Blue Chip Issue 81

sufficient practical experience and high
ethical standards. The introduction of the
CFP® designation played a major role in
professionalising the industry in South Africa.
The FPI was a founding member of the
international Financial Planning Standards
Board (FPSB), which is today the custodian of
the CFP® designation. The FPSB is dedicated
to managing, developing and operating
certification, education and related programmes
for financial planning organisations around the
world, including the FPI.
Local is lekker
While the ILPA was born out of a desire to
bring international standards to South Africa,
the industry in this country has more than
held its own when it comes to innovation.
The FPI has made its several invaluable
contributions to financial products and
professional standards, not least the
development of two local trademark levels
of membership: Associate Financial Planner
(AFP) and Registered Financial Planner (RFP). These two
designations serve as vital stepping stones for aspiring advisors,
while also reassuring the public that these advisors meet a
guaranteed standard of professionalism, expertise and ethics.
The FPI is uncompromising in establishing and maintaining
professional financial planning standards in Southern Africa.
It plays a major role in ensuring that the public has access to
competent financial planners who are professionally qualified,
are experienced and have agreed to abide by its code of
conduct, ethics and practice standards.
Many top financial institutions have adopted the FPI as an
independent standards partner and its members include both
general practitioners and specialists in particular branches
of financial planning. The FPI is recognised as both a SAQA
Professional Body and a recognised controlling body of SARS.
Since its origins, the FPI has widened its scope by turning its
attention towards creating a profession that includes people
representative of our diverse South African nation.
The FPI continues to focus on robust consumer education
around financial matters and the benefits of dealing with an FPI
professional member. The Institute also places major importance
on ensuring that its competency standards remain relevant to the
ever-changing regulatory environment and keeps up with the
latest trends in technology and behavioural science.
Onwards and upwards
The global pandemic has shown that Southern African financial
planners are a young, agile and hungry group of professionals
who are all for embracing change and the advances of the
Fourth Industrial Revolution. Here’s to the next 40 years!
This article is an excerpt of Mike Aldridge’s fascinating book, The History of the FPI.
The FPI is
uncompromising
in establishing
and maintaining
professional financial
planning standards
in Southern Africa.
www.bluechipdigital.co.za
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