I. Basic Policy
Following the global financial crisis in 2008, the Japanese economy has remained stagnant, impacted by deflation and the strong yen along with other factors, and consumers continue to face financial hardship caused by the deteriorating employment situation. Furthermore, recovery from the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck on March 11, 2011, is expected to take a considerable time, particularly in the regions affected. Accordingly, there is a concern that the Japanese economy is set for a period of long-term stagnation. Under such circumstances, it is now more important than ever for the public to be financially literate, and to use skills to create and implement household finances and engage in risk management. In this context, personal finance education is becoming more critical.
Accordingly, in order to further promote and raise awareness of personal finance education and help to enhance consumers' lives, the role of financial planners is becoming of much greater significance as professionals who support the creation of life plans and the management of household finances.
The Japan Association for Financial Planners (JAFP) is a non-profit organization that engages in activities to promote public education, and as such it works to improve consumers' lives through the promotion of financial literacy and personal financial planning.
As of April 1, 2011, JAFP's members reached 184,000. We must continue to advance the social status of financial planners and improve our members' satisfaction by nurturing CFP® and AFP certificants who possess high ethical standards, law-abiding spirit and professional competency, and who play important roles in personal finance education.
Based on our social mission and the nature of our organization, we have realigned the mission of the JAFP, as detailed below.
(JAFP Mission)
By implementing the following activities, JAFP will contribute to improve citizen's daily livelihood and increase benefits to society as a whole.
- JAFP will promote personal financial planning through schools and public educational activities, and increase the consumers' financial literacy by personal finance education.
- JAFP will increase the public awareness that CFP® and AFP certificants possess high ethical standards and competency through continuing education, and are the best suited to promote personal finance education, and easily accessible to consumers through nationwide activities. At the same time, JAFP will continue striving to improve the CFP® and AFP certificants' professional competency.
- As a result, recognition of the importance of personal financial planning and the consumers' financial literacy will increase. In the meantime, the consumers' trust in financial planners will advance, thus the satisfaction of JAFP members will be improved by establishing the social status of CFP® and AFP certifications and the social needs for financial planning.
Based on our mission, JAFP will implement various activities specifically in accordance with the 3rd Mid-term Business Plan (FY2010 to FY2012). This plan is detailed in "III. Special Addendum" below, and contains the following five fundamental initiatives.
(Five fundamental initiatives under the 3rd Mid-term Business Plan)
- Promote Personal Financial Planning and Personal Finance Education
- Enhance the CFP® and AFP brands and qualities (Establish the social status of JAFP's certification programs)
- Establish Personal Finance as Academics
- Strengthen International Activities
- Strengthen the Foundations of the Organization
FY2011 is the second year of the 3rd Mid-term Business Plan and the major initiatives to be implemented are detailed in "II. Business Plan by Each Department" below. JAFP will implement the business plan and meet the expectations of the public and our members by fully utilizing our limited management resources.
With regard to the Great East Japan Earthquake, JAFP is engaged in a variety of activities to provide public education in accordance with our mission. JAFP will reach the disaster victims by expanding and updating online information on "life planning support measures for central and local governments", which is currently available on its website. In addition, JAFP will continue to provide a variety of other activities including free financial planning consultations and extend our cooperation for relief efforts to help the affected people rebuild their lives.
II. Business Plan by Each Department
1. Certification
- Promote additional seminars and education courses for Certified Skilled Workers as a pathway to obtain Affiliated Financial Planner (AFP) certification
JAFP will implement an integration of an education program for the purpose of obtaining the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning and an AFP certification education program. And also JAFP will penetrate a special AFP certification education program for the holders of the 2nd grade Certified Skilled Workers of Financial Planning, at JAFP registered educational institutions. By doing so, JAFP will ensure a career path from Certified Skilled Workers of Financial Planning to AFP certification.
