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Continuing Education Guide

Continuing Education Guide 1

Continuing Education Guide

What is CE? Did You Know?

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders

Table of Contents

Is CE Applicable to You?

Student & Retired Members CE Requirements

CE Hour Requirements

Types of CE

Institute-Accredited vs. Institute Approved

Attesting to Your CE

Acceptable Ethics CE

CE Exemptions

CE Carry-Over

Continuing Education Guide

What is CE? Continuing Education (CE) is designed to enhance the professional competence and ethical standards of financial services practitioners, including financial advisors and planners. CE is a critical component of your continuing professional development, which allows you to better serve your clients, remain up to date on best practices, latest trends and regulatory requirements. CE must be relevant and supportive of your professional responsibilities and role. Did You Know? • If you are an Advocis member with an Institute designation  You must meet Institute & Advocis CE requirements.  The CE you complete for your Institute CE requirement can also count toward your Advocis CE requirements. • If you are an Advocis member without an Institute designation  You only need to meet Advocis CE requirements.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders Is CE Applicable to You? If you hold the following designation(s), CE is required to keep your designation in good standing: • Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU); • Professional Financial Advisor (PFA); • Certified Health Insurance Specialist (CHS); and, • Chartered Financial Consultant (CH.F.C). Maintaining your designation in good standing includes staying up-to-date on your CE, being compliant with ongoing obligations and being committed to professional excellence. If you are an Advocis Member, without an Institute designation, and are in good standing, CE is required. To learn more about the number of hours you are required to complete, please see How many hours of formal CE do I need?

I am a Student or a Retired Member, am I subject to the CE requirements? Students are not subject to CE requirements. A Student is - an individual who: • is new to financial services, not licensed or experienced in giving financial advice, and currently enrolled in a recognized financial services education or licensing program; or, • an individual who has been admitted into an Institute Designation Program by the Institute of Advanced Financial Education (The Institute). The following are the current Institute Designation Programs: • CLU; • PFA; and, • CHS. Retired Members are not subject to CE requirements. A Retired Member is an individual who has: • retired; or, • works fewer than 30 hours per month, in financial services, typically servicing existing clients without seeking new business.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders How many hours of CE do I need? Your CE requirements are based on the designation(s) you hold with the Institute:

Annual CE Requirements CLU ®

30 hours, of which: Min. of 15 hrs. of Institute-Accredited CE

Max. of 15 hrs. of Institute-Approved CE

2 hrs. of ethics

PFA™

20 hours, of which: Min. of 10 hrs. of Institute-Accredited CE

Max. of 10 hrs. of Institute-Approved CE

1 hr. of ethics

CHS™

10 hours, of which: Min. of 10 hrs. of Institute-Accredited CE

CH.F.C

10 hours, of which: Min. of 10 hrs. of Institute-Accredited CE

ADVOCIS MEMBERS

30 hours, of which:

1 hr. of ethics

Min. of 15 hours of formal (Institute-Accredited or Institute-Approved) CE hours, and, Max. of 15 informal CE hours

If you hold more than one Institute-issued designation, you must meet the standards of the designation with the highest CE requirements.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders Types of CE Advocis members are required to complete CE to maintain your membership. If you are a designation holder, you are required to complete CE that is relevant to your professional responsibilities and roles in order to maintain your designation. To learn more about the number of hours you are required to complete, please see How many hours of CE do I need?

CE Activity Institute-accredited courses

Acceptable Documentation Decision Report (which must include the IAS code) or Certificate of Completion

Institute Approved Participation in a course, webinar, conference or seminar as an attendee

Course syllabus, presentation material, or attendance sheet

Successful completion of course(s) leading to another recognized designation such as CPA, CFA, PFP, or CFP

Course results, confirmation of designation or certification. Each course must be a minimum of 30 hours in duration. The designation must have ongoing CE or professional experience requirements, must be overseen by a governing body, and, be bound to a code of conduct.

Instruction/Speaking: Participation in a conference or seminar as a speaker

Course syllabus, prep and/or presentation materials

Informal CE Reading Industry-related blogs, news articles or magazine

Not required

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders What is Not Considered Formal CE? • Basic Licensing Courses: Courses designed to fulfill initial licensing requirements—such as the Life License Qualification Program (LLQP), Investment Funds in Canada (IFIC), Canadian Securities Course (CSC), and other mutual fund or securities licensing programs—are not eligible. These programs serve as foundational qualifications and do not contribute to ongoing professional development. • Informal Learning Activities: Unstructured or self-directed activities such as reading articles, conducting personal research, or writing papers. • Sales, Administrative, and Operational Training: Training focused on sales techniques, office management, administrative procedures, or other internal business operations.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders What is Institute-accredited and Institute-approved CE? Institute-accredited CE is: • Content formally reviewed by The Institute and satisfies the requirements of The Institute’s CE Accreditation Services, and, • Is evaluated against Practice Guidelines for Financial Advisors and Planners which emphasizes: - Professional and ethical conduct, including integrity, objectivity, and confidentiality, - Client engagement and relationship management, such as discovery, goal setting, and communication, - Financial planning competencies, including retirement, tax, estate, investment, and risk management, - Regulatory and legal awareness, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and standards, - Practice management and continuing competence, including business operations, technology use, and lifelong learning, and, • Has an 8-digit IAS code. (e.g. IAS12345678). Institute-approved CE is: • Courses, presentations or seminars offered by third-party providers that align with The Institute’s standards as published in the Practice Guidelines for Financial Advisors and Planners, such as professional and ethical conduct or practice management, but have not been evaluated through The Institute’s CE Accreditation Services. It is important to note that as a member of the Institute, you may be required to demonstrate that any Institute-approved CE completed aligns with the Practice Guidelines for Financial Advisors and Planners.

