FAQ

For the public

Q1- What's a financial planner (F.Pl.)?
R1-The financial planner (F.Pl.) helps you optimize your financial situation and your assets by laying out a strategic action plan that is wholly adapted to your needs and that takes your constraints and personal goals into account. Your planner will then suggest realistic strategies and coherent measures to enable you to attain the goals you have set for yourself.

In Quebec, any individual claiming to be a financial planner (or F.Pl.) must:

-Have an IQPF diploma and
-Have the appropriate certificate issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers or be authorized to wear the title by a professional order who has an agreement with the Autorité des marchés financiers (the Quebec order of chartered accountants, the professional order of certified general accountants, the professional order of chartered administrators, and the Quebec Chamber of notaries).

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Q2- What's his or her training?
R2- Financial planners must have completed a university-level training program in personal financial planning approved by the IQPF and the IQPF Professional Training Course. They also must have passed the IQPF exam.

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Q3- How do I find a F.Pl.?
R3- Consult our web directory.
Ask people you know – friends, relatives, colleagues.
Ask at your financial institution.

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Q4- What questions should I ask someone who wants to be my financial planner?
R4- What is your educational background?
Do you have a special field of expertise?
How do you get paid?
What services will you provide for me?
How often will you review my file?
Can I see a sample of the kind of action plan you might draw up for me?
What is my role in carrying out my action plan?
Will I have to sign a professional service contract?

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For the financial planners

Q1- What's IPFP?
R1- The IPFP acronym means "Integrated Personal Financial Planning". This is one of the three professional development categories.

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Q2- What's SFPA?
R2- The SFPA acronym means "one or more of the financial planning areas". This is one of the three professional development categories.

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Q3- What are SC and SC-FP?
R3-The SC acronym means "compliance with standards, ethics and business conduct". This is one of the three professional development categories. When you add the letters FP, it means that the training activity pertaining to compliance with standards, ethics and business conduct is directly related to financial planning.

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Q4- How many professional development units (PDUs) do I need for the current cycle?

R4- The 2012-2013 professional development cycle (cycle 007) started on December 1, 2011 and will end on November 30, 2013.

The following table indicates how many PDUs you need by the end of the cycle:

Professional development category	PDUs to complete
Integrated personal financial planning (IPFP)	15 PDUs
Training activities in one or more of the financial planning areas (SFPA)	15 PDUs
Training activities in subjects pertaining to compliance with standards, ethics and business conduct (SC), including at least 5 PDUs related directly to financial planning (SC-FP)	10 PDUs
Total	40 PDUs

Financial planners who have received or will receive their certificate from the Authorité des marchés financiers within the current professional development cycle (from December 1, 2011, to November 30, 2013) and who would like to know how many Professional Development Units they will need at the end of the cycle can contact Linda Breton at 514-767-4040 or 1-800-640-4050, extension 232.

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Q5- Do I have to pay a subscription to the AMF?
R5- These are two different amounts.

According to regulation, there are fees payable to the AMF for the issue or renewal of a financial planning certificate. You must settle these fees to practise financial planning.

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Q6- What's F.Pl. in French?
R6- "Pl. Fin." for planificateur financier, with a space between the Pl. and the Fin.

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For the future financial planners

Q1- What do I need to do to become a financial planner?

R1- There are two ways to obtain the financial planner diploma: through academic training or through academic equivalency.

ACADEMIC TRAINING

The IQPF issues the financial planning diploma to any person who meets the academic requirements under the Regulations.

Several teaching institutions offer personal financial planning programs approved by the IQPF. To enrol in one of these programs, you must contact the institution directly:

Teaching institution	Program	Learning formula	Information
Université Laval	Certificate in financial services and two certificates* or Bachelor of administration - Specialized stream in financial services	In class (French) Distance (French) (certain courses only)	Undergraduate program directorate Faculty of business administration 1-877-785-2825 ext. 2778 or 418-656-2778 baa-laval@fsa.ulaval.ca www.fsa.ulaval.ca/formation
Université du Québec	Certificate in financial planning and two certificates*	In class (French) Distance TELUQ (French)	Financial planning certificate secretariat 514-987-8511 prog.admin.services@uqam.ca www.regis.uqam.ca (programs section)
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières	Bachelor of business administration -Concentration in financial	In class (French) Distance TELUQ (French, 4 of the program's courses not offered at the UQTR)	Department of Management studies 819-376-5011 ext. 3157 or 819-376-5080 anne-sophie.charlot@uqtr.ca www.uqtr.ca
Université du Québec à Rimouski	Bachelor of administration - Concentration in personal financial services or Certificate in financial planning and two certificates*	In class (French)	Rimouski Campus: Bureau du registraire Université du Québec à Rimouski 418-723-1986, ext. 1383 http://www.uqar.ca/programmesFormation/Description/prg/7464.asp Lévis Campus: 1-800-463-4712 ext. 3321 admcert_levis@uqar.qc.ca www.uqar.ca
Canadian Security Institute CSI Global Education	Quebec Financial Planning Program and two certificates*	Distance (French, certain courses only, and English)	Customer Service 1-866-866-2601 customer_support@csi.ca www.csi.ca
HEC Montréal	Certificate in personal financial planning and two certificates*	In class (French)	Certificate Programs Administrative Direction 514-340-6143 admission.info@hec.ca www.hec.ca
McGill University	Diploma in Finance	In class (evenings) (English)	Continued Education: 514-398-6200 info.conted@mcgill.ca www.mcgill.ca/conted/

