Santa Fe, NM, Nov. 8 2007 – At the 4th Annual Distinguished Advisor Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Knowledge Bureau, Canada’s primary educator in tax and financial services, announced the addition of the Retirement Income Specialist (RIS) Program to its Master Financial Advisor designation. The new one-year, self-study program is possible through the exclusive educational partnership and program sponsorship of The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, and has been developed to help financial advisors strengthen their position as retirement income planning experts. The first enrollment period begins immediately for courses that will begin in January.
“This latest program is in line with the Knowledge Bureau’s ongoing efforts to deliver innovative educational programs that help advisors access the information they need to enhance their business practice,” said Evelyn Jacks, President of the Knowledge Bureau. “We believe the Retirement Income Specialist Program is very timely as it will add to advisors’ understanding of the specific needs of the huge baby boomer market.”
In April 2007, Decima Research showed that:
- the economic growth experienced by Canada in recent decades has made the baby boomer generation the most affluent generation in our history, even after adjusting for inflation
- 32% of Canadians have already received an inheritance in an average amount of $56,000, but inheritances in the future are expected to be five times this amount, or $300,000
- 30% view taxes as the chief threat to their inheritance, but only 7% have sought professional advice
- “The Knowledge Bureau and Standard Life have partnered on various initiatives. It is important for Standard Life to count on recognized experts to help us fulfill our commitment for providing added value to our advisors. The goal of our Partnering Program is to offer tools to advisors and assist them in catering to the requirements of the growing retirement income market,” says Mick Kelly, Vice-President Sales, Retail Markets of Standard Life.
As part of the exclusive partnership between Standard Life and the Knowledge Bureau, Standard Life qualified advisors will benefit from discounted pricing.
The 12-month, self-study program, available to all advisors in English only, consists of six 30-hour courses, which include:
- Tax-efficient retirement income planning
- Financial literacy: The relationship between risk and return
- Portfolio construction and real wealth management
- Advising family businesses
- Owner-manager compensation planning
- Use of trusts in tax and estate planning
In addition to the RIS program, Standard Life’s value-added tools for
advisors include:
- Pareto referral system announced recently
- Retirement Planning Toolkit software, which illustrates intergenerational retirement solutions
- Market outlooks from Standard Life Investments Inc.
- Standard Life’s proprietary programs: Business Consultancy(TM) and Business Markets
About The Knowledge Bureau
The Knowledge Bureau is a national certified educational institute, which provides continuing professional development to practicing professionals in tax and financial services leading to certification and designation. It is the home of the Distinguished Financial Advisor (DFA) and Master Financial Advisor (MFA) designations.
The Knowledge Bureau specializes in providing busy practitioners with convenient multi-media self-study courses, in-company classroom training and thorough Knowledge Bureau Education Days (workshops and conferences). It also engages its instructors to speak and instruct for in-company programs developed by its private clients.
Its courseware has been vetted by Departments of Education across Canada and the Human Resources Department of Canada, leading to its certification as an educational institute and as such, its tuition fees qualify for the tuition fee credit. Where students study at least 12 hours per month with the Knowledge Bureau, a textbook and education credit is possible. In addition, its courses have been accredited by a number of accrediting bodies in the tax and financial services industries.
The Knowledge Bureau has served over 3,000 student registrations since its inception in 2003 and has issued over 1,450 certificates to graduates in that time.(www.knowledgebureau.com)
About Standard Life
The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada is a major investment, retirement and financial protection company. Along with its affiliated companies in Canada, it had $37.9 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2007. It offers a wide range of financial products and services to over 1.31 million individuals, including group insurance and pension plan members. Total premium income and deposits reached $5.17 billion in 2006. Standard Life group has been a prominent player in the Canadian marketplace since 1833. (www.standardlife.ca)
The Standard Life group is a leading provider of financial products and services, with approximately 7 million customers and 1.5 million shareholders worldwide. As of December 31, 2006, its investment management business had $301 billion in assets under management. Founded in Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1825, The Standard Life Assurance Company demutualized in 2006 and a new public company – Standard Life plc – was born. Standard Life plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), under the ticker symbol SL., on July 10, 2006. Standard Life plc entered the FTSE 100 on September 18, 2006, after the quarterly review of the index by the FTSE group. In March 2007, Standard Life plc became part of the FTSE4Good Index, which is used to identify companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. (www.standardlife.com).
Tags: retirement planning & savings, Standard Life
