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As a financial planner, you are part of one of Australia’s most dynamic and fastest growing professions. The CFP Marks will allow you to set yourself apart from other financial planners.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM, CFP ® and the  Mark are international marks representing the highest professional certification that can be awarded to a financial planner. CFP practitioners have completed rigorous study in financial planning, have extensive industry experience and abide by the FPA Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct. See the video below that brings to life the CFP Marks that represent the global symbol of excellence in financial planning. If you are having trouble viewing this video, please confirm you have the latest version of adobe flash by clicking here.
The four Es
To become certified, candidates are required to meet the following four initial certification requirements (known as the four "Es"):
Education, Examination, Experience, Ethics
Education and examination
To meet the education and examination requirements for CFP® certification candidates are required to successfully complete the CFP Certification Program consisting of five units.
CFP Certification Program
The CFP Certification Program is specifically designed to meet the education and competency standards for the internationally recognised designation, Certified Financial Planner. The CFP Certification Program consists of five units:
- CFP1 Ethics professionalism and professional behaviour
- CFP2 Applied Strategies 1
- CFP3 Applied Strategies 2
- CFP4 Investment Strategies
- CFP5 Certification Assessment
Pre-requisites for entry
- Current individual membership of the FPA
- Twelve months appropriate relevant experience, Candidates who do not hold Authorisation with an AFS Licensee must submit their Record of Experience for verification by the FPA before enrolment will be approved
- One of the following education pathways:
a. Approved bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or higher in financial planning;
b. Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or higher in a finance-related discipline that has been assessed by the FPA for entry;
c. Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or higher in a non-finance-related discipline PLUS Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) or FPA Diploma of Financial Planning.
Exemptions
Exemptions from completing the technical units of the CFP Certification Program (CFP2 –CFP4 inclusive) may be granted in the following circumstances:
- CPA/CA designation with Financial Planning specialisation
- Approved post-graduate qualification
Refer to the Accredited Education Register – Advanced Standing Pathways to the CFP Certification Program for a current list of approved courses and the Guide to CFP Certification.
Transcript Review
A Transcript Review process is available for prospective candidates who wish to enrol in the CFP Certification Program and who have completed a finance-related degree that has not been pre-approved by the FPA.
Click here for full details
Examination
A second building block of a profession is the ability to verify that those who wish to practice in the profession have mastered a certain level of theoretical knowledge and practical application of that knowledge. For many professions this proof takes the form of an examination or assessment.
The CFP Certification Assessment (CFP5) consists of the preparation of a financial plan, oral presentation of a financial plan and two three-hour multiple choice examinations.
The assessment reflects the distinction between “certification” and “education”. It is a measure against the CFP certification standard and as such incorporates knowledge acquired through education programs with knowledge, skills and understanding gained through practical experience.
Candidates must be authorised to give personal financial advice, with proper authority, authorised representative or representative status with an Australian Financial Services Licensee for two years in order to enrol in the Certfication Assessment.
Candidates must also submit their Record of Experience. FPA will verify that the candidate has completed a minimum of two years appropriate relevant experience before approving enrolment in the final unit.
For full details see CFP Certification Assessment.
Experience
CFP® certification indicates to the public that you have practical experience in providing financial planning advice to the public.
The minimum experience requirement is:
- Three years full time or equivalent part-time experience holding authorisation to give financial planning advice with an Australian Financial Services licensee.
- Candidates must have twelve months full time or equivalent part-time experience immediately preceding the application for CFP practitioner status.
- Experience must be gained in the five years immediately preceding the application for CFP practitioner status.
Acceptable experience
Applications require three years experience consisting of:
- two years full-time or equivalent part-time appropriate relevant experience; PLUS
- minimum of one year full-time or equivalent part-time approved practitioner experience.
Appropriate relevant experience is defined as experience gained in a position where the candidate actively uses knowledge, skill and ability to provide financial planning advice to clients in accordance with the FPA’s Six Step Financial Planning Process. Application of any of the Six Steps of the Financial Planning Process would satisfy a definition of appropriate relevant experience. Experience in an administration role will not be accepted.
All experience is to be supervised by a CFP professional who has held CFP certification for a minimum of two (2) years and who holds a current Certificate of Practice. The supervisor is required to sign the application for CFP certification.
Click here to view the full policy.
A Record of Experience must be kept and continually updated by the candidate and reviewed by the supervisor and candidate during regular meetings. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure the Record of Experience is kept updated and to submit it with the application for CFP practitioner status. The record must be signed off by the candidate and supervisor at each meeting.
The Record of Experience should provide an overview of the work activities the candidate undertakes and align to the FPA Six Step Financial Planning Process.
Click here to view the Record of Experience Guidelines
Click here to view the Record of Experience Templates
Ethics
The final component of the initial CFP® certification process is the ethics requirement. CFP certification requires candidates to agree to adhere to the FPA's Code of ethics and rules of professional conduct. This demonstrates to the public that the candidate has agreed to provide personal financial planning in the client's best interest and to act in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards for the practice of financial planning.
Pathway to CFP® certification
| This brochure outlines the process and requirements of CFP certification for those aspiring to achieve the highest professional designation in financial planning. |
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Guide to CFP® certification
| Detailed information covering CFP certification, program, assessment and pathways. |
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Download |
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Tools and resources:
Guide to CFP® Certification
CFP Certification Assessment Handbook
Using your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM and CFP® certification marks
CFP Marks use pocket guide
Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct
Record of Experience Guidelines
Record of Experience Templates
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