Richmond Hill, ON (May 1, 2013) – CLIFE, the Centre for Life Insurance and Financial Education, a provider of continuing education for financial advisors, announces findings from its survey of more than 5,000 agent-advisors.
The survey, completed in April 2013, polled over 5000 members of the financial services industry in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Over 30% of respondents did not know that sales training does not qualify for CE according to the definition of what constitutes qualified CE by provincial regulators in those provinces.
“Agents and advisors should be better informed about what qualifies for CE. Sales training is unquestionably valuable, but agents and advisors who intend to use sales training hours for CE credits face disqualification of their time spent in such sessions,” said Tap Salmi, President of CLIFE.
Every provincial regulator clearly specifies the need for CE to focus on technical knowledge requirements and that’s good business practice too, says Salmi. “Advisors who keep up to date on new information perform better with their clients, and they can expect a higher degree of referral because they are simply better prepared with the facts.”
“No one wants to fail a CE audit,” Salmi added. “Advisors need to know that there are two knowledge streams needed to be successful in the business: sales training on products and services, and information acquisition on subjects like retirement or financial planning.”
Financial services firms need to correct the misconception that their advisors have about CE and ensure that continuing education credits are clearly separated from sales training.
CLIFE will release more survey results in the coming weeks.
About CLIFE
CLIFE Incorporated, the Centre for Life Insurance and Financial Education provides continuing education courses for life agents and financial planners. Courses are accredited according to provincial requirements, the Financial Planning Standards Council, and the Institute (ADVOCIS). Visit www.CLIFEce.ca.
