Graduate Certificate in Financial Services - Canadian Context Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus, Canada

The two-year Financial Services-Canadian Context Ontario College Graduate Certificate program is specifically designed to support students transitioning into the Canadian work environment in the customer sales and service areas of:

• Banking
• Insurance
• Financial planning
• Wealth management

In this program, you build knowledge and skills to evaluate and recommend financial products and services based on clients` individual needs. You develop techniques to collect and analyze client information to create and present customized financial plans. Sales strategies and relationship building techniques are applied while adhering to legal and ethical practices and industry standards. Throughout the program, you develop a professional competencies portfolio to document marketable skills. The fourth semester of the program focuses on experiential learning within a variety of real-world scenarios.

Through experiential and simulated workplace learning, you develop financial advising strategies to facilitate clients` short- and long-term financial goals. Topics include:

• Saving and borrowing for major purchases
• Postsecondary education and retirement planning
• Insurance for wealth protection
• Investing for diversification, growth and tax efficiency
• Estate planning for succession and wealth transfer

Graduates are eligible to write the Canadian Securities Course designation exams. Algonquin College collaborates with the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) and the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning (CIFP) to offer the Financial Services Graduate Certificate Program, which meets FP Canada`s Core and Advanced Curriculum educational requirements. The program provides a pathway to the following designations upon completion of their additional requirements and exams:

• Canadian Securities Course (CSC designation)
• Qualified Associate Financial Planner (QAFP) designation (see FP Canada website for additional requirements)
• Certified Financial Planner(CFP) designation. (See FP Canada website for university degree and additional requirements)