*Two other university certificates of 450 hours each in any of the following disciplines: administration, law, economics or actuarial studies.

At the end of the university program, the candidate must pass the IQPF Professional Training Course and the IQPF exam.

ACADEMIC EQUIVALENCY

Academic equivalency may be granted to people who meet the requirements of one of the four following categories:

CATEGORY I	CATEGORY II	CATEGORIES III ET IV	CATEGORY V
Graduate degree with a major in personal financial planning, consisting of a minimum of 45 hours of courses in each of the personal financial planning areas – finance, taxation, law, retirement, successions, investment and insurance or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) with an undergraduate or graduate degree in administration, economics, law, actuarial sciences or any other related field recognized by the IQPF, or at least 3 certificates in one or more of these fields, each involving a minimum of 450 course hours at the university level, and at least 25 different courses	CA, CGA, CMA, lawyer, notary	CATEGORY III Graduate or undergraduate university degree in administration, economics, law or actuarial sciences, or three certificates in one or more of these disciplines each comprised of a minimum of 450 course hours at the university level, and at least 25 different courses or C.Adm. with a bachelor's degree in administration, economics, law, actuarial sciences or any other related field recognized by the IQPF CATEGORY IV Chartered administrator, chartered life underwriter (CLU), securities fellow, Canadian Investment Manager (CIM), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Conseiller en investissements financiers (CIF in France), Associate of the society of actuaries (ASA) or Fellow of the society of actuaries (FSA) and two certificates in administration, economics, law or actuarial sciences each comprised of a minimum of 450 course hours at the university level	Graduate or undergraduate degree or at least three certificates, each involving a minimum of 450 course hours at the university level, and at least 25 different courses
		Two years of experience in at least one of the seven financial planning areas within the last five years
	IQPF equivalency exam* in each of the seven personal financial planning areas		IQPF Executive Program (six segments focused on the seven financial planning areas) and pass the exam for each segment
IQPF Professional Training Course (54 hours) IQPF single examination (4 hours) Financial planner diploma

*Candidates who meet the requirements of categories II, III and IV must pass an equivalency exam at a date agreed upon by the IQPF and the candidate. This exam consists of 90 multiple choice questions, divided up between the financial planning areas. The passing grade for the exam is 70% in each of these areas. The price of the exam is $1 200 plus tax (prices may change without notice).

If a candidate fails in one or more of the tested areas, he or she will have to complete the IQPF's Executive Program or a university course for each of the failed areas before following the IQPF Professionnal Training Course.

To submit an application to the equivalency committee, use the form below.

Request for academic equivalency form

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Q2- How do I register to the IQPF's Professional Training Course?
R2- The IQPF's Professional Training Course is given once or twice a year. To register, you must fill out the registration form and provide us with:

1. Original transcript from your university (phocopies not accepted) for your financial planning certificate;
2. Original transcript from your university (phocopies not accepted) for your bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields: administration, economics, law or actuarial sciences.

Please send the documents mentioned above along with your complete name, address and telephone number to the following address:

IQPF
4 Place du Commerce, suite 420
Île-des-Sœurs (Quebec) H3E 1J4

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Q3- I got my IQPF diploma and now I want to practise financial planning. What do I need to do?
R3- You must obtain a representative's certificate for the financial planning sector from the Autorité des marchés financiers.

To do so, you must fill out the Application for a Representative's Certificate - Insurance of Persons, Group Insurance of Persons or Financial planning available on the AMF's website.

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Q4- Is there a time limit to make my request for a representative's certificate with the AMF? Will I have to take a new exam after a few years if I do not practise financial planning?
R4- For the moment, there is no time limit to apply for a representative's certificate with the AMF and there is no exam to take again.

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Q5- I have the equivalent of a financial planner's academic training. How can I request academic equivalency?
R5- Candidates for academic equivalency must submit an application to the equivalency committee by using the form below.

Request for academic equivalency form

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