- Raise awareness of the mandatory requirement to fulfill two credits in ethics and practice standards as part of continuing education for CFP® certification renewal
To meet the new international standards of the Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), it is a mandatory requirement for CFP® certificants to fulfill two credits in "Professional Practice Standards and Ethics" as part of continuing education. JAFP will take initiatives to raise awareness of this new requirement among JAFP members, including CFP® certificants, and registered educational institutions that are implementing such continuing education.
2. Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning
- Promote awareness of the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning examination as a means of broadening the financial planning grassroots
In addition to implementing the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning examination three times a year (May, September and January), JAFP will take initiatives to ensure the number of testers and promote awareness of the examination. Furthermore, JAFP will encourage the successful candidates to obtain advanced certifications by providing certification path guidance seminars, and broaden the financial planning grassroots.
3. Financial Planning Education
- Implement various measures to improve professional competency of JAFP members
JAFP will provide opportunities for members to improve their professional competency through the following activities: enhancement of the contents of the "Residency Course" that provides group training for those who have little practice experience; continuing education tests through the Journal of Financial Planning and online course for ethics and compliance; review of new contents for education in ethics; and provision of educational sessions at the FP Fair.
4. Public Relations
- Promote public awareness of the JAFP's NPO activities
Through the FP Public Relations Center and Life and Money FP Consulting Center, JAFP will raise public awareness of financial planning, along with media advertisements describing the role of financial planners.
- Strengthen public relations to broaden the financial planning grassroots, focusing on the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning examination
By expanding the distribution and placement of posters and brochures, and participating in events, JAFP will promote awareness of the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning examination. Furthermore, through advertisements on public transportation to raise awareness of it as well as of AFP and CFP® certifications, JAFP will encourage the holders of the 3rd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning to obtain AFP and CFP® certifications.
- Implement public relations activities to enhance the social status of CFP® and AFP certificants
By emphasizing that both CFP® and AFP certifications are elite qualifications in financial planning through advertisements and public relations activities, JAFP will enhance the social status of CFP® and AFP certificants.
5. Personal Finance Education
- Promote personal finance education through collaboration with schools and personal finance education-related organizations and utilization of the "Personal Finance Education Standards"
JAFP will utilize the "Personal Finance Education Standards" which has been developed to compile benchmarks of the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve individual goals for each stage of their lives and promote personal finance education by collaborating with schools and personal finance education-related organizations.
- Enhance Personal Finance Education Seminars for school teachers and ensure effective operation of the Personal Finance Instructors Framework
Aiming to expand personal finance education in high schools, JAFP will enhance seminars targeting school teachers in order to actively utilize the Personal Finance for Teens textbook, and will achieve the efficient operation of the Personal Finance Instructors Framework.
- Promote the utilization of the online money quiz and the personal finance education booklet targeting college students
JAFP will promote the utilization of the online "Life & Money Quiz", free of charge for consumers' self-assessment of their financial literacy, and also utilization of "Money & Career for Students - A Useful Handbook", the personal finance education booklet targeting college students.
6. Chapter Support
- Promote public awareness of financial planning through continuous holding of "FP Day"
By ensuring each Chapter continuously holds "FP Day", JAFP will promote public awareness of financial planning.
- Develop infrastructure and enhance support systems for Blocks and Chapters
JAFP headquarters will develop infrastructure and enhance support structures for the activities of Blocks and Chapters to reduce the burden on Chapter leaders and assist the enhancement of the activities of Blocks and Chapters.
7. Publications
- Utilize the Journal of Financial Planning to support members to improve their professional competency and to promote financial planning at companies and institutions
JAFP will utilize the Journal of Financial Planning to provide knowledge and skills that are useful to members' financial planning practice and will further promote the use of financial planning qualifications at companies and institutions.
- Promote financial planning through the revision of FP Text for CFP® certification and the publication of an introductory text in financial planning for students
JAFP will revise the series of FP Text for CFP® certification to further improve its convenience as a textbook for the CFP® Certification Examination, maintaining theoretical elements and the encyclopedic characteristics in each field of financial planning. Furthermore, JAFP will publish an introductory text in financial planning for students for stepping up from the 3rd and 2nd grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning to AFP certification to promote financial planning education to college students.
