Financial Advisors and Financial Planners
Overview
The Commission administers the Financial Advisors and Financial Planners Title Protection Act. The Act protects the use of the titles “financial advisor” and “financial planner” and sets out the requirements for using these protected titles and similar titles.
Financial advisors (or similar titles)
Financial advisors should have technical knowledge of at least one common investment product, as well as the necessary expertise to develop suitable financial and investment recommendations for their clients.
Financial planners (or similar titles)
Financial planners should have the knowledge to develop integrated financial plans for their clients. They are expected to be proficient in all the core personal finance areas, including:
- Estate planning
- Tax planning
- Retirement planning
- Investment planning
- Finance management
- Insurance/risk management
Consumer Protection
The Commission is the regulator overseeing this legislation. We approve credentialling bodies (organizations that can assign credentials to financial advisors and financial planners). The credentialling bodies monitor the individuals using these (or similar) titles.
The Commission maintains an up-to-date list of approved credentialing bodies and credentials on its website. The list also includes a link to each credentialing body’s website.
What we can do:
- establish minimum standards for credentialing bodies and financial advisor or financial planner credentials
- approve credentialing bodies and the financial advisor or financial planner credential
- supervise approved credentialing bodies
- investigate complaints against:
- Commission-approved credentialing bodies
- organizations that refer to themselves as an approved credentialing body and/or claim to offer an approved credential without the Commission’s approval
- individuals who use the “financial advisor” or “financial planner” (or similar) title without an approved credential
What we cannot do:
- oversee the conduct of individuals who use the title of “financial advisor” or “financial planner” or similar titles.
- investigate conduct complaints against an individual.
These issues can be submitted directly to a financial advisor’s or planner’s credentialing body. However, conduct violations may also breach other legislation administered by the Commission. You may submit a complaint to the Commission, which can assist in directing the complaint to the appropriate regulatory or credentialing body.
Resources
Learn more about financial advisors and financial planners at Finfo.ca.