The importance of CFP Certification

Front row, second from left: Rafiq and Idham with the participants

The Centre for Extension Education (CEE) organised a talk titled “Choosing what’s next after CFP Certification?” on 24 October 2018 at Sungai Long Campus.

Invited to deliver the talk was Wealth Vantage License Financial Planner, Registered Financial Planner (RFP) Chief Marketing Officer Idham Idris. With more than 14 years of experience in the financial service industry, he is currently leading, training and coaching his team in retail unit trust, insurance, takaful solutions and estate planning. Another talk was delivered by Wealth Vantage License Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Managing Director Rafiq Hidayat.

Before the talk commenced, CEE Head of Business Development and Administration and Operation Unit Joleena Chong presented a token of appreciation to Idham.

“There is a problem with financial education in Malaysia. There is a crucial need for financial education institutions to encourage consumers to become financially savvy in managing their finance, planning for the future and managing risks associated with financial matters. According to the statistics, Malaysia has the highest household debt in the world which includes car loan, housing loan and credit card loan, to name a few. Approximately 81.3% of the people in Malaysia save less than 10% of their income. It means people are still unaware of how to manage their money in the correct way, which is why it is important to educate them,” said Idham.

Idham sharing the importance of obtaining a CFP certification

He then shared with the audience the benefit of obtaining a CFP certification, “Due to these financial problems, we found out that people have begun to look for personalised financial plans and strategies. People are looking for co-recognised financial licensed and professional designation. So, this is where a financial planner comes in handy. For CFP programme, there are four modules to complete, which are financial fundamental, retirement, insurance and how to construct your financial plan.”

“To become a good financial services provider and intermediary, CFP certification has beaten the benchmark in terms of competency. There are two types of qualified certification in CFP programme; partially qualified and fully qualified. It is very important for you to pass module one to three, in the beginning, to join the apprenticeship programme to obtain a Capital Markets Services Representative's Licence (CMSRL). However, the remaining two modules are still required to become a financial planner. Of course, if you have passed modules one to three, you can become a Financial Advisor Representative (FAR) under Bank Negara Malaysia. But, if you complete your study for the four modules without sitting for the exam, you can immediately sign up to become a CMSRL for Unit Trust and Private Retirement Scheme. CFP is a higher level certification. If you are fully certified, you can obtain a good job; you can become a Paraplanner and you can also become a business owner,” said Idham. 

Rafiq sharing how to choose the right Financial Advisory firm

On the other hand, Rafiq shared with the audience on how to choose the right Financial Advisory Firm, “Joining the right firm as a financial planner is very important. The right firm will set the right environment. Moreover, you might not stay with the firm for your whole life as you might have plans to set up your own company after five to ten years. A big firm should lead by a strong management team. It must encourage a strong positive culture and help the CFP borders to develop their prospect. Also, it must provide an environment that allows CFP to build a sustainable business through a standard procedure. Management is also very important; make sure you know who the management is and if possible try to meet up and have a chat with the management. This is to see if it has the same direction as you do because you do not want to enter a workplace where you will feel unwanted.” Meanwhile, he also shared some scenarios with the audience during his talk.

The talk then ended with an interactive Q&A session, followed by a group photography session. 

Joleena (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Idham

 Some of the participants during Q&A session