How to Become a Financial Planner?

After the two series of article on Financial Planning and Financial Planner. Some of you may asked: "Is it difficult to become a Financial Planner? What's the requirement needed?"

Hmmm... Good news is it is not difficult, but the bad news is it's not easy either and the requirements for sure will be raised in the future.

So, how?

In Malaysia, those who practice as Financial Planner must pass any one of below examinations:

1. Registered Financial Planners (RFP) issued by Malaysia Financial Planning Council (MFPC)
2. Certified Financial Planners (CFP) issued by Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM)

After you have passed the said examination, it doesn't mean that you're a Licensed Financial Planner straight away. Why? It's just serves you an entry passport only. Once you have accredited the qualification, you must apply the required licenses with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Securities Commission (SC) before you can carry out financial planning activities.

By then, you can claimed the following title:

• Financial Adviser Representative (FAR) by BNM
• Licensed Financial Planner by SC

Please take note that passing the said examinations doesn't carry you the titles, getting the licenses does. If not, you're deem to have convicted an offence which can land you in jail or subject to hefty fine.

Other requirements include:

• Must be a Malaysian citizen
• At least 21 years old
• Have minimum 3 years related experience
• Must be a FULL time practitioner
• Then, you must fulfill the minimum hours for personal development programs every year

Next, we will talk about "The Challenges Faced by Financial Planning Industry in Malaysia"

This article was contributed by Alex Yeoh, a licensed financial planner with a reputable financial planning firm. Finance Malaysia blog will work together with Alex in bringing more interesting articles on personal financial planning. You may reach him via email alexyeoh@vka.com.my