Make a Complaint

You can file a complaint with FP Canada™ if you have concerns about the conduct of a Certified Financial Planner^® professional or Qualified Associate Financial Planner™ professional through the FP Canada Standards Council™. This might include breaking confidentiality, failing to disclose a conflict of interest, dishonesty, or fraud. Enforcing our standards ensures that CFP^® professionals and QAFP^® professionals meet or exceed the rigorous standards expected of them, and that the public interest is protected.

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If you’re considering filing a complaint, the Complaint Process overview can help you understand what to expect with a detailed description and visual guide of each step. And the Filing a Complaint document provides additional information about compensation and limitation periods.

Complaint Process overview

Filing a Complaint with FP Canada

Make a Complaint

Confidentiality is crucial to encourage openness and cooperation in the complaints process. By keeping complainant names and details private from the public during our reviews and investigations, we ensure that parties can comfortably share information with us while we work to understand the facts. For additional information, review Confidentiality in the Complaint Process.

Confidentiality in the Complaint Process

To summarize, the complaint process has four stages: 

1. Intake and Initial Review

The Standards Council staff review all complaints received and the CFP professional or QAFP professional named in the complaint is notified.

The FP Canada Standards Council can close complaints with or without a staff caution, or the Head of the Standards Council can refer them to an investigation. Not every complaint proceeds to a formal investigation, and many are closed or resolved at this stage.

2. Investigation

At the end of the investigation, the results are presented to the Conduct Review Panel.

3. Conduct Review Panel

At this stage, complaints can be: 

Closed
Closed with a Guidance and Advice letter
Referred to a Discipline Hearing Panel

4. Disciplinary Hearing Panel 

Before a hearing, the Standards Council publishes Statements of Allegations with details about the alleged misconduct on FP Canada’s website.

Potential sanctions range from an admonishment, to temporary suspension or permanent revocation of certification and the right to use the Certification Marks. 

View Current and Completed Disciplinary Hearings

Published Information Ensures Transparency

Letters of Guidance and Advice are published anonymously on FP Canada’s website to provide information to CFP professionals and QAFP professionals and the public about the type of conduct that is a concern to the Conduct Review Panel
Before a disciplinary hearing, the Standards Council publishes Statements of Allegations with details about the alleged misconduct on FP Canada’s website
All disciplinary hearing reports are published on FP Canada’s website, and disciplinary history is linked to the Find Your Financial Planner tool

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Standards and Enforcement

The FP Canada Standards Council, a division of FP Canada, establishes and enforces financial planning standards, sets the certification requirements and develops and delivers certification exams.

The FP Canada Standards Council and You

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Set, Maintain & Enforce

The Standards Council takes a three-step approach to setting, maintaining, and enforcing the policies and practices that govern CFP professionals and QAFP professionals.

Set, Maintain & Enforce