The chief executive of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments has said the route towards certified financial planner has not been “fit for purpose”.
Speaking at the institute’s financial planning conference in Newport yesterday (26 September), Simon Culhane said the syllabus had been completely redrawn and would be ready in the next “six months or so”.
Mr Culhane said the UK had the lowest pass rate of any country taking the CFP qualification but the Financial Planning Standards Board, which oversees the qualification around the world, has been pleased with the changes the Cisi has planned.
He said: “It has been frustrating to find that the qualification pathway we have isn’t fit for purpose.
“The CFP structure will still have a strong practical element but it has been refocused.”
Mr Culhane said the qualification had been “over-engineered” and said it had been suffered from many small changes over the years rather than being completely redrawn.
He said: “The FPSB was around the other day and they are very pleased.”
Mr Culhane emphasised that the changes being introduced to the syllabus are being carried out by financial advice practitioners themselves.
Last year the institute said it had seen twice the flow of candidates applying for and taking the certified financial planner qualification compared with the year before.
2016 saw the launch and Financial Conduct Authority-approval of the institute’s level four financial planning and advice module, allowing a newcomer to the profession to follow a pathway to certified financial planner status in just three years using CISI exams alone.
damian.fantato@ft.com
