FPSC Launches Financial Planning Week

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Oct 05 (MARKET WIRE) --
Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC) marked the start of Canada's
first Financial Planning Week this morning at a launch event, Vision
2020, where key stakeholders are gathered to discuss how to advance
efforts to make financial planning more a part of Canadian lives. The
line-up of speakers are addressing a myriad of issues relevant to
financial planning in Canada. Concurrently, Financial Planning Week is
being spearheaded in Quebec by Institut quebecois de planification
financiere (IQPF) and in the U.S by Financial Planning Association (FPA).

In the welcome address, Cary List, President and CEO of FPSC, outlined
the Council's "Vision 2020" - setting sights on a 10-year collaborative
effort among all who have a stake in the financial and social wellbeing
of Canadians to bring more financial planning into Canadian society.

Here are some excerpts of the speech, with full text available at
www.financialplanningweek.ca:

"While financial planning is part of everyday life for FSPC and for those
involved in the profession, for far too many Canadians there are too many
days, years or even lives spent without any financial planning at all.
The impact of this void has hit Canadians hard - this year more acutely
than ever.

Too many Canadians are losing ground without a sound financial plan. Too
many are winging it and making bad investment decisions. Too many are
financially ill-prepared, and without a place to turn for competent,
ethical financial guidance. And for those that do seek guidance, far too
many don't know how to wade through the muddy waters of financial advice,
financial advisors or financial planners, and have no idea what questions
they should be asking or what sort of advice they should be looking for.

It's not hard to conclude that this bodes poorly for the future financial
wellbeing of Canadians and for Canadian society as a whole.

But we have a vision for how it could be different."

List acknowledged Vision 2020 as the heart of Canada's inaugural
Financial Planning Week.

"Vision 2020 asks us to imagine a Canada in the year 2020 that is shaped
by people, organizations and governments that value financial planning
and its role in the betterment of people's lives; that shares
responsibility for ensuring the financial planning needs of Canadians are
well served; and that recognizes a viable, trusted and respected
financial planning profession that provides competent, ethical financial
planners for all Canadians in need of professional financial planning
advice.

Imagine if by the year 2020 Canada were seen as a model for a country
that advanced a movement where financial planning values permeate
throughout society. What difference could that a future make to
Canadians' lives and to Canadian society as a whole?"

List identified several desired outcomes as a result of a concerted
effort towards Vision 2020, including:

- every high school graduate has experienced some introductory financial
planning curriculum by the time they graduate, and thus is able to make
better-informed decisions about their finances, ultimately putting them
on the path to a better financial future in later years;

- there is a regulatory environment that restricts who can call
themselves financial planners to those who are qualified through a
recognized professional designation that has enforceable standards of
ethics, practice and competence and that requires ongoing professional
development for its members;

- industry responsibly promotes financial planning and clearly
distinguishes and values financial planning as more than just product
advice;

- Canadians understand the distinction between investment product advice
and financial planning, and recognize the value and appropriate place for
each;

- there are a sufficient number of duly licensed, competent and ethical
financial planners across Canada who can be counted on by all Canadians
seeking professional advice to help guide them towards their life goals;

"Financial Planning Week is FPSC's effort to ignite a conversation that
leads to greater empowerment, greater collaboration and meaningful action
that inspires people to make financial planning more a part of all
Canadians' lives.....No one single group or individual can be singled out
nor left out. We are calling on industry, regulators, governments,
educators, media, employers - and all Canadians - to work together and
enact the change that is needed to advance the financial wellbeing of
Canadians."

The full speech can be seen at www.financialplanningweek.ca

Follow Vision 2020 on Twitter: @FPVision2020

Financial Planning Week Activities

CFP(R) professionals are giving Financial Planning Health Checkups in
communities across Canada. See www.financialplanningweek.ca for a listing
of these events, story ideas and additional resources and information.

About Financial Planners Standards Council

Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC) is a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to ensuring Canadians' financial planning needs
are well served by developing, promoting and enforcing professional
standards for financial planning, through CFP(R) certification, and
raising awareness of the importance of financial planning to Canadians.
FPSC licenses the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(R) marks in Canada. There
are currently more than 17,500 CFP professionals in Canada and more than
120,000 individuals who have earned CFP certification in 22 countries
around the world. These individuals are licensed to use the registered
marks: CFP(R), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(R) and CFP (with flame
logo)(R). See www.FPSC.ca for more.

CFP(R), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(R) and CFP (with flame logo)(R) are
trademarks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board
Ltd. Financial Planners Standards Council is the marks licensing
authority for the CFP Marks in Canada, through agreement with FPSB.

Contacts:
TO ARRANGE MEDIA INTERVIEWS OR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION,
CONTACT: Chadnick Communications (for FPSC)
Eileen Chadnick
416.631.7437
eileen@chadnick.com

FPSC
Heather Mills
416.593.8587 x 235
hmills@fpsc.ca

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