30th Birthday What are the biggest changes in the industry over the last 30 years? The landscape has changed significantly over the last 30 years in the area of financial products which has resulted in the development of an overwhelmingly wide and complex range of financial solutions being made available to the consumer. Numerous changes to financial planning legislation and regulation of financial planners with the introduction of the FAIS Act and more recently, the increased licensing requirements for financial planners in terms of the new Fit and Proper Regulations, has resulted in an increased complex environment for financial planners which has had a significant impact on the way in which financial planners operate and provide advice to consumers compared to 30 years ago. Has the FPI’s vision and mandate changed during this time? The FPI was originally formed as a member body representing the interests of financial advisers. This vision was changed when the strategic decision was made a few years ago to operate the business as a true professional body. This new vision enabled the FPI to focus its activities on protecting and promoting the financial planning profession, setting the standards for professional financial planners in the industry and demanding increased ethics and competence to ensure that the best interest of consumers is served.
The difficulty of attracting new talent is often cited as a concern – has this always been a problem? Typically 30 years ago, financial planners entered the industry as a result of working at large financial institutions and had limited access to specialised education programmes. This has resulted in the current high average age for practicing financial planners. With the introduction of specialised education programmes over the last 10 years, this has provided new talent with access to financial planning as a career choice. This has seen a new breed of financial planners entering the industry and also increased the competitiveness and demand for these new, young professionals. How has the role of financial planners changed over the last 30 years? Historically, financial planners were regarded as salesmen of financial products responding to the specific needs of a consumer. In current day, consumers are more demanding of their financial planners, especially considering the worldwide phenomenon of consumerism as well as the incredible access to information the media and especially the Internet has provided to the consumers, and expect high levels of professionalism and competence.
The CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and are trade marks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. The FPI is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in South Africa through agreement with FPSB. Visit FPSB‘s for more at www.fpsb.org Invest SA website - 175x13021 information July 2011.FH11 Thu Jul 21 17:17:54 2011 Page 2 C
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