What are the disadvantages of the IAF financial advisor training?

Financial Advisor IAF training qualifies you to provide independent financial advice to private individuals in personal and financial circumstances of low to medium complexity in the areas of assets, pensions, insurance and real estate. They are able to place investment, pension, insurance and financing products in such a way that they meet the needs of their clients.

The main disadvantages of the IAF financial advisor training are:

  1. The IAF financial advisor qualification is not a federally recognized qualification. However, it is recognized by Finma (Financial Market Supervisory Authority) as a professional qualification for registration as an insurance intermediary, by all FinSA advisor registers, by the Swiss Financial Planners Organization SFPO, by Cicero (continuing education register of the Swiss insurance industry) and by the SAQ (Swiss Association for Quality).
  2. At certificate level, the course content and admission requirements are generally not regulated and can be determined autonomously by the schools. Quality assurance is carried out by the IfFP Institute for Financial Planning, which organizes and conducts the examinations.
  3. In addition to basic financial knowledge and professional experience with customer contact, a job in financial consulting also requires mathematical skills, economic thinking, reliability and memory. Not everyone has all of these skills and not all of them can be acquired by training as a financial advisor IAF.
  4. The training costs of just under CHF 10,000 for the training courses are not covered by the federal government unless the Federal Professional Examination is also completed.
  5. Even as a certified financial advisor IAF, the learning doesn't stop there: This is only the first step on the way to becoming a financial planner with a federal diploma. If you want to work as a qualified financial planner, you should still take the Federal Professional Examination.

 

Graduates work, for example, in retail and affluent customer advisory services at banks, in the sales force of life insurance companies or as advisors at independent financial institutions.

Provider of a financial advisor training IAF