Effective January 1, 2006, it is FPSC's policy to publicly report on disciplinary actions taken by FPSC against individuals' rights to use the CFP marks.
Article 1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Financial Planners Standards Council ("FPSC") has the responsibility of protecting the public interest by ensuring that an individual licensed by FPSC (a “CFP professional”) observes the highest professional and ethical standards, and for maintaining the integrity, reputation and significance of the "Certified Financial Planner", "CFP" and CFP flame logo trademarks (collectively, the “Marks”). FPSC has accordingly adopted a Code of Ethics (the "Code") that establishes minimum standards of acceptable professional conduct, as well as CFP Practice Standards that clarify the expectations of CFP professionals acting in the capacity of financial planning practitioners.
Adherence to the Code is mandatory for all CFP professionals and the principles and rules under the Code will be strictly enforced by FPSC. The Disciplinary Rules and Procedures (the "Procedures") are used by FPSC to enforce the Code and to otherwise fulfill its public interest role, as well as to protect the reputation of the Marks. FPSC has a duty to investigate any allegation of misconduct received about a CFP professional, as well as any matters that may come to its attention, which may indicate misconduct (a “Complaint”).
1.2 General Principle
These Procedures shall be liberally interpreted to secure the fairest determination of every proceeding.
Article 2 Grounds for Discipline
A Complaint against a CFP professional that, pursuant to these Procedures, is investigated and found to constitute misconduct, shall constitute grounds for discipline, whether or not the Complaint arose in the course of a client relationship. Misconduct may include:
any act or omission that violates the provisions of the Code;
non-compliance with an order of discipline given hereunder;
failure to assist with an investigation of a Complaint;
any false or misleading statement made by a CFP professional to FPSC whether or not in the course of investigating a Complaint; and
other acts or omissions amounting to misconduct or, which may bring the reputation of the Marks into question.
Article 3 The Director and Administration
3.1 Role of the Director
The President of FPSC shall appoint a Director, Ethics (the “Director”) who shall be responsible for investigating all Complaints, in accordance with Article 4, making referrals where appropriate (pursuant to Section 3.2) to a Hearing Panel (as described in Section 5.2) of the Ethics & Practice Committee (the “EPC”) of the Board of Directors of FPSC (the “Board”) and where necessary, assist in the review of a Complaint before a Hearing Panel, or the review of a Hearing Panel decision by an Appeal Panel (as described in Section 8.2). No member of the EPC or the Board may serve as the Director.
3.2 Powers of the Director
The Director, having regard to the necessity for expeditiously concluding all disciplinary matters, shall have the power to:
receive a Complaint from any person or entity;
investigate all Complaints fully;
make a Complaint in the absence of a third-party allegation of misconduct where the Director reasonably believes there are circumstances that indicate misconduct;
interview the complainant, the CFP professional or CFP professionals concerned and any other person;
examine any books, documents, records and other relevant material;
review all files maintained by FPSC with respect to the CFP professional;
engage professionals, experts and other persons to assist with an investigation;
prepare a Complaint for referral to a Hearing Panel of the EPC;
proceed with a Complaint before the Hearing Panel or the Appeal Panel and provide information obtained through the investigation to the Panel(s);
engage counsel or other qualified individuals to act on behalf of the Director in a hearing;
maintain records of all investigations; and
do anything else necessary or desirable for the proper discharge of the Director's duties including recommending any changes to these procedures to the EPC.
Article 4
Investigation
4.1 Initial Review
Within 30 days of the receipt of a Complaint, the Director shall review the Complaint and make an initial determination of its merits. The Director shall dismiss any Complaint that does not include a proper allegation of misconduct in that the activity complained about would not be a breach of the Code. The Director shall notify the CFP professional and the complainant in writing of any such dismissal, with reasons.
4.2 Notice of Investigation
Where the Director determines that a Complaint includes a proper allegation of misconduct and a formal investigation is warranted:
the Director shall give written notice to the CFP professional that a formal investigation has been commenced. Such notice shall set out the substance of the Complaint. The CFP professional shall, within 30 days of receipt of such notice, reply to the Director in detail and provide copies of all documents and files held by the CFP professional with respect to the substance of the Complaint;
the Director shall notify the complainant of the commencement of the formal investigation and shall provide such information as to procedure as may be appropriate in the circumstances of each case; and
if the CFP professional fails to respond within 30 days, the Director may immediately proceed with a referral of the Complaint to a Hearing Panel for review in accordance with Article 5.
4.3 Cooperation
Every CFP professional under investigation has an obligation to fully cooperate and shall make available to the Director upon request, any relevant documents and records in his or her possession. Failure to do so is itself grounds for discipline under Article 2 of these Procedures.
