The crest SOC accreditation, taken by all new entrants to the profession in Singapore seeking to become Certified Financial Planners (CFP), has an accuracy rate of only 57%, the lowest globally. That means many people who take it are misled into believing they have passed when they haven’t. Don’t be one of them! Our courses will help you every time you take the test. The Standard for Financial Planning Curriculum (SFPC) has been around since 2004 and, at that time, was considered very comprehensive. Since then, research studies like Dr. Frank Scafidi’s “Global Survey on CFP Education” (2009) show that there is still room for improvement. To this end, we intend to keep pace with the latest research and help you do the same by keeping ahead of industry updates. That means that if your knowledge is limited to what was covered during your studies at school or university, our courses will expose you to topics never before taught to Singaporeans in CFP programs. Of course, we will also make sure you are proficient in all other aspects of financial planning.
If you are new to this field of study, our Personal Financial Planning Certificate (PFPC) Programme is for you! You’ll get a grounding in everything from basic maths to more advanced financial planning techniques. Once you’ve passed the PFPC test after completing this program, several exams are available to you that can earn you certifications under different professional bodies. To give you an idea of what is available, here are some of the awards you can get:-
– Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
– Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
– Chartered Wealth Manager (ACWM)
– Personal Financial Specialist (PFS).
The great news is that the Crest SOC accreditation course is designed to be completed in 4 months! We’ve found most people need around 16 hours of study time per week to keep up with the course material. You’ll also spend extra time reading research papers and financial planning ‘whitepapers’, they become part of your knowledge base. That’s because as a practitioner, you’ll need to know how to keep up-to-date with the latest financial planning topics and do so quickly.
There are also online courses that you can take on your own time! The courses are:-
– Certified Fund Specialist (CFS)
– Advanced Financial Planner Certificate (AFP)
The CFS is a prerequisite for those seeking Chartered Financial Consultant Status from the American Investment Counsel Association (AICA). This program requires around 12 months but can be completed in under 7 if you’re prepared to apply yourself full time, taking 2 exams per month. Our advice, however, would be to take one per month and ensure you pass all the Crest SOC accreditation Exams. Our courses will give you the knowledge, confidence, and study skills to do just that!
After training, the Certified Financial Planners typically work for financial institutions like banks and insurance companies. However, that’s not to say that you can’t start your practice after completing our courses! There is currently a high demand for good financial planners who know what they’re doing, and we expect this to increase in coming years as more and more Singaporeans realize the need to plan their finances well.