David F. Andrews B Comm CFP CLU TEP
Winston Churchill said,"Plans are useless, Planning is invaluable".
Financial Planning is a Process, NOT an event.
Financial Planning has experienced explosive growth, but still struggles to be identified as an industry.
The Financial Planning Standards Council of Canada states that it is the integration of six elements; financial management, asset management, risk management, retirement planning, estate planning and tax planning, that distinguishes financial planning from other forms of financial advice. So where does Modular Planning fit in?
From the definition above, we would conclude that a simple retirement plan is more properly referred to a form of Financial Advice. The concern in the industry is that many consumers are unaware of the distinction and may wrongly assume they are receiving comprehensive financial planning services
We have undertaken to provide some clarity to clients by offering 2 core services that do not constitute a comprehensive financial planning engagement and a premium service that does represent a comprehensive Financial Planning Engagement. To insure client understanding of the services, we provide a Letter of Engagement
A more complete expanation of who is involved in the Regulation of Financial Planning can be found in the Disclosure section
At the end of the day, consumers must take some responsibility for understanding what level of planning service is being provided by an advisor.
Regardless of the advisor's credentials and this is best accomplished through a Letter of Engagement.