4.4 Decision
The Director shall investigate a Complaint, in such manner as is appropriate in the circumstances of each case, within 120 days of the receipt of the Complaint. The Director shall:
dismiss the Complaint where, in the Director’s sole discretion, it is determined that further review is unwarranted or unlikely to result in a finding of misconduct; or
refer the Complaint to a Hearing Panel of the EPC;
and shall advise the CFP professional and the complainant of the decision in writing.
4.5 Extension of Time
In exceptional circumstances, the Director may extend the time to investigate a Complaint by providing written notice to the CFP professional and the complainant prior to the expiry of the 120 days described above.
Article 5
Hearing Panel
5.1 Notice
Where the Director determines that a Complaint should be referred to a Hearing Panel in accordance with Article 4 above, the Director shall, within 30 days of the decision, give written notice to the President of FPSC or his or her delegate (the "Secretary") requesting that the EPC establish a Hearing Panel. Such notice shall provide details of the Complaint and a copy thereof shall be delivered to the complainant and the CFP professional.
The Secretary shall arrange for a meeting of the EPC, which shall, without any reference to the facts or merits of the case, appoint one of its members to be Chair of the Hearing Panel. Following the appointment of the Chair, the members of the EPC shall have no further role in the hearing process (except where required in an appeal under Article 8.)
5.2 Hearing Panel
A Hearing Panel shall consist of three persons, the Chair, appointed by the EPC, and two members jointly chosen by the Chair and Secretary from the list of panelists maintained by the Secretary. The Secretary shall fix a date after the selection of the two panelists to hear the Complaint. The hearing shall be at a location chosen by the Secretary who shall give due consideration to the convenience of all parties concerned.
5.3 Administration
The Secretary shall be responsible for all aspects of administering the hearing process including maintaining records of all hearings and decisions and maintaining an up-to-date list of qualified CFP professionals willing to act as members of a Hearing Panel in such geographic areas as may be required.
Article 6 Hearing
6.1 Notice of Hearing
Upon the fixing of the time and place for the hearing, the Secretary shall give written notice (the "Notice of Hearing") to the Director, the CFP professional, the complainant and the members of the Hearing Panel. The Notice of Hearing shall provide the CFP professional with details of the relevant evidence to be relied upon by the Director at the hearing, including, where applicable, the names of any witnesses.
6.2 The CFP Professional’s Response
The CFP professional shall file with the Secretary, not later than 30 days after receipt of the Notice of Hearing, a response to the Complaint (the "Response"). The Response should provide the CFP professional’s explanation of the circumstances and his or her conduct. The Response should also include any additional information the CFP professional intends to make available to the Hearing Panel, and where applicable, the name, address and telephone number of the counsel representing them. The Secretary shall deliver copies of the Response to the complainant, the Director and the members of the Hearing Panel.
6.3 Interim Suspension
If the CFP professional does not file a Response within the time specified, the Hearing Panel may convene and suspend the right of the CFP professional to use the Marks until such time as a Response is filed or until the Hearing Panel has had an opportunity to rule on the merits of the Complaint. The Secretary shall provide notice to the CFP professional of the suspension.
6.4 Conduct of Hearing
The Chair shall serve as the presiding officer of the hearing. The Director shall present the Complaint and represent FPSC at the hearing. The members of the Hearing Panel, other than among themselves, shall not discuss any aspect of the matter before the Hearing Panel with any person, including, in particular, members of the EPC and the Board, except that the Hearing Panel may engage counsel or experts to assist them. The Director shall not discuss any aspect of the matter with the members of the Hearing Panel prior to the hearing.
6.5 Representation
The CFP professional has the right to be represented by counsel, to invite witnesses, to introduce evidence, to make submissions and to question witnesses.
6.6 Procedure
It is intended that this be a fact-finding process, and it shall not be necessary that rules of procedure and evidence applicable in a court of law are followed in any hearing. At the discretion of the Chair, the Hearing Panel may be guided by such rules to the extent they believe is appropriate.
The Hearing Panel has the authority to grant or deny an adjournment in its discretion, under such conditions as it deems appropriate.
Except as provided in Section 7.2, the Director may not introduce any information in FPSC files on the CFP professional relating to prior investigations or discipline.
6.7 Settlement
Prior to the commencement of the hearing, at a mutually convenient time and place, the Director shall convene a case conference with the CFP professional and, where applicable, his or her counsel to consider:
any matters that may simplify the hearing including facts or evidence that may be agreed upon, the narrowing of any issue and any other matter that may assist in the fair and expeditious disposition of the Complaint; or
a settlement of the Complaint (a "Settlement").
