Introduction
This program is accredited under the IBF Standards, which is an industry endorsed mark of quality. Candidates who successfully completed the program can use the certification mark “CREDIBILITYTM” and apply for the “IBF Qualified” Certification and use the certification title “IBFQ”. The IBF Certification is awarded to practitioners who have acquired the relevant core competencies required for jobs in their respective industry segments, and are expected to uphold values of professional excellence, integrity and commitment to the industry.
This program provides you with a strong foundation in providing financial planning services from a holistic perspective and is suitable for those with little or no experience in financial planning.
Objectives
This certification will:
- Provide you with a framework and process to conduct holistic financial planning for your clients using our field-tested proprietary system
- Enhance your knowledge of all aspects of financial planning starting from the prospecting phase to the monitoring phase and customer servicing
- Professionalise your business and create a clear differentiation between you & your competition
- Provide an overview of the regulatory & ethical implications in the Financial Services industry
- Enhance your career with a certification that is recognised by those working in the Financial Services industry
FAQs
This program will benefit new entrants into the Financial Services Industry, as well as existing practitioners and other professionals who are directly or indirectly involved in helping an individual client or their family members with matters pertaining to their finances and personal estate, financial planning and probate or related legal matters. They include insurance agents, financial advisor representatives (FARS), accountants, relationship managers and insurance specialists working in the bank, legal and trust professionals who deal with wills, trusts and probate matters.
This program is designed to give you a head start as a financial planning professional in the Financial Services Industry. It is also designed to equip existing insurance advisers with a system to professionalise and transform their practice using a field-tested holistic financial planning process and approach.
Through this program, you will be empowered to provide a professional service of a higher standard and enhance your credibility and ability to give holistic advice to clients as a trusted advisor that distinguishes you and your company from the competition. You will acquire competencies in the following areas:
Cash Management – construct personal financial statements and conduct high-resolution scenario planning and financial analysis for the client
Retirement Planning – help the client develop financial strategies to meet retirement objectives
Estate and Distribution Planning – apply adequate estate planning tools for efficient estate distribution & help the client implement strategies to preserve wealth & legacy
Developing Financial Strategies – adopt a holistic perspective to help the client develop financial strategies to meet various financial planning objectives
Investment Planning – conduct investment analysis and recommend suitable investment strategies and portfolios to help the client accumulate wealth to meet different financial objectives
Business Owners Planning – appreciate the challenges business owners face and develop strategies to provide financial security for the business owner’s loved ones as well as retirement security of the business owner
Insurance Planning – adopt a holistic perspective towards risk management and apply various risk management strategies and propose suitable insurance products to help the client address different types of risk exposures
Laws and Regulations in Financial Services Industry – appreciate the regulatory environment of the financial services industry and understand the importance of ethical practices and conduct
Investment Products – Understand the characteristics of various types of investment products & develop competency in developing cost-effective solutions to meet client’s financial objectives
Trust-based Relationship Development – Be proficient in client engagement and clearly identify and articulate your value proposition to gain the client’s trust and on-board new prospective clients and develop long-term relationship with them
You the Financial Planning Professional – effectively apply market segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies to engage clients and differentiate your value proposition and position yourself for effective client acquisition and retention
Upon successful completion of the program, you will be able to:
- Develop professional relationships with prospective and existing clients based on trust, empathy, credibility and ethical conduct.
- Recognise sources of client acquisition and perform client acceptance checks and on-boarding of prospective clients.
- Work with clients to gather information on their income, expenses, taxes and savings to analyse their management of cash flows.
- Work with clients with life, health and personal general insurance needs and establish their risk profile.
- Work with clients with basic investment needs to establish their investment profile.
- Help clients plan for retirement needs by establishing their retirement goals and analysing their financial situation.
- Construct a personal financial plan for individuals to ensure financial goals are successfully achieved over the planning horizon.
- Regularly review the financial plan and engage the client to perform ongoing servicing of client accounts.
This 8-days program is conducted over a period of 8-weeks and combines both theoretical and practical aspects of holistic financial planning practice management and utilises various andragogy applications in the learning process. You can expect to apply what you learned through short lectures and group discussions into practical scenarios enacted through case studies, role plays and peer-to-peer sharing.
There will be three assessment components in this course. At various points of the course, there will be Formative Assessments (FAs). At the end of the 8-weeks, there will also be a 2-hour multiple-choice assessment and an individual practicum.
As a candidate who successfully completed this course, you will:
- enhance your competency and provide holistic financial planning advice to clients as a “trusted advisor” & professional
- increase your knowledge and competency about holistic financial planning and practices underpinning them
- be more effective in engaging prospective clients to grow your business
- increase your value proposition and create differentiation to position yourself and your organisation more effectively in the industry
- acquire a competitive advantage over practitioners who focus primarily on products sales
- enhance your career with a certification that is recognised by those in the Financial Services Industry.
Candidates who successfully complete the course and pass all the assessment components will be awarded the certification mark, “CREDIBILITYTM”. They can also apply for the “IBFQ” certification with IBF.
Your investment for this 8-week program is $2,500, inclusive of assessment fees. IBF-STS funding is available. Details please refer to the IBF website.
Contact us for a discussion for in-house training arrangement and group discount.
The course fee includes:
- Study materials
- Online resources
- Eight days of face-to-face workshop
- Assessment fees
We are committed to your success and lifelong learning. To ensure you are kept abreast of the changes in the industry, we have provided an online resource where you can access supplementary content, articles, software toolkits, etc. You will also be invited to join our CREDIBILITY Alumnus Workshops and network with other graduates at our annual alumnus meeting.
Every effort has been taken to ensure that this publication was accurate at the time of printing. We will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this publication. FP reserves the right to vary or cancel the course if the minimum number of candidates are not met, or where the occasion necessitates. FP accepts no liability if, for whatever reason, the course does not take place. IBF-FTS Funding support and SkillsFuture Credit are subject to qualifying conditions and requirements set by the authorities. FP accepts no liability for any claims applications declined for any reasons.