Financial Planners - Study and Training

Financial planners have to be certified. The certification is granted by International Association of Financial Planners. The International CPF Council was established in 1990 and has been a forum for financial planning organizations from around the world. The council has members from organizations of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK and the US and associate members from Belgium and Bermuda. The CFP Board of Standards USA is an independent professional regulatory organisation and it regulates through trade mark law by certifying individuals who meet its requirements to use the mark. In India the Association of Financial Planners has made an affiliation agreement with CFP Board of Standards in 2001 with 12 Charter members. The Association is the authorised education provider in India.

Address for Contact - Association of Financial Planners, 907, Tolstoy House, 15-17 Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi-110001. Website www.collegefp.com email : info@collegefp.com

Study Plan

This certification requires :Fulfilling the education requirement, Passing examinations, Work experience, Ethics.

The learning course is a self study programme with optional classroom tutorials. Each module takes 4 months and can be completed in a minimum time of 1 year to maximum of 7 years. Students can take exams for 2 modules at a time. Some exemptions are granted to certain equivalently qualified candidates. Continual updating will be required to stay certified.

The 6 modules of the course are :

-- Introduction to Financial Planning

-- Risk management and Insurance Planning

-- Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits

-- Investment Planning

-- Tax Planning and Estate Planning

-- Financial Plan Construction

Certification

There are two levels of certification- Advanced Financial Planners (AFP) and Certified Financial Planners( CFP). AFP takes 4 months and CFP one year.

The CFP Examination is conducted online. There are 7 examinations in 3 hours each held every 4 months - April, August and December.

Experience

Three years' work experience in Financial Services is mandatory according to international standards. This can be taken before, during or after completion of education requirement. To enable freshers to gain experience in financial sector, internship is arranged by the college.

Education Providers for the course

International College of Financial Planning, 311-315, Floor 3 ,Naurang House, KG Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001 website : www.collegefp.com

email : info@collegefp.com

Course- PG Diploma in Financial Planning(1year) and part time(18 months)

Eligibility- Graduates, MBAs, CAs and CWAs.

Guardian Institute of Financial Planning, Bangalore.

Tata- AIG