Where a Settlement is agreed upon, the CFP professional and the Director shall file with the Hearing Panel, a Settlement agreement consisting of an agreed statement of facts, an admission to the Complaint, in whole or in part, by the CFP professional and an agreed penalty and waiver of rights of appeal by the CFP professional. The Hearing Panel shall review the Settlement and, unless the Hearing Panel considers the Settlement to be clearly unreasonable in the circumstances, shall make an order consistent with the Settlement.
6.8 Withdrawal of Complaint
The Director may at any time prior to the hearing, withdraw the Complaint before the Hearing Panel, and shall so notify the complainant, the Secretary and CFP professional.
Article 7 Decision of the Hearing Panel
7.1 Decision
The Hearing Panel shall either dismiss the Complaint or determine that there has been misconduct. The decision of the Hearing Panel shall be by majority vote and shall be delivered by the Chair orally, with reasons, at the conclusion of the hearing or, in exceptional circumstances, reserved for not more than 10 days at the discretion of the Hearing Panel. Where a decision is reserved, the Hearing Panel shall reconvene, in such manner as is determined by the Chair, as soon as possible, to deliver its decision and to consider penalty.
7.2 Disciplinary Penalty
Following a finding of misconduct, the Hearing Panel shall hear submissions on penalty from the Director and the CFP professional, which may include a review of any files with respect to the CFP professional held by FPSC. Following such submissions, the Hearing Panel may order any one, or a combination, of the following forms of discipline, which shall be effective immediately:
a letter of admonishment, delivered by the Hearing Panel and placed in the CFP
professional’s file;
imposition of a remedial action plan;
temporary suspension of the right to use the Marks;
permanent revocation of the right to use the Marks;
an award of costs of the proceedings; and
such other penalty as the Hearing Panel may determine.
7.3 Notice of Decision
The Chair shall provide to the CFP professional, the Director, the complainant and the Secretary, a written decision and order of the Hearing Panel within 30 days of the hearing.
7.4 Appeal of Decision
The CFP professional and the Director shall have 30 days following receipt of the written decision to deliver to the Secretary a written request for appeal. If neither party appeals within the allowed time, the decision of the Hearing Panel will be final.
Article 8
Appeals
8.1 Right to Appeal
Either party may appeal the decision of a Hearing Panel on the grounds that there has been a significant and material error interpreting a provision of the Code or the facts before the Hearing Panel, such that the Hearing Panel would likely have reached a different decision but for that error.
8.2 Notice of Appeal
The party making the appeal (the “Appellant”) shall, in accordance with Section 7.4, provide the other party (the “Respondent”) and the Secretary, with a written notice of the intention to appeal (the “Notice of Appeal”). Where the CFP professional is the Appellant, the Secretary shall suspend the disciplinary penalty imposed by the Hearing Panel immediately upon receipt of a Notice of Appeal pending the outcome of the appeal.
8.3 Appeal Panel
Upon receipt of a Notice of Appeal, the Secretary shall arrange for a meeting of the EPC which, without reference to the facts or merits of the case, shall appoint a three member panel (the "Appeal Panel") from its members. The Chair of the Hearing Panel is ineligible to sit on the Appeal Panel and shall not be present during the EPC's consideration of the Secretary's request for an Appeal Panel. The EPC shall appoint one EPC member to the Appeal Panel as Chair, who shall be the presiding officer for the hearing of the appeal.
8.4 Notice of Hearing
Following the appointment of the Appeal Panel, the Secretary shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the appeal and shall give notice to the Appellant, the Respondent, the Complainant and the members of the Appeal Panel.
8.5 Appellant's Statement
The Appellant shall deliver to the Secretary, not later than 15 days prior to the appeal hearing, a written submission setting out the grounds for appeal and the relief sought. The submission shall be accompanied by a copy of the transcript of the Hearing Panel proceedings. The Secretary shall deliver copies to the Respondent and to the members of the Appeal Panel.
8.6 Respondent's Statement
The Respondent may make a written submission to the Appeal Panel. Any such submissions shall be filed with the Secretary not later than 10 days prior to the hearing. The Secretary shall deliver copies to the Appellant and to the members of the Appeal Panel.
8.7 Submissions at Hearing
Both parties may make oral submissions to the Appeal Panel. The Appeal Panel shall not hear witnesses and no new evidence shall be admitted except with leave of the panel.
8.8 Decision and Order
The Appeal Panel shall decide the appeal by majority vote and its decision, with reasons, shall be delivered within 5 days of the date of the hearing. The Appeal Panel may vary any penalty or make such orders as it sees fit.
