FPSC marks 10 years, honours retiring leader

The accolades were in recognition of his decade-long effort in promoting the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation in Canada and as a proponent of “uniform, rigorous requirements in education, examination, ethics and experience.” After rallying the support of various industry organizations since the FPSC’s inception in 1996, Johnston secured the rights for it to be sole grantor of the CFP designation in Canada.

Commenting on Johnston’s legacy, Margaret Koniuck, the current chair of the FPSC board of directors, cited his role as a “fierce fighter” in maintaining the CFP designation’s high standards and turning financial planning into a “true profession.”

“To do that you have to maintain high standards, maintain rigor around your examination process and ensure you have a proper code of ethics in place,” Koniuck said. “We’re here today because of his determination, his leadership, his vision to have all that done.”

Johnston’s successor has not yet been named, but with a competent team remaining, Koniuck says she feels confident about the FPSC’s future “While we’ll be sad to see Don leave, we are excited about the future because he’s built us to a great base where we can launch again into bigger and better things in the future.”

Johnston said he was pleasantly surprised by the award. “I had absolutely no idea. I’m delighted and thrilled, it’s great.”

“I think there are going to be all kinds of people coming to the forefront and contributing to the development of this profession, and it will be a difficult decision each year to find the person that makes the most of the contribution.”

When asked what he thinks is the particular tack necessary to steer the FPSC into the future, Johnston said it’s simply about possessing “total commitment.”

“It’s very easy to get waylaid and to get off target. But it’s not one person in this organization. It’s really the entire group — it’s the board and senior staff that makes it happen,” he said. “That strength between those that run the organization and those that set the vision has just continued to develop over the years and it’s an unbeatable combination now.”

Joking that his two sons would appreciate a share of the $10,000 award, Johnston said he plans to put it toward an educational program for financial planning.

“I think we’ll be quite innovative and think in terms of scholarships in the area of financial planning. As we hopefully maybe get matching contributions over time, it can be a significant source of a scholarship fund or bursary fund,” he said.

In an earlier interview with Advisor’s Edge, Johnston explained his reasons for retiring, while waxing nostalgic on his tenure at the FPSC helm.

“I’ve had two five-year terms and I’m 67, and there’s a time to call it quits,” he explained. “It isn’t that I’ve lost interest in the organization with the growth of the profession; we’ve had a very successful 10 years and I think we’ve set a perfectly solid foundation. We have the respect of the industry and regulators and the government and I think it’s time for somebody to come in and take it to the next level.”

Johnston’s successor is expected to be selected by the FPSC board by March 31.

“Whoever succeeds me must understand that you don’t get there by wishing; you get there by having all the right stuff in place,” he said. “That means understanding what the standards must be, putting the standards in place, having the industry accept them, having the public understand them, having the respect of the regulators and legislators — and that’s a process that takes more than 10 years. It’s a process that probably will take another 10 years.”

At Thursday’s ceremony, however, Koniuck told Advisor.ca: “Hopefully it’s not going to be quite another 10 years!” — although she acknowledged the “uphill battle” the FPSC will face in its continued efforts to achieve financial planning standardization nationwide.

“We’ve come a long way and we have been recognized as an authoritative voice in financial planning and bringing all the bodies together,” she said. “We still have a bit of a way to go, and that’s a good thing, because I think when you always have more to accomplish, you always stay nimble and alive and growing.”

Johnston also takes a positive outlook on the future, saying he is not discouraged by those who are not CFPs, yet hold themselves out as financial planners. At the same time, he believes longer-term strategies are needed to build awareness of the CFP as the “gold standard” in financial services.

“Within the industry the CFP is recognized. The hardest part is communicating it publicly and getting the consumer to understand what it is. That has been a challenge and still remains a challenge for this organization,” he said. “I really think that it’s an incredible record to say we have 16,500 who voluntarily meet the highest standard in the country in financial planning.”

Looking back, Johnston said he has few laments apart from some early hiccups — such as the departure of the Canadian Securities Institute and the Institute of Canadian Bankers, which left the FPSC just shy of its third year over differences in educational objectives.

“When I look back over the reason why they left, we were trying to move at that time too quickly,” he said. “Our first exam was probably offered a year too soon and it hadn’t been properly thought out. The criticism from the CSI and ICB was valid.”

He explained that although at that time it was “devastating to have them leave,” the FPSC has since made great improvements to its examination structure and that exams are now well-scrutinized.

“We’ve been audited every three years to make sure our certification system meets the highest certification standard in North America, and we pass every year,” he said. “So from those early days of losing those two groups, we learn a great deal. If they were to sit around the table now and see the quality of what we produce, they would be very happy.”

Filed by Heidi Staseson, Advisor.ca, Heidi.Staseson@advisor.rogers.com With Files from Deanne Gage.

(01/27/06)