Canada’s advice credentials landscape, with its diverse mix of designations and organizations that provide them, has been criticized for its complexity. Some industry experts see the “alphabet soup” as a barrier to understanding the role and value of financial advice credentials.
The demand for strategic wealth management in Canada is on the rise. Affluent Canadians are looking for advisors who can understand their complex financial and non-financial needs, beyond investment and financial planning.
To specialize or to generalize? This question faces financial advisors at different stages of their careers, from getting that first customer service job after college to mid-life transitions that fulfill one’s true professional calling. There is no right or wrong answer.
Since the global market crisis of 2007-2008 there have been renewed calls in many jurisdictions for a stronger regulatory presence in securities markets. Even before the crisis though there was a rising expectation that members of the investment community conduct themselves in keeping with the standards of professional excellence that would enhance the ‘duty of care’ being provided to the client.
In December 2010, CSI Global Education conferred its wealth management designation, the Chartered Strategic Wealth Professional (CSWP), to the first cohort of financial advisors from China. Twenty-five financial professionals from Guangfa Securities, one of the largest Securities firms in China, were awarded the CSWP designation at the graduation ceremony in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, hosted by Guangfa Securities and CSI.
With the markets slowly emerging from the recession, consumers take a cautious approach to investing their hard-earned dollars. For financial advisors, the pressure is on not only to sell financial planning and investment services, but also to sell themselves – both to their clients and to their employers – and gain their clients’ and employer’s confidence and trust. In a slowly recovering economy, a strategic approach to education is the single critical factor for professional success – even more so if you find yourself out of a job or embarking on a new career.