CFP® EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Education requirement with effect from 1 July 2002 for the CFP® certification course
With effect from 1 July 2002, members can select any of the 3 options to complete the CFP® certification course.

All students must enroll with our education providers before they are allowed to register for the CFP® certification examinations.

Candidates must ensure their membership are current before submitting their examination registration forms to the education providers.

Option A – CFP® certification course

Members without any relevant qualifications are required to sit for the whole CFP certification course, which comprise Module 1 to 6. This is presently been offered to our members by our Education Providers (EP). Below are the 6 Modules in the CFP certification course:

Module 1 – Foundation in Financial Planning
Module 2 – Risk management and Insurance Planning
Module 3 – Tax Planning
Module 4 – Investment Planning
Module 5 – Retirement Planning and Estate Planning
Module 6 – Financial Plan Construction and Professional Responsibilities

Minimum academic requirements:

  • An SPM qualification or equivalent

Option B – Partial exemption on Modules

FPAM recognizes that certain professional qualifications cover some of the components in financial planning and have decided to waive certain Modules for eligible members. Holders of these degrees and/or credentials are exempted from the following modules:

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6
Chartered Financial Practicioners (Namlifa) X
MII Dip. In Financial Planning X
Chartered Life Underwriters X X
Life Underwriters Training Council of Fellows X X
Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment X X
Member of Malaysian Institute of Taxation X
Bachelors Degree (Finance / Accounting / Economics)
- degree must include Taxation module.		 X

FPAM would advise all eligible members to seek approval for exemptions as early as possible.

Click here for the document for applying for exemption (PDF file).

Option C – CFP® Challenge Status

FPAM has approved certain qualifications and/or professional credentials as fulfilling the education requirements and members who are eligible can apply to FPAM for approval under the CFP challenge status. Under this CFP challenge status, the approved member is only required to sit for Module 6, by completing a 40 hours classroom – based lectures to be followed by 6 hours of Module 6 examinations similar to the examination offered in Option A.

Members having the following qualifications and/or professional credentials and have gained 3 years of personal finance related experience are eligible to apply for the CFP challenge status. This CFP challenge status is only open to Malaysians.

1. Qualifications Professional accountants (MIA, CPA (M), CPA(Aust)., AICPA, CA , ACCA, ICMA and AIA.) Company Secretaries (ICSA & Fellow of MACS) Chartered Financial Consultants Chartered Financial Analysts Doctorate in Business Admin PhD (business, accounting or economics) Masters (Business Admin /Finance /Economics/Accounting) from accredited universities

2. Members must have gained 3 years of personal finance related experiences at the time of application where such experiences gained can enhance the candidate’s ability to apply the financial planning process to meet consumer needs. This experience can be gained in one or all of the following areas: Insurance, mutual funds, securities, asset management, accounting, estate planning, banking, taxation, trusts, retirement planning and financial planning.

3. Each member is entitled to a maximum of three (3) consecutive examination attempts only for the challenge status commencing immediately after obtaining approval from FPAM. After the 3 attempts or non attempts, they must enroll for the normal CFP certification examinations.

Click here for the document for the Application for CFP challenge status – Module 6 (PDF file).

Additional requirements

Members who wish to seek approval for partial exemptions under Option B or challenge status under Option C must complete and submit the relevant forms and documents to FPAM. These forms can be obtained through our EPs or from our website. The request for approval must be accompanied by an Application for Trade member form together with payment ( if applicant is not currently a member) as FPAM will only grant approval to members only. The Education Provider cannot approve members eligibility for Modular exemptions under Option B and / or challenge status under Option C.

All certificates and academic transcripts must be certified – see full details in the application form. Working experience from present employer must be under the employer’s letterhead. Upon approval, students will be allocated a reference number to quote when they subsequently register for the examination. If a member application is not approved, FPAM will return the whole set of documents back to the member.

Those seeking for exemptions or challenge status must apply at least one month before the registration for any examination. Applications for exemptions or challenge status must not be submitted together with your examination registration form. Failure to comply will result in your application not been processed in time for your next examination.


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