Professional Designation
CLU® - Chartered Life Underwriter® via Advocis
CLU candidates must have first successfully completed the Advocis Financial Planning Fundamentals Program for CLU® Certification. Candidates must then complete the three CLU Designation Courses.
Advocis Financial Planning Fundamentals Program for CLU® Certification
Study Format: Fully Self-Study
Financial Services professionals are expected to possess knowledge that will instil and maintain the trust of their clients, including the knowledge required to articulate their professional responsibilities as financial planning professionals; identify and explain the role of relevant regulatory and oversight bodies in securities and insurance; and explain the framework and regulations that are in place to protect their clients from such threats as the insolvency of a financial institution abuse and scams.
Financial Services professionals are expected to possess the knowledge that will allow them to clearly document, analyse, project and present financial information related to an individual’s goals, needs, and priorities. Such knowledge will aid professionals to explain the time value of money; make financial projections to determine the achievability of goals; and evaluate how an individual’s current and projected cash flow – including that from their business – may impact their ability to meet their goals.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess the knowledge that will allow them to assess an individual’s credit worthiness and determine suitable credit facilities. They should also be able to determine optimal debt repayment strategies, including the impact that changes to strategies may have on individual’s debt level, amortization, cash flow and ability to achieve their goals. In addition, they should be able to identify appropriate options and professionals who can help delinquent and insolvent debtors.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess knowledge of the mechanics of registered retirement savings and income plans so that they may evaluate and recommend tax efficient wealth accumulation and decumulation strategies that will aid individuals in reaching their retirement goals.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to posses detailed knowledge related to the eligibility for, benefits available, and factors to consider in evaluating decisions to apply for and commence benefits available to individuals through the government benefit programs. A high-level understanding of workers’ compensation and income assistance programs complements such knowledge and ensures that professionals are capable of competently advising individuals when they experience life events such as the birth of a child, unemployment, illness, disability and retirement.
Financial Services Professional are expected to possess expert knowledge of the intricacies of Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP) so that they may evaluate and recommend optimal strategies to achieve education-related goals or goals for individuals with disability.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess a working knowledge of the economy, including identifying and explaining the indicators that may signal the past, current or future phase of the economic cycle. All professionals are expected to be able to use the foundational knowledge of demand and supply to trace the expected (or explain the past) impact of the world events and fiscal and monetary policy on economic variables, including an individual’s investment and values.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess knowledge to allow them to create an appropriate asset allocation for an individual given their investment objectives and constraints and evaluate investments that are suitable for the individual. Their knowledge will also enable them to interpret the return and risk of an individual’s investment portfolio, as well as help an individual make sense of their investment statements, including the impact that changing investment values may have on achieving their goals.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess knowledge to allow them to complete and interpret an individual’s basic personal tax return, including identifying and explaining the income tax assessment rules for individual, explaining the tax implications of how different types of income received by individuals may be taxed, and identifying the tax deductions and credits for which an individual may be eligible. They should further be able to identify and estimate the benefit of engaging in foundational income splitting strategies.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess knowledge related to Wills and Powers of Attorney that will ensure they can evaluate if such documents align with the individual’s wishes, and where appropriate, advise the individual to seek professional legal advice to update those documents. Their knowledge will also allow them to explain the implications associated with sole and joint ownership of personal property (both wile the owners are living and upon their deaths) and the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of business ownership structures.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess general knowledge of property and casualty insurance products, government and private health care insurance plans and creditor insurance. Their knowledge includes estimating the life and disability insurance needs for an individual, as well as understanding the importance of the common contractual terms contained within life and disability insurance policies. Their expected knowledge will allow them to differentiate between term and permanent insurance and explain the purpose of critical illness and long-term care insurance.
Financial Services Professionals are expected to possess knowledge related to how the brain works and makes decisions, including the values, heuristics, emotions and disorders related to money that an individual brings to the decision-making process. Professionals should understand the stages of individual change and what may motivate/ inhibit an individual in making change. They should also understand how their actions and communications may garner or hinder trust.
CLU Designation Courses
Study Format: Fully Self-Study
This course focuses on wealth transfer and estate planning strategies for individuals and families. Description of law and tax structures lead to discussions on applicable financial planning approaches for individuals and families. Learning objectives include: The use of life insurance and living benefits to manage personal risks and wealth preservation, the creation of trusts and other instruments to ensure the orderly transfer of individual wealth, the examination of the special tax reporting obligations facing individuals who enter or leave Canada, and the examination of client objectives and responsibilities at death including tax and legal obligations and how they can be reconciled to the wealth transfer and estate planning intentions of the testator.
This course focus on wealth transfer and estate planning strategies for businesses and business owners. Learning objectives include: A description of the legal and tax implications of certain business structures, specifically sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations with particular attention to tax planning strategies and the issues to be addressed at the sale or transfer of the business or at the death of a principle, a special focus on the tax complexities present in the operation of a corporation, the approaches to identify, apply and synthesize appropriate income tax techniques used to restructure a corporation, ad the consideration of planning strategies for the orderly and tax-efficient of business wealth at retirement or upon death.
This course us the culmination of all the courses in the CLU program. The course is designed to help financial advisors hone their skills in working with the client to develop a comprehensive estate plan that addresses all of the client’s objectives and obligations. Learning objectives include: to analyze the client’s financial status and overall estate planning objectives, to explain the advantages and disadvantages of different estate planning strategies and contrast them with one another, to consider planning strategies involving the use of inter vivos and testamentary trusts, and to assess the need for life insurance in order to support the estate plan and recommend alternative insurance strategies.
