Professional Development Requirements

GENERAL SUBJECTS

• Management of a financial services firm
• Civil Code
• Accounting
• Economics
• Finance
• Business planning for clients
• Business planning for representatives
• Financial planning
• Tax planning
• Actuarial sciences
• Legislative environment
• Intestate and testamentary successions

SUBJECTS SPECIFIC TO EACH SECTOR OR REGISTRATION CATEGORY

Insurance of persons

• Client counselling
• Underwriting or risk management
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Trusts
• Risk management in insurance of persons
• Underwriting in insurance of persons
• Accident or health insurance plans
• Segregated funds
• Strategy of wealth accumulation and use
• Financial needs analysis
• Deferred income plans
• Investor profile and asset allocation
• Investment strategy
• Retirement and estate planning

Group insurance of persons

• Client counselling
• Underwriting or risk management
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Group insurance and group pension plans
• Benefits and underwriting in group insurance and group annuity plans
• Setting up a group insurance and group annuity program
• Preparing a rate schedule and analyzing group insurance and group annuity quotes
• Preparing a group insurance and group annuity recommendation
• Public and private plans
• Processing group insurance claims

Mutual funds

• Client counselling
• Underwriting or risk management
• Retirement and estate planning
• Trusts
• Strategy of wealth accumulation and use
• Deferred income plans
• Mutual funds
• Investor profile and asset allocation
• Investment strategy
• Knowing the client
• Registered plans

Scholarship plans

• Client counselling
• Underwriting or risk management
• Investor profile
• Knowing the client
• Strategy of wealth accumulation and use
• Scholarship plans

COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS, ETHICS AND BUSINESS CONDUCT

The following is a non-exhaustive list, solely for informational purposes, of subjects which may fall within this topic:

• Notions of ethics, standards of conduct and professional ethics
• Code of ethics of the Chambre de la sécurité financière and Regulation respecting the rules of ethics in the securities sector
• Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee
• Role of the syndic and inquiry process
• Role of the Disciplinary Committee and disciplinary process
• Compliance notions and programs
• Statutory and regulatory obligations of firms, independent representatives and independent partnerships
• Statutory and regulatory obligations of representatives
• Laws and regulations concerning the practice of members, firms, independent representatives and independent partnerships

Any structured training activity aimed at improving expertise in subjects related to laws, regulations and professional ethics in matters of insurance of persons, group insurance of persons, mutual funds or scholarship plans may be recognized under this topic.

Entering proofs of attendance through the CSF’s website

The representatives may enter their proofs of attendance in their PDU record file online, the firm can also do it. They will require to submit proofs of attendance only if the CSF requests them for verification purposes. In this case, a copy must be submitted within 30 days following CSF’s request.

The attendance certificates, copies of transcripts or completion of tests recognized by CSF have to be kept  for a period of 24 months following the end of a reference period.

Entering proofs of attendance through the CSF

Unless a representative has entered his attendance certificates in his PDU record file, and so within 20 days from the receipt of the non-compliance notice, every representative has to provide a copy of their certificate for recognized courses that he has followed to the CSF. The transmission of these activities can also be done via the firm or broker where they are employed or via their independent firm where they are self- employed.

MEMBERS MUST ENSURE THAT ALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES FOLLOWED DURING THE PERIOD OF REFERENCE HAVE BEEN CORRECTLY ADDED TO THEIR RECORD BY THE 30TH OF NOVEMBER OF THE END OF THE REFERENCE PERIOD.

Fees applicable in case of default

A processing fee of $ 31 will be imposed on any representative who has not entered all the attestations of presence in his file and who will want to do so after November 30 of the end of the reference period.

A member who, in order to rectify his file, must follow one or several training activities and will only be able to do so once the Autorité des Marchés Financiers has made a decision on the suspension of his certificate or registration.

A maximum of 5 excess PDUs accumulated during the last three months of a reference period (that is, from September 1 to November 30 of an odd-numbered year), may be carried over to the following reference period or after the exemption period. The transfer of these PDUs must be made by the representative through his secure PDU record via the members' area.

Exemptions for a new sector

A representative who obtains an authorization to conduct business from the Autorité des marchés financiers for the first time is exempt from accumulating PDUs for a period of one year. After this exemption, he must accumulate a number of PDUs calculated on the basis of the number of full months not elapsed during the reference period in effect.

Other Exemptions

Representatives who confirm that they are suffering from an illness, are on parental leave, or are caregivers, may benefit from an exemption from professional development. The absence must last at least 4 consecutive weeks for it to be processed, and no exemption is granted for a gradual return-to-work period. The representative must access their PDU record, click on the Exemption Request tab, complete the online form, and attach the required supporting documentation to dispense@chambresf.com.

The request will be processed, and a response will be sent to the representative by email within 15 working days. Any incomplete forms will not be processed and will be returned to the representative.

For more information regarding this matter, please contact the information center by e-mail at dispense@chambresf.com.

You can also consult the prorata or exemption calculation board.

Failure to comply with the rules governing compulsory professional development will lead to a suspension of the representative’s certificate or of his registration in the sectors or registration categories in which the requirements have not been met.

Information notice
No later than 30 days prior to the end of a reference period, the CSF will send an information notice to every representative who has not accumulated the required number of PDUs, informing him of the consequences of non-compliance with the professional development requirements.

Notice of non-compliance
No later than 30 days after the end of a reference period, the CSF will send a notice of non-compliance to every representative who has not accumulated the required number of PDUs, informing him of the consequences of non-compliance with the professional development requirements. The Autorité des marchés financiers will be informed that a notice of non-compliance was sent to the representative.

Procedure for Lifting a Suspension of the Right to Practise Following a Member’s Non-compliance for a Professional Development Reference Period

The Autorité des marchés financiers is informed when a representative fails to satisfy his professional development requirements. In such a case, it suspends his certificate or registration for each sector or registration category for which he has not fulfilled his professional development requirements.

A representative can remedy this default by earning the missing PDUs, but only as of the date on which his certificate or registration was suspended.

It should be noted that any PDUs accumulated between the beginning of the new reference period and the date of the suspension cannot be used to make up a shortfall in the previous training period. Instead, they will be applied to the new training period.

For example, if, as at November 30, 2019, a representative was missing 6 PDUs, he would be required, after the date on which his right to practise was suspended, to participate in a 6-hour training activity in the missing subject.

Processing of the Lifting of a Suspension

• When a representative obtains the missing PDUs for the purpose of lifting the suspension of his right to practise, he must enter the proofs of attendance for the training activities in his PDU record or send them to the CSF as soon as possible.
• The CSF will recognize the PDUs entered in the representative’s record for the preceding reference period and will notify the Autorité des marchés financiers as soon as his record has become compliant.
• The Autorité des marchés financiers will lift the suspension of the right to practise in the days following its receipt of the CSF’s notification.

A representative cannot practice in the sectors or registration categories with respect to which his certificate or registration was suspended due to the failure to comply with professional development requirements. He can only practice in the sectors or registration categories with respect to which he has satisfied his obligations and for which he holds a valid certificate or registration.