On January 28, 2005 the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators, a combined effort of regulators from across Canada in the securities, insurance and pension sectors, released Principles and Practices for the Sale of Products and Services in the Financial Sector. This document sets out best practices that should apply to the conduct of financial intermediaries. FPSC was part of the Industry Liaison Group that was consulted in developing the document.
The contents of the document largely reflect the principles and rules of FPSC's Code of Ethics and the new CFP Practice Standards. Putting the client's interests first, maintaining professionalism, the importance of confidentiality and full disclosure are the cornerstones of the advisor/client relationship. The document also contains specifics commonly part of industry sales codes, such as the need for the financial advisor to determine if the client has legitimate business interests (as opposed to engaging in unlawful transactions) and the importance of informing clients of their options for redress if they wish to pursue a complaint against their financial advisor.
Visit www.jointforum.ca to read the full document. As well, the Joint Forum also released A Consumer's Guide to Financial Transactions, which interprets the document for consumers. Visit the FPSC website to read the CFP Practice Standards.
Cary List, FPSC's Executive VP and COO, will speak at the Advocis Ottawa Chapter PD day on Thursday, February 3, on the subject of "the Making of a Profession," and new developments at FPSC in this regard. For those of you who missed Cary when he spoke in Ottawa on this subject this past summer, here is your second chance to hear about how your profession is moving forward, and more specifically, how the recent CFP Practice Standards and Competency Analysis projects have contributed to the making of the financial planning profession in Canada.
FPSC's "Money Talks. Are You Listening?" campaign hits the air, Internet and streets in major markets across the country during RRSP season.
This year's expanded version features CFP® Brand Ambassadors on one-hour ask-the-expert style radio shows in February in each of seven major markets: Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver, and two in Edmonton.
All the shows are supported by 30-second commercials running on the host and sister stations in each market for three consecutive weeks leading up to the shows. Additionally, transit posters will be on the backs of buses in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver for four consecutive weeks leading up to the shows.
All radio shows are on Saturday February 19 unless otherwise indicated.
For three weeks leading up to February 19, 30-second commercials will be running on the following stations:
Congratulations to Roy Smith, CFP, of Pickering, ON and George Elliot, CFP, of Saskatoon, SK, winners of Handspring Treo 600 Smartphone/PDA/E-mail devices from Rogers Cellular. Roy and George were part of the more than 1,200 CFP professionals who took time out to complete FPSC's CFP Competency Survey last year.
CFP licence renewal is fast approaching. Online renewal will soon be available. Watch for e-mail notification stating when the online renewal form will be available.
The FPSC website continues to be a popular destination for web browsers. We recorded nearly 180,000 visits in the last quarter of 2004, and more than 700,000 visits for the year. Find a Planner continues to be one of the most accessed pages. The Public section of our website provides information and tools for the general public and is updated on a regular basis.
Have a comment or a question? The CFP Professional Discussion Forum, open to CFP professionals only, is password-protected and is a great place to share ideas with colleagues.
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