8. International
- Enhance the international status of JAFP through activities at the FPSB
As the country with the third largest number of CFP® certificants after the United States and Canada, JAFP will actively participate in activities of the Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB). Furthermore, JAFP will strengthen the quality of CFP® certification and enhance the international status of JAFP.
- Promote financial planning globally by strengthening the relationship among the four FPSB member organizations in Asia (Japan, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and China)
Through cooperation with financial planning organizations in Asia, where there is significant growth in the number of CFP® certificants, JAFP will aim to promote financial planning globally and further increase the awareness of CFP® certification brand.
9. Membership Affairs
- Strengthen the relationship with corporate members
By grasping the needs of corporate members and strengthening our response to their needs, we will provide various information and JAFP will further promote financial planning by corporate members.
10. Research & Development
- Provide support for personal finance education and promote further research at universities and graduate schools
JAFP will provide data, information and various research results in the "My Page" section of the JAFP website, which are useful to members' financial planning practice. In addition, in collaboration with the activities of the Japan Academic Society for Financial Planning (JASFP), including the jointly held JASFP Award program and editorial cooperation for the JASFP Journal, JAFP will provide assistance to researchers in the field of financial planning and practitioners who are engaged in financial planning education, aiming to ensure personal finance education programs and research at universities and graduate schools.
III. Special Addendum: 3rd Mid-term Business Plan (FY2010 to FY2012)
The three-year 3rd Mid-term Business Plan was started in FY2010. An outline of the plan is detailed below.
1. Promote Personal Financial Planning and Personal Finance Education
JAFP will promote personal financial planning and increase the consumers' financial literacy by personal finance education. For this purpose, JAFP will strengthen the relationship with the public sectors and financial education entities.
- Promote personal finance education
(i) Promote personal finance education for students up to the college level
(ii) Create and utilize personal finance education material for adults
(iii) Provide new tools to assess consumers' financial literacy on JAFP's website
- Advertise JAFP's non-profit activities to benefit the public
- Start the Third-grade Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning examination to broaden the financial planning grassroots
- Hold "FP Day" annually
- Strengthen the relationship with the public sectors and financial education entities
2. Enhance the CFP® and AFP brands and qualities (Establish the social status of JAFP's certification programs)
JAFP will increase the awareness of CFP® certification being a globally recognized credential based on the concept of 4Es and 6-step process, and AFP certification being an eminent credential as well, and will enhance the qualities of those certifications at the same time. By doing so, we will establish the social status of CFP® and AFP certificants who play the important roles in personal finance education.
- Strengthen the branding activities
- Broaden the opportunities for CFP® and AFP certificants to play the roles in JAFP's non-profit activities to benefit the public
- Increase ethics and compliance education contents and opportunities
- Advertise the superiority of JAFP's certification programs (ethics and continuing educations) to the industry and society
- Strengthen the skills of CFP® and AFP certificants by providing useful information relating the practice of financial planning, etc.
3. Establish Personal Finance as Academics
Through strengthened relationship with Japan Academic Society for Financial Planning (JASFP) and higher education institutions, JAFP aims to establish personal finance as academics.
- Strengthen relationship with JASFP and higher education institutions
- Accomplish financial planning-related research and effective advertisement
4. Strengthen International Activities
Through the activities in Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), JAFP will promote financial planning globally, increase the international status of CFP® certification, and establish JAFP's position in the global community.
- Increase and maintain the quality and brand of CFP® certification through international activities
- Establish JAFP's position in the global community by strengthening the relationship with FPSB and financial planning organizations in Asia
5. Strengthen the Foundations of the Organization
JAFP will fulfill membership services and strive to improve the satisfaction of its members, and strengthen the foundations of the organization by assuming social responsibility as a prominent non-profit organization in Japan.
- Strengthen the organization and manage with an outlook to the future
- Fulfill membership services
- Support nationwide Blocks and Chapters
- Promote member registrations and certification renewals
- Strengthen financial standing for sustainable business development
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