A number of financial planners with degree qualifications have expressed dismay at the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority’s (FASEA’s) released of its final FPS001 Education Pathways policy, confirming the maximum requirements for new entrants.
In feedback received by Money Management, planners have complained that FASEA is still failing to recognise significant degree qualifications with the result that they will be forced to return to study to obtain a sanctioned degree.
The feedback comes as both the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA) has sought to continue consultations around achieving a more facilitative approach.
The FASEA announcement, released late yesterday, states that under the policy the maximum requirement for a new entrant will be an approved bachelor degree of 24 subjects and for an existing adviser will be a graduate diploma of eight subjects.
It said the minimum requirements for a new entrant will be an approved graduate diploma of eight subjects and for an existing adviser will be one subject being FASEA’s bridging course – the FASEA Code of Ethics and Code Monitoring Bodies.
The announcement said the amount of education an adviser will be required to undertake will depend on the amount of education they already have.
“Recognition of prior learning will be available for an advanced diploma of financial planning (including the historical eight course Diploma of Financial Planning), completion of approved coursework to attain a designation and completion of relevant degree subjects.”
FASEA also confirmed its intention to update the Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Determination 2018 on a regular basis to add further approved historical degrees, new programs and courses pursuant to its accreditation process.
It said the consultation process had afforded FASEA the opportunity to refine the pathways such that:
- Financial planning (including financial advice areas of superannuation, retirement, insurance and estate planning) and investments (including investments such as shares, derivatives, foreign exchange and options) had been added as relevant degree subjects; and
- Advisers holding a non-relevant degree who have completed between 4 and 7 of the relevant degree knowledge areas would be awarded two credits as recognition of prior learning.
Detail of the FASEA policy statement can be found here: https://www.fasea.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/FPS001-FASEA-Policy-Statement-Education-Pathways-revised-Jan-2019-vFINAL.pdf
