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The financial management advisor is a professional designation of the Canadian Securities Institute , the official educator of the Canadian securities industry. The FMA is a personal financial planning designation which is usually a precursor to the certified financial planner designation. There are over three thousand FMA holders in Canada. The FMA designation is not recognized in the province of Quebec.
The FMA is awarded by the CSI automatically upon the completion of the required coursework with an average of 60% or better consisting of three courses and six exams ranging in length from two to three hours: the Canadian Securities Course , the Professional Financial Planning Course , and the Wealth Management Techniques Course. Unlike the CFP, there is no vocational experience requirement to qualify for the FMA. However, the second exam of the PFPC and the WMTC tests the student in applied comprehension of the theoretical material. The FMA designation is public information and the CSI will confirm whether any particular person claiming the FMA has actually qualified for the designation. It can also be revoked by the CSI for misconduct.
These courses are offered by independent study primarily through the print medium. In addition, optional online tutorials are available to assist the student in working through the material, consisting of educational exercises and quizzes similar to the multiple-choice format of the actual exams. Students may also submit questions concerning the course content directly via email to the CSI. Many community and vocational colleges also offer exam preparation courses for registered CSI students which enable them to experience the benefits of classroom learning in addition to the distance education format. The exams themselves are proctored by the CSI.
Successful completion of the PFPC entitles the graduate to write the CFP exam. Dalhousie University accepts these and other courses offered by the CSI as credits towards qualifying to receive its MBA degree in financial management, provided the student maintain an average grade of 70% or better. Thus, these courses may be regarded as postgraduate equivalent credits in financial management.