Evolve or Dissolve: Rethinking What It Means To Be A Financial Planner with Cary List [Ep34]
Updated: Jul 8
Welcome to episode 34 of The Innovating Advice Show.
I’m joined by Cary List, president and CEO of FP Canada, the national professional body leading the advancement of professional financial planning in Canada.
In this episode, we discuss how financial planning is evolving — echoing many of the themes on this show — and Cary shares how FP Canada, which administers CFP certification in Canada, has revamped their entire professional curriculum to align with the changing skills needed by financial planners.
We also discuss how technology and emphasizing the human element of financial planning creates opportunities to provide holistic human-focused financial planning for people with everyday needs, not just the wealthy.
Resources
Guest Bio
Cary List has led FP Canada and its predecessor, the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC), since 2006. As President & CEO, Cary has worked to advance professional financial planning in Canada, to ensure that CFP certification is recognized as the standard for financial planning, and to see financial planning recognized in law as a distinct profession.
After completing his undergraduate degree in mathematics, accounting, computer science and statistics from the University of Waterloo, Cary started as a chartered accountant. He moved to financial planning in the mid-1990s. For 10 years, he developed financial planning practices and business education programs in the Greater Toronto Area.
Cary earned his CFP designation in 1997 and began volunteering for FP Canada’s predecessor organization (FPSC) in 1998, joining the organization’s inaugural Panel of Examiners. Cary joined the FPSC staff in 2002 as the organization’s Vice President of Standards. He became COO in 2004 and President & CEO in 2006.
Timestamps
00:32 – Introducing Cary List
02:20 – Rebranding into FP Canada
03:55 – What the future may hold in a world that is changing dramatically
04:25 – The first key element: the disruption of technology
05:00 – The second key element: the pillars that are breaking down around us
06:15 – Has the caliber of professional education kept up?
07:30 – The impact of technology on financial planning
09:00 – The problem with fintech firms
11:00 – Focusing on the human side of the profession
11:20 – Being a professional financial advisor in this new order
12:50 – Embracing technology
16:35 – What you truly need to become a successful professional
17:00 – Being a financial life coach
17:40 – Being an expert
19:05 – Revamping the curriculum
20:10 – Behavioural economics
21:00 – The importance of practicing empathy
23:06 – Finding support for the new program
25:40 – Creating curriculum modules
26:30 – Getting the program to a broader group
28:15 – Bridging the generational gap
31:50 – The new generation of financial planners
34:05 – Abandoning the notion of the six-step financial planning process
34:37 – Why lengthy reports are a thing of the past
35:25 – Financial planning is for everybody
39:15 – The pilot program