Registered Retirement Analyst^® (RRA^®)

Registered Retirement Analyst Course

• Unit 1: Financial Services Marketplace
• Unit 2: Economics
• Unit 3: Ethical Practices and Professional Conduct
• Unit 4: Strategic Investment Planning
• Unit 5: Investments
• Unit 6: Investments in Financial Planning
• Unit 7: Retirement Planning and Government Income Programs
• Unit 8: Employer-sponsored Pension Plans
• Unit 9: RRSPs and TFSAs
• Unit 10: Retirement Decisions
• Final Examination

Estimated self-study time to complete: 3-6 months

To attain full certification as a Registered Retirement Analyst licensee, candidates must complete the following educational and non-educational components:

Educational Components

Successful completion of the CIFP Registered Retirement Analyst Program of study which entails:

• learning the content contained within the education Program
• attaining a minimum grade of 60% on the proctored final Program examination
• attaining a minimum cumulative Program grade of 60% (i.e. based on a weighting of 30% for the end-of-unit formal assessments and 70% for the final Program examination)

Annual professional development

Once certified, RRA licensees must, on an annual basis, complete a minimum of eight (8) verifiable continuing education activities approved by the CIFP Retirement Institute.

Non-Educational Components

RRA licensees must:

• have a minimum of one year of qualifying work experience as adjudged by the CIFP Retirement Institute to attain certification
• following certification, on an annual basis, licensees must:
• attest to abide by the terms and conditions of the RRA Certification Marks License Agreement
• attest to abide by the Code of Conduct for RRA licensees
• attest to abide by the Practice Standards for RRA licensees

As a Registered Retirement Analyst professional, you have an obligation as per the Code of Conduct (Principle of Disclosure of Information and Compensation) to notify clients and prospective clients that you hold the Registered Retirement Analyst credential in good standing. This disclosure must be done in a timely manner:

'A Registered Retirement Analyst licensee is required to disclose all material information to clients, in keeping with relationship disclosure information obligations, that may reasonably be construed to potentially impact the engagement. This includes disclosing to clients and prospective clients, in a timely manner, that the licensee holds the Registered Retirement Analyst designation in good standing (provided such disclosure is factually accurate)…'

CIFP has expanded the learning objectives covered in the program of study for the Registered Retirement Analyst (RRA) designation.

Please read this document carefully to learn how these changes affect you as an existing CIFP credential holder and the timelines involved.

In keeping with our ongoing effort to encourage Financial Advisors to provide advisory services with the utmost professionalism and competence and most importantly, in a manner that serves the best interests of their clients and the Canadian investing public, CIFP has expanded the learning objectives covered in the programs of study leading to the RRA designations.

As an existing CIFP credential holder, you are responsible for studying this new 'top-up' content and must do so within specified timelines as a condition of your certification or ongoing licensing through CIFP.

Options for Existing CIFP Credential Holders

As a holder of the RRA designation, you are aware that to remain in good standing, you must fulfill continuing education obligations on an annual basis. You can choose to integrate the leaning of the new 'top-up' content into your continuing education requirements for 2022 or possibly, 2023.

Your options as an existing CIFP credential holder are as follows:

1. You can choose to complete the new 'top-up' content separately from your normal continuing education obligations. In other words, you want to study the new content as a discrete education offering. The deadline for you to successfully complete the 'top-up' course is July 1, 2023.

   NOTE: If you intend to follow this option (i.e. you are opting not to designate the 'top-up' content as part of your mandatory continuing education requirement), you still have a responsibility to complete the normal continuing education requirements that apply to your designation.

2. You can choose to study the 'top-up' content identified in the revised curriculum for your designation and claim it as your verified continuing education activity for the calendar year in which you complete the 'top-up' course. The deadline for successful completion of this option is July 1, 2023.

   NOTE: If you intend to follow this option, the top-up content can be used to satisfy your CE obligation for 2022 if completed between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022; if completed in calendar year 2023, before July 1st of that year, the top-up content can be used to satisfy your CE obligation for 2023.

3. If you have already completed your continuing education obligation for calendar year 2022 (i.e. prior to July 1st and prior to the launch of the revised curriculum for your designation), you must complete the 'top-up' content identified in the revised curriculum prior to July 1, 2023.

   NOTE: Since you have already completed your mandatory continuing education requirements for 2022, if the 'top-up' content is completed in calendar year 2023, before July 1st of that year, it will satisfy the continuing education requirements for calendar year 2023.

4. If you attained RRA certification in 2022 but, prior to the official launch of the revised curriculum for your designation (i.e. prior to July 1, 2022), technically, you do not have a mandatory continuing education obligation for 2022 as it is your first year of certification.

   Assuming you do not complete the 'top-up' content independently of your continuing education requirement, you will be required to complete the 'top-up' content as a continuing education course for calendar year 2023. The deadline for successful completion of this option is December 31, 2023.

Format of 'Top-up' Course

The mandatory 'top-up' content as part of the revised curriculum for your CIFP credential will be offered in the same format as the courseware you studied on the path to certification—that is, it will be a self-contained, online, self-study course.

As with other CIFP continuing education offerings, the 'top-up' course will include a formal assessment which must be completed and submitted online. Successful completion of the 'top-up' course requires you to review the course content and attain a minimum grade of 60% on the formal assessment. The course does not have a formal final examination (i.e. your entire grade is based on your mark for the formal assessment).

In addition, to the self-study path, CIFP instructor-led, online training sessions may be available to guide you through the content contained in the 'top-up' course. Contact CIFP for details and availