Financial advisers should not consider the list of approved degrees the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has published as the only tertiary education qualifications that will afford them education credits under the new professional standards, a senior technical executive has said.
“Just because your degree is not on the published list that FASEA has out there, doesn’t mean they won’t recognise it,” SMSF Association head of technical Peter Hogan told delegates at the industry body’s recent 2019 Tech Day in Sydney.
“All they are saying with that published list is these are the ones we won’t argue with you about. These are the ones we will automatically accept … as either relevant degrees or approved degrees.”
Hogan recommended advisers faced with having to complete additional study for the new requirements to keep this in mind as FASEA will often only need to satisfy itself about the subjects involved in the non-listed degree, whether the degree was obtained at the appropriated tertiary level and the results achieved before potentially allowing it to be recognised for education credits.
On a related matter, he pointed out the single subject credit approved for the SMSF Association’s SMSF specialist adviser (SSA) designation can be of significant advantage to practitioners.
“The approval is prospective so if there is anyone in the room who isn’t an SSA, and is thinking about doing it, you can do it and if you get the SSA designation, that is a one subject credit against whatever requirements you might have to achieve by 2024,” he noted.
“The FPA (Financial Planning Association) got two credits for their five-unit CFP (certified financial planner) program and the AFA (Association of Financial Advisers) credits for its [fellow chartered financial practitioner (FChFP)] as well.
“These are cumulative. They are not a maximum of two credits and if you get five credits you do not only get two recognised as some people are trying to say.
“So if you have a CFP and the SSA – that is three subject credits you’ve got.”
FASEA approved education credits for the SSA, CFP and FChFP designations earlier this year.
