Members

A professional development unit or “PDU” is the quantitative value attributed to a training activity recognized by the CSF. One (1) PDU represents one (1) hour of training.

You can find and suscribe to the training activities offered by visiting the Professional development section.

To register for the mandatory course on compliance, click here.

A training activity that is recognized by the CSF has been issued an identification number. The person in charge of the training activity must provide the CSF member with this number. It is possible to check if an activity is recognized by the CSF by contacting the provider or the information center directly. Training activities provided by the CSF are of course recognized.

A representative can carry over up to 5 extra PDUs to the next reference period if the PDUs were accumulated in the last three months of a reference period, between September 1 and November 30 of an odd year. Carrying over extra PDUs must be done by the representative by logging in to their secure PDU record, through the Members’ Area. To do so, the representative must:

• Open a session in the Members’ Area by entering the certificate number and password
• Click on “To consult your PDU record, click here”
• Click on “Carry over PDUs” in the grey banner on top
• Choose the PDU the member wants to carry over to the next period

The person responsible for the training activity must give the representative a proof of presence that shows the following:

• The name of the member
• Their certificate number
• The title of the training activity followed
• The identification number of the training activity
• The number of PDUs that the CSF recognizes for this training activity

The member can prove they participated in a training activity and enter the PDUs into their record by entering the proof of presence either:

• Online in the Members’ Area
• By fax, at 514-282-3418
• By email, at info@chambresf.com
• By mail at: Chambre de la sécurité financière, 2000, McGill College avenue, 12th floor, Montréal, (Quebec) H3A 3H3

When the representative saves their activities in the Members’ Area, they must keep any proof of presence to training activities for 24 months following the end of the reference period during which the activity took place.

The representative must adhere to their professional development requirements by November 30 of the year in which the reference period ends. Unless being exempted from professional development by the CSF for medical, parental, or family reasons or obtaining during the previous year a licence to practice in a sector or registration category, the member who does not meet their requirements will have their certificate or registration suspended by the Autorité des marchés financiers, for each sector or registration category for which the continuous development requirements were not met.

As per the Regulation respecting compulsory professional development, only training activities followed after obtaining the certificate are valid. Courses required to obtain the certificate are not considered to be professional development.

Yes. Using a multimedia approach that is dynamic, playful, and interactive, the ProAdvice course is mandatory and uses narration, videos, quizzes, and interviews to provide a stimulating training activity. The course is three hours long and does not include an exam. The representative must answer questions throughout the training activity and will receive the appropriate explanations.

As per the Regulation of the Chambre de la sécurité financière respecting compulsory professional development, every member of the CSF, except financial planners who only operate within the financial planning sector, must meet the regulation’s requirements by obtaining at least 30 PDUs (Professional Development Units). If a member operates within more than one sector or registration category, they will be required to obtain 10 additional PDUs per extra sector or registration category. Financial planners must adhere to the regulations of the Institut québécois de la planification financière for their professional development.

In Quebec, the Autorité des marchés financiers oversees professional requirements for new representatives. They must meet certain training requirements to become a representative.

Mandatory professional development is based on two-year periods that end on November 30 of an odd year. This date is the same for all representatives and does not take into account the certificate’s date of issue.

As per the Regulation respecting compulsory professional development, every member of the CSF, except financial planners who only operate within the financial planning sector, must follow every two reference periods a training activity of 3 PDUs that was developed by the CSF and deals with compliance with standards, ethics and business conduct.

Currently, the 3 PDUs from the mandatory course on compliance, ProAdvice, will have to be acquired before the end of the 2021-2023 reference period, before November 30, 2023, and will be part of the 10 PDUs required in compliance with standards, ethics and business conduct for a reference period.

The member must first follow the ProAdvice course by going to the CSF’s website.

• Choose the appropriate profile in the “Mandatory course on compliance” table by clicking on the cart on the “Add” column
• Click on “Order”
• Enter the certificate number and password and click on “Connect”
• Pay by credit card

Once registered, the member will be able to access the course by clicking on “My training activities” after logging in to the Members’ Area.

How can the member enter the PDUs obtained for training activities into his PDU record?

The member can enter the proof of presence to training activities on the CSF’s website through a secure access in the Members’ Area section.

To activate their online member record, the member must go to the Members’ Area page, click on Activate your membership under the yellow authentication square, and follow the instructions.

Once the Members’ Area is activated, the member will be able to access his PDU record.

The member can enter the PDUs by:

1. Opening a session on the Members’ Area by entering their certificate number and password
2. Click on “To consult your PDU record, click here”
3. Click on Enter activities
4. Enter the identification number of the training activity. The number is listed on the proof of presence issued by the person responsible for the training activity. It contains 12 characters and is similar to CSF00-00-00000
5. Enter the date when the training activity took place
6. Enter your name and specify the PDU category
7. Click on “Save”

The member can add training activities or delete them if they were erroneously added by mistake. When they have finished entering the PDUs, the member is encouraged to print the page and keep it until the information entered has been transferred to their PDU record. 

It’s important to keep any proof of presence to training activities for 24 months following the reference period during which the activity took place, because the CSF will periodically check with members. Upon request by the CSF, the member must send their proofs of presence within 30 days.

Can a member who is having health concerns, who is on pregnancy leave, or who is a caregiver, request an exemption?

The representative who is absent or on leave for at least four (4) consecutive weeks due to illness or an accident, or for family or parental reasons, may be dispensed from mandatory continuous development for the entirety of their absence or leave. To obtain this exemption, the representative must write to the CSF and describe the motives or present written proof or a medical certificate describing their situation. The CSF will communicate their decision in writing to the representative.

For more information, please email the CSF at dispense@chambresf.com.

The member who obtains for the first time an authorization of operating in a sector or registration category is exempt from accumulating PDUs in their sector or registration category during a period of one year following the authorization. The number of PDUs to accumulate after this exemption is calculated in proportion to the number of full months remaining in the current reference period.

To learn more about the number of PDUs the member needs to accumulate, they must contact a professional development agent by telephone (514-380-3011 or 1-888-380-3011), by fax (514-282-3418), or email (info@chambresf.com).

For Insurance or Financial Planning advisors, the mailing address can be changed directly in the AMF Online Services or by phone at 1-877-525-0337, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For Mutual fund dealer representatives and Scholarship plans, changes must be made directly in the NRD (National Registration Database). To do so, please contact your firm or make the change directly via the online interface https://www.nrd.ca/nrd/welcome/fr_login.jsp.

The Chambre de la sécurité financière will then have access to this information through the registry.

Your email address is also important. The Chambre de la sécurité financière communicates regularly with its members by e-mail. It is a quick and easy way to reach all its members.

It is always possible to change your e-mail address in your PDU record by accessing the Member's Area section.

Dealers' representatives holding certificates in multiple provinces, including Quebec and others, must meet the continuing education requirements of both the CSF and CIRO (formerly MFDA). 

However, the CSF is recognized by CIRO as a third-party accreditor. As a result,  our 100% CSF CE courses are now included in CIRO's continuing education catalog (CERTS), simplifying compliance tracking for both organizations.

Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions about your continuing education obligations.