[daniel]

What does one need to do to be an accredited Financial Planner (or Financial Advisor - are those the same?) in Ontario?

 

[FrugalTrader]

What does one need to do to be an accredited Financial Planner (or Financial Advisor - are those the same?) in Ontario?

I'm not in Ontario, but around here (NL), the big banks require the CSC to be completed before selling mutual funds. If you are looking for a financial planner, look for one with at least the CFP designation.

 

[mfd]

To become a CFP you need the following:

Qualify for the exam by either holding an approved professional designation or complete an approved education course - Here

Write the exam

Pass the examine

and finally

Apply for the certification which requires 2 years (or 3 years depending on the path you took) of experience in financial planning - here

I had a dream about being a CFP once.

 

[Preet]

Daniel - There are various names for a financial advice provider (with respect to investment portfolios). A financial planner is not the same thing as a financial advisor per se.

Generally speaking a financial planner will create and monitor financial plans in addition to providing or advising on investment portfolios. This person is a financial advisor as well. Some provinces require accredited financial planning education before you can call yourself a financial planner, some don't. I believe in Ontario you can call yourself a financial planner without any educational requirement.

The bare minimum requirement to being a financial advisor would probably be to complete the Investment Funds Course which is a self study test that takes a few weeks, and costs less than $500. After this, you may take control of people's life savings.

The investment funds course allows you to be registered with the MFDA (mutual funds dealers association) as a mutual fund sales rep.

The CSC (Canadian Securities Course) plus the CPH (Conduct and Practices Handbook) allows you to advise and trade individual securities (stocks, bonds), but is only required if you are at an IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) firm (used to be IDA - Investment Dealers Association). Some consider this to be the realm of "brokers" (short for stockbrokers) who can also advise on mutual funds. "Brokers" tends to be associated with stock-jockeys who buy and sell individual stocks without regard for financial planning, but many brokers are CFPs (Certified Financial Planners) as well.

Anyways, the short answer to your question is that at a minimum you need a two week course to become a financial advisor in Ontario. With the minimum training, you will only be able to advise on mutual funds, GICs and CSBs/OSBs.

 

[daniel]

Perfect. Thanks guys.

 

[Bullseye]

I had a dream about being a CFP once.

So did I, until I realized it's really just a sales job. The more products you push, and the more profitable those products are, the more you make. You have to always be hustling, networking, that didn't appeal to me.