When am I required to attest to having completed my Formal CE? You are required to attest to the completion of your CE annually, by December 31 of each calendar year. You may record your CE directly with Advocis and The Institute, using the CE Tracker which can be accessed through the Member Portal. You do not have to list all of your CE when completing your annual attestation, however, it is recommended that you keep track of it. That way, if you are selected for audit, you will be able to provide a detailed list of CE completed.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders What Qualifies as Acceptable Ethics CE? Programs and events which contribute to the reinforcement of ethical standards within the financial services profession include: • material which focuses on the ethics of the client/advisor relationship, • material which focuses on ethical behaviour, and, • any changes in relevant legislation, policies and guidelines. While ethics-related CE is not mandatory for Advocis Members without an Institute designation, we strongly encourage you to participate in ethics-related CE.

Are Exemptions Available If I Do Not Meet the CE Requirement? CE exemptions (partial or full) can be requested based on: • Parental leave, • Medical grounds, or, • compassionate circumstances. All CE exemption requests are subject to Institute approval and are valid for one year only. You may submit your CE exemption request by completing and submitting the CE Exemption Form, along with any supporting documentation. You will be advised in writing if your exemption request has been approved. If your exemption request is not approved or your circumstances do not meet the exemption options, you will be required to complete the CE requirements.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders I’m a newly admitted Practicing Advisor (with a PFA, CLU, CHS and/or CH.F.C designation), Am I Required to Complete CE hours? • During the calendar year in which you received your designation(s), CE is not required. • If you received your designation in the previous calendar year, CE is required.

If you just became a Practicing Advisor during the current CE reporting year, you do not have to complete any CE.

If you became a Practicing Advisor in the previous CE reporting year, you would be required to complete the CE requirements in full in the following CE reporting year.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders Can my CE be audited? Yes, your CE can be audited by The Institute. Audits are conducted on an annual basis. As you may be selected for audit, it is imperative that you keep records of all CE completed, along with supporting documentation to demonstrate that the requirements have been met. It is recommended that you keep this documentation for at least 3 years. Audit selection is random, using a risk-based approach. If selected for audit, you will be advised by email and must respond within 30 days of receiving your notice. Please make sure your contact information, including email address, is up to date. When selected you will be required to provide specific course details for each course completed, including: course name, provider, start/end date of course, if applicable, type of CE completed (e.g. webinar, conference, course), and, the number of hours completed.

How can I track my CE hours? To document completed CE, you may do so by using your chosen tracking system. Alternatively, you may choose to track your CE directly with Advocis and the Institute, using the CE Tracker, a supportive tool, which can be accessed through the Member Portal. As a reminder you will still be required to attest to completing your CE requirements, by December 31 of each calendar year, when completing your annual attestation. It is recommended that you record your CE activities throughout the year. Institute designation holders in good standing may obtain a printed record of all CE activity, reported to Advocis at any time.

Continuing Education Guide

Advocis Members & Institute Designation Holders Can I carry over my CE hours from one year to the next? Yes, you may carry over Institute-accredited CE only from one year to the next. The number of hours and type of CE will depend on your designation. It is important to note that Institute-approved CE is not eligible for carry over. If CE credits are applied to a specific year’s requirements, they cannot be reused as carry over in the next year.

Annual CE Requirements CLU ®

PFA™

CHS™

Up to 15 hours from one calendar year to the next and can include the following courses:

Up to 10 hours from one calendar year to the next and can include the following courses:

Up to 5 hours from one calendar year to the next and can include the following courses:

• Institute-accredited courses

• Courses leading to the CLU, PFA, or CHS, provided the applicable designation is successfully earned

• If successfully completed, a course leading to another recognized designation such as CPA, CFA, PFP, or CFP

* Courses must be at least 30 hours in length, excluding any evaluation time. You will need to keep a record of hours studied for audit purposes. It is your responsibility to maintain a record of completed courses to support compliance with ongoing CE requirements. If selected for audit, you will be required to demonstrate which courses have been carried over, how many hours have been carried over, and how the CE requirements overall have been met.

Continuing Continuing Education Guide

Education Guide

Need More Help? Please contact us if you have further questions or review our IAFE Continuing Education webpage.

This Continuing Education (CE) Guide is provided for informational purposes only and is subject to the specific requirements as set out in the Advocis/Institute Bylaws, Code of Professional Conduct, Disciplinary Procedures and applicable standards at all times.