CLU® via Advocis Course Policies: Programme Completion Requirements
Upon successful completion of the CLU programme, students will then be required to apply for the authorization to use the CLU Designation. Maintaining Advocis membership is an ongoing requirement for the CLU designation. CLU advisors WILL BE REQUIRED to re-apply annually for the continued right to use the CLU designation. The CLU designation is subject to an annual professional fee.
Administrative Policies: Please contact your member Association for details on programme completion requirements, cancellations, deferrals inter alia.
FSCP - The Financial Services Certified Professional
Fast-start sales training for Insurance Professionals where you learn success skills that will help you move to the next level.
Moderated by experienced financial services leaders.
Required Courses (8):
Using effective marketing and prospecting strategies to identify potential clients.
Course Description:
Provides an in-depth look at penetrating the personal markets using the life-cycle marketing strategy and selling/planning process. Learn to segment your market into four adult life-cycle segments and recognize the common insurance and financial needs members of these market segments have. Apply this approach to new prospects and existing clients. Create a basic marketing plan to apply the life-cycle marketing strategy to your practice. Other topics covered include disability income, life, long-term care and Medicare supplement insurance; overview of investment products; special markets; and retirement and estate planning.
Course Highlights:
- Presents basic planning concepts and needs applicable to the personal insurance market
- Covers the process of prospecting, with an emphasis on referrals
- Discusses how to develop a strategy for identifying target markets
- Addresses the process of client-building through servicing and monitoring insurance plans
- Discusses the concept of “life-cycle segmentation” for prospecting
- Presents basic product knowledge for life insurance, disability income, Medicare supplement, and other products.
Uncover Your Clients’ Needs through Effective Communication.
Course Description:
Offers an introduction to the life insurance sales career and the sales/planning process in the personal market. Addresses total-needs selling, the consultative selling process and the needs for personal life insurance. Presents the skills used throughout the sales/planning process, from the initial client meeting, through fact finding and sales presentations, to servicing and continuing a mutually profitable relationship. Presents a review of insurance products, policy provisions, underwriting and service.
Course Highlights:
- Focuses on effective communication skills for use throughout the sales/planning process
- Presents basic sales skills to successfully conduct the sales/planning process
- Emphasizes the importance of relationship building skills as the basis of sales success.
Course Description:
Covers how life and disability income insurance can guarantee the control and value of a business following the owner’s or key person’s death, disability, or retirement through buy-sell agreements and key person insurance. Explores the basics of estate planning for the business owner. Examines what to say, how to say it and when to say it to capture the attention of the business owner.
Course Description:
This course begins with an overview of the two basic types of life insurance policies—term and whole life—and then builds on that knowledge with an overview of the many product variations sold in today’s markets. The course also explores personal, family, and business uses of life insurance products, as well as policy illustrations, cost comparison methods, income and estate taxation, policy provisions, marketing ideas, and ethical issues facing the financial advisor. Provides a review of the selling/planning process for life insurance product solutions.
Course Description:
Guides professionals in examining the retirement planning process, fact finding, methods of analyzing facts, retirement planning software and sales tracking. Discusses the role of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and tax policies in retirement planning and the suitability of various accumulation vehicles, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance and annuities for retirement planning. Explains how retirement planning creates estate planning needs and addresses payout options, spousal benefits and investment strategies.
Course Highlights:
- Addresses ways to accumulate money for retirement, to fund an education, to satisfy long-term needs, and more.
- Discusses the role of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and tax policies in retirement planning.
- Explores the suitability of accumulation vehicles, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance, and annuities.
Course Description:
Offers an introduction to estate planning and the role life insurance plays in the planning process. Discusses how different types of property are transferred during life and at death, and the tax implications of not planning. Also presents the steps required to settle an estate and discusses the importance of having a will, the gift and estate transfer tax system, state death and estate taxes, trusts and planning estates of business owners.
Course Description:
Provides a practical framework for making ethical business decisions in the financial services industry. This ethical module examines legal, compliance and practice standards that apply to the financial services professional. It also investigates ethical approaches to placing financial products, determining suitability and assessing risk.
Highlights:
- Describes the evolution of the financial services market and its ethical problems
- Provides a framework for ethical decision making, including ethical sensitivity exercises and decision processes
- Discusses federal and state regulations, compliance limitations, the increasing emphasis on professionalism and ethics codes, and practice standards
- Explores the ethics of specific professional practices including unnecessary replacements, misleading sales practices, suitability requirements, and rebating, along with a discussion regarding conflicts of interest
- Examines the NASD Rules of Conduct and Fair Dealing with Customers
- Discusses the scope of responsibilities assumed by Registered Investment Advisors
- Discusses categories of investments, types of investment risk, and risk management, and provides a useful tool for assessing an individual’s risk tolerance and investment philosophy
Course Description:
This certification course and exam is designed to serve as an overview of the major planning components that make up a comprehensive financial plan. It’s intended to serve as the avenue where the culmination of theoretical principles and practical application acquired over the course of the Program are assessed. The students will attend a moderated class over a period of 8-weeks reinforcing their level of knowledge in preparation for the comprehensive final exam.
FSCP Designation
CARAIFA and The American College jointly confer the FSCP designation.
FSCP Designation Application Form
FSCP Designation Application Form -FSCP Graduates