8.9 Decision Final
The decision of the Appeal Panel is final and there is no further right of appeal. The Secretary shall provide the Appellant, the Respondent and the Complainant with a written copy of the final decision and order of the Appeal Panel.
Article 9 General Rules for Hearing
The following general rules shall apply, depending on the context, to the proceedings of any Hearing Panel or Appeal Panel:
the Chair shall establish such procedures as are appropriate in the circumstances,
consistent with these Procedures;
the Chair may admit any evidence relevant to the proceedings;
the Chair may impose reasonable time limits during the proceedings;
the Chair may make such orders or give such directions in proceedings as the Chair considers proper to maintain order or prevent abuses of the panel's processes;
all hearings shall be tape recorded, and a transcript shall be provided upon request at the expense of the party requiring the transcript;
a hearing may be adjourned by the Chair at any time;
the Chair may engage counsel or experts to assist the panel in hearing a Complaint and in making its decision;
the Chair may extend or abridge the time for service, filing or delivery of any document pursuant to these Procedures, on such terms as are just;
the Chair shall have the discretion, provided that the fairness of the hearing is not impaired, to hold any hearing by such means as may be appropriate, including telephone conference call, video conference or written submissions;
unless otherwise ordered by the Chair and except for the presence of the Complainant, all hearings shall be held in camera.
Article 10
Costs
Unless otherwise provided herein, FPSC shall bear the costs of the investigation, the Hearing Panel and the Appeal Panel. The CFP professional shall be responsible for his or her own costs. In all disciplinary cases where a hearing is convened, the Hearing Panel or Appeal Panel may award costs of the hearing to FPSC against the CFP professional.
Article 11 Suspension or Revocation
11.1 Suspension
Unless otherwise provided by the Hearing Panel or Appeal Panel, a CFP professional who has been suspended shall continue to meet all licensing requirements of FPSC and shall be reinstated upon the expiration of the period of suspension provided the CFP professional demonstrates that he or she has fully complied with the order of the Hearing Panel or Appeal Panel.
11.2 Revocation
Revocation shall be permanent and there shall be no opportunity for reinstatement.
Article 12 Confidentiality of Proceedings
12.1 Confidentiality
Except as provided in these Procedures, all proceedings conducted pursuant to these Procedures shall be confidential and the records of FPSC, the Director, the Hearing Panel and the Appeal Panel shall remain confidential and shall not be made public.
12.2 Compulsory Disclosure
Any records with respect to the CFP professional and all records of an investigation and/or hearing under these Procedures will be disclosed if such disclosure is required by legal process of a court of law or other governmental body or agency having appropriate jurisdiction.
12.3 Consent
All CFP professionals, by their application for and continuance of membership shall consent to any notice, publication or release of information made in accordance with these Procedures.
12.4 Publication
Following the later of the expiration of the time for filing a Notice of Appeal and final disposition of any Complaint, the Director may publicize, in such media as deemed appropriate, any finding of misconduct. Generally, such publicity will be limited to a brief factual recitation, a statement of the Code violations proven and a description of the penalty imposed. The Director may notify any person of a finding of misconduct including, without limitation, the CFP professional's employer, associates, partners and the governing bodies of other professions.
Article 13
Complainant
13.1 Treat With Courtesy
The CFP professional has an obligation to treat the Complainant with courtesy and respect throughout the disciplinary process and thereafter.
13.2 Complainant’s Role in Hearings
The Complainant shall have the right to be present at any hearing but shall have no right to participate in such hearings unless requested. The complainant may be invited to give evidence to the Hearing Panel by either the CFP professional or the Director but cannot be compelled to give evidence.
Article 14
Notice
14.1 Delivery
Notices may be delivered by personal service, by registered mail, by facsimile or other means of electronic communication, or at the discretion of the Secretary, by such alternate methods as the Secretary reasonably believes will bring the notice to the attention of the intended recipient.
14.2 Deemed Delivery
Notices delivered by personal service shall be deemed to be delivered on the day delivered, by registered mail on the fourth business day following mailing, by facsimile or other electronic methods on the day following transmission and by alternate means on the fourth business day following dispatch.
14.3 Time Period
Any time periods specified in these Procedures shall include and begin to run from the date of deemed service in accordance with section 14.2.
14.4 Proof
Proof of service shall be by registered mail receipt and/or affidavit of service or such other means as may be determined by the Secretary.
14.5 Address
"A CFP professional may not challenge service properly given to the address recorded in the files of FPSC. The CFP professional may challenge service if he or she did not, in good faith, receive the notice due to matters beyond his or her control, by providing proof to the Secretary.
CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and are certification marks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB). Financial Planners Standards Council is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Canada, through agreement with FPSB.
are certification marks