A compliance view of the Wizard Learning CPD system

As a compliance professional, I am often asked to review adviser’s CPD (Continuing Professional Development) records and must look at these with a critical eye as the adviser will need to prove to his or her accredited body that satisfactory CPD has been undertaken both in terms of hours and quality.

CPD should start with a PLAN and is well worth the effort for several reasons:

  • To ensure the CPD you carry out is useful and effective
  • To fill any gaps in your knowledge
  • To comply with the FCA Training and Competence requirements.

The 35 hours of CPD you are required to carry out must be at Level 4 standard, and is part of the syllabus prescribed for an adviser – the Regulated Financial Planning Diploma. You may find that some bodies require more than 35 hours of CPD.

How does Wizard Leaning’s CPD system help?

Industry updates - Instead of this crucial activity being relegated to unstructured reading, the Wizard Learning system brings these critical updates to you in a structured format, helping you to achieve your minimum number of hours of structured CPD. You need to update yourself on this material anyway – our system will make it count for more.

Tests - The inclusion of short tests enables you to prove your knowledge and understanding of the CPD material without having to write an essay. Passing these tests represents indisputable evidence of your Continued Professional Development.

Quality - The content of our learning material is of a very high standard, which means you can be confident that it will count as relevant CPD for your SPS (Statement of Professional Standing).

Focus on topics - These areas of development enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of all types of packaged retail investment product, which is essential if you are ‘independent’ or competent in those areas you restrict your advice to - essential to your regulatory position.

Adding external CPD - This feature makes our system a ‘one-stop shop’ for your CPD and training records and it guides your input so that you can be confident that it will meet the standards of your accredited body.

Categorising - This feature enables mapping to the syllabi so that you can demonstrate compliance with the requirements for relevancy.

Reporting - An array of report types and formats means that sharing your CPD with your accredited body, employer or any other interested party is achieved in a few simple clicks.

“I would thoroughly recommend using the Wizard Learning CPD system for your entire CPD recording; it is independent of any accrediting body, inexpensive, useful and so flexible that people will actually use it.”

Karen Malin FCII Managing Director of TheGIConsultant.com Limited, compliance support provider for financial services advisory firms.

If you would like to subscribe to the Wizard Learning CPD system, you can do so by logging in and selecting the CPD system from the Buy Accounts page. If you don't already have a record you can create one here. Alternatively, if you would like to subscribe by standing order please contact us.

If CPD-related decisions lie with another person in your firm we will be happy to arrange a free trial for them, and we can also offer a discount where there are to be multiple users from one firm. For further details of discounts available, please contact us with the number of advisers that would require access to our system.