perspective’. It is co-led by Mr Lujer Santacruz, Lecturer at University of Southern Queensland and Associate Professor Mark Brimble of Griffith University. Dr John Teale of the University of New England is also a participant.

Presentations of both projects are due to be made in November at the academic Personal Finance and Investments Conference (PFIS) in Queensland.

According to FPEC, it plans to award annual Research Grants with the assistance of its sponsors Kaplan and the FPA. A call for submissions will occur in May 2014. The scheme is open to universities with an FPEC-approved degree.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the Financial Planning Association said, “The FPA is proud to be involved in the FPEC grant program. Education is key to ensuring a strong future for the financial planning profession. I am confident that the FPEC Research Grants Scheme will grow as the FPA’s Professional Partners join the FPA in investing in the education of the future by sponsoring the FPEC Research Grants.

“An approved degree is a requirement for all new practitioner members of the profession and as such, support for academics is essential. The FPEC Grants Scheme is just another way we can ensure that we develop strong and lasting relationships between the tertiary sector and the profession.”

Dr Michael Evans, Vice President, Academic, Kaplan International Australia, said, “Kaplan is supporting the development of a more scholarly foundation in the areas of its teaching strengths in applied finance and financial planning. To that end we are proud to support schemes that aim to encourage more research in the field of financial planning, a field that has been often neglected by the academic research community.”

The launch was at the biannual meeting of the Financial Planning Academics Forum (FPAF), and on the same day as an occasion marking 20 years of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).

While National Guidelines have existed for some years for vocational qualifications in financial planning, university courses have varied immensely with little consistency in the content and shape of qualifications.

The FPEC has brought together academics and practitioners to define a financial planning curriculum for degree qualifications. The accreditation guidelines have been developed by academics and practitioners and the launch follows extensive consultation with universities and other providers of degree-level education. The FPEC will specifically have the power to approve individual programs that satisfy requirements for admittance to the CFP® certification program.

Launching the Accreditation Framework, Mark Rantall CFP®, CEO of the Financial Planning Association said:

“Establishing a uniform curriculum not only provides the Universities with a clear view about the high standard of learning and graduate outcomes expected of financial planners, it also ensures a clear and dedicated relationship between academia and the profession.

“The newly approved National Curriculum marks another important milestone for the FPA as we progress towards the professionalisation of financial planning in Australia. The FPA first announced its degree requirement for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioners in 2003 and implemented this requirement from 2007. From July 2013, all new practitioner members of the FPA will need an approved degree.

“It is important that all Australians are assured of the educational qualifications and competence of those people who hold themselves out as financial planners.”

Professor David Lamond, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Offshore Branch Campus Development) Victoria University, and Chair of the FPEC, said:

“Following broad consultation, the FPEC has endorsed the curriculum standards and produced separate guidelines to assist organisations seeking recognition of their courses. On behalf of my fellow Academic and Professional colleagues on the FPEC, I commend these standards to you and encourage you to join with us as we progress this community to a strong professional future.”

Dr Mark Brimble, Co-Chair of the FPAF, Deputy Chair FPEC: Research and Academic, said:

“In 2003 there were few degrees in financial planning. Today there is a vibrant community of academics who specialise in financial planning education. The FPEC Framework will provide a sound basis for all stakeholders in terms of the expected knowledge and skills outcomes for students of higher education programs in financial planning in Australia.  We welcome the new standards and look forward to an increase in the number of universities and other approved higher education providers who participate in the accreditation process.”

The national financial planning curriculum launches today and the first accreditations will be completed by the end of 2012.

The consultation is open to all Higher Education providers and will run until 30 June.

Through the consultation exercise FPEC hopes to learn directly from the University community about their views on a new form of professional/academic relationship with this important financial services community, as well as to get a consensus view on the content and structure for a harmonised national curriculum in financial planning.

In recent years the importance of quality, timely and professional financial advice has been recognised by the Australian community, government and the financial planning profession, as integral to the growth of the superannuation system and to ensure the safe and financially confident position of individual Australians in the future.

The FPA has lead the way in the financial services industry and raised the bar on professionalism that saw it introduce degree requirements for its professional credential program, Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) in 2003 and in the intervening 9 years, 17 of Australia’s Higher Education providers have developed programs that align to professional recognition by the FPA.

In 2011, the FPA established an independent educational council called FPEC, made up equally of the Academic and Professional community, to review the existing programs on offer and research the needs of the University community.

Amongst the most significant concerns identified in that review were:

• The limited supply of specialist academic (Doctoral level) expertise in Financial Planning (and related Financial Services) presents a problem for the growth of dedicated teaching and research activity in a field that represents the single largest economic contribution to the country.
• A structural academic problem with professional ‘multi-disciplinary’ fields of research and teaching, leaving fields such as financial planning as academic ‘itinerants’ and creates a lack of ownership in traditional disciplinary structures.
• Anxiety amongst the Academy that technically dense and highly immediate fields of study, such as financial planning require a higher academic teaching/student ratio and greater academic immediacy than many other single disciplinary subjects.
• The multiple accreditation requirements of professional bodies and the increasing standards requirements of Australian education regulators lead to duplication of activity and ultimately drain academic support resources. Universities are calling for alignment in professional accreditation frameworks.
• A disconnect between the research activity central to University strategy and the research needs of the financial planning profession and related stakeholders (such as policy issues for government, structural and regulatory issues etc…)
• The increasing regulatory oversight and establishment of mandatory education requirements for professions such as financial planning has a narrowing and levelling effect on the educational content available and has eroded the traditional differences between VET sector and Higher Education. This has also led to difficulty in distinguishing between postgraduate and undergraduate program content and outcomes that seek to deliver the same regulatory outcomes, at the expense of differentiated professional and career needs.
• The Financial Services Industry has not provided a unified professional clarity around curriculum and professional needs across the varied sectors and has failed to support Universities with structured professional networks, leadership and funding.

In responding to these concerns of the University community and the need to ensure long term content and program integrity, FPEC has today launched a national consultation on the introduction of a new Australian Curriculum for Financial Planning and also a new Accreditation Framework for providers and programs.

Dr Deen Sanders, Chief Professional Officer of the FPA said:

“We know that Universities are working through enormous change right now, wrestling with changes to purpose, funding, standards and program validity. Our research showed us that the business world is wrestling with the same challenges, as the career model for professions changes in response to community demand, as individual professionals work through a different sense of community and obligation and as governments and regulatory scrutiny increases across the board.”

“In such an environment it is incumbent that professional communities reach out in a collaborative way to Universities to encourage and assist them to navigate the increasingly volatile aspects of modern business needs”.

In light of the 2011 review, the FPEC has expanded its work program for University engagement and will now also work on building a research channel and programs that support direct academic engagement with the professional community.

Prof. David Lamond, FPEC Chairman said:

“Until now there has been no consistent model of a financial planning curriculum and no consistent approach to accreditation. The Financial Planning Education Council’s proposal is for a consultation on the introduction of a new Australian Curriculum for Financial Planning that aims to support positive general outcomes for all graduates in this field, whilst allowing Universities to specialise in their area of research or teaching expertise.

Similarly, the competing variations in professional body accreditation presents complexity and unnecessary duplication for Universities so the proposal to adopt an Accreditation model that follows the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) approach that many business schools are already following, is one that we hope the University community will support.”