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01 November 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Henda Kleingeld, Programme Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (PGDIP) in Financial Planning, is incredibly proud of the candidates who ranked top five in the CFP® Professional Competency Examination.

To become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a candidate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning or a BCom (Honours) in Financial Planning must, among others, pass the Professional Competency Examination (PCE) of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI).

It was recently announced that the top five CFP® Professional Competency Examination candidates (for the June 2022 examinations) are alumni of the School of Financial Planning Law (SFPL) at the University of the Free State (UFS).

On the right trajectory

According to Henda Kleingeld, Programme Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law in the Faculty of Law’s SFPL, they are incredibly proud of the candidates. 

“Being rated as the top five PCE candidates indicates that we are on the right trajectory with the outcomes and assessments for our diplomas. If the top five PCE candidates are alumni of the SFPL – we are doing something right.  We have made many changes in our approach to financial education, and it seems like it is paying off.”

“We now need to ensure that we provide our students with the proper academic background and support to continue to excel.  This will seal our status as the oldest and one of the leading educational providers of financial planning education in the country,” Kleingeld adds.

Confidence in the qualification

The PCE sets candidates on the path towards becoming certified financial planners. The online exam consists of two case studies that test the candidates’ financial planning skills, knowledge, and competent performance in the defined competency areas for financial professionals.

In its Professional Competency Examination Policy, the FPI states that there are six Financial Planning components: Financial Management, Asset Management, Risk Management, Tax Planning, Retirement Planning, and Estate Planning. It strives to prepare professional competency examinations that will provide candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate core or professional competence at a standard appropriate for entry into the financial planning profession.

According to the FPI, the CFP® qualification – an internationally recognised standard for financial planning professionals – gives consumers confidence that the financial planner they are dealing with is suitably qualified to provide advice and information and gives the assurance that they remain up to date with developments in the industry.

First academic institution to offer diploma 
Kleingeld says the SFPL was the first academic institution in South Africa to offer the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning, and financial education has been its main focus and passion over the past 20 years.

“Keeping up with industry trends is very important to us. Our team of academics and industry experts assists us with maintaining a balance between the academic requirements and how they are translated into the workplace,” she explains.

Kleingeld is of the opinion that the graduates who have passed their qualifications are doing exceptionally well in the industry, with many prominent industry leaders being alumni of the UFS SFPL.  “The school has a reputation in the industry as forward-thinking and innovative. We keep our fingers on the pulse of industry developments, which get incorporated into our curriculum.” 

News Archive

UFS sympathises with exchange students from Virginia Tech
2007-04-18

The University of the Free State (UFS) is shocked by the news of the tragedy that happened yesterday at Virginia Tech in the United States of America (USA).

Sixteen (16) students from Virginia Tech are currently studying at the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein on an exchange programme of six months.

The students are devastated because of the loss of their friends who were killed when an armed man opened fire on a hostel and classroom on the Blacksburg Campus of Virginia Tech, killing at least 33 people.

“The exchange programme between the UFS and Virginia Tech, which was implemented in 1998, stipulates that selected students from both institutions will study at the other institution for six months on an annual basis as part of the completion of their undergraduate studies. Approximately 120 students from both institutions have taken part in the exchange programme over the past couple of years,” said Prof. Izak Groenewald, co-ordinator of the agreement and Director of the UFS Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to Prof. Groenewald no students from the UFS are currently studying at Virginia Tech. “The students from Virginia Tech who are currently studying on the Main Campus are all in their third-year in agriculture and the biological sciences. They will be staying here until the completion of the June examinations, when they will return to Virginia Tech,” said Prof. Groenewald.

According to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick Fourie, the UFS has already made the necessary arrangements for the students to receive pastoral and psychological counselling. “We are doing everything in our power to support them and to bring them in touch with their friends on the Blacksburg Campus,” said Prof. Fourie.

According to Prof. Groenewald the American Ambassador in South Africa, Mr Eric M. Bost, will be talking telephonically to the students this afternoon (17 April 2007).

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
17 April 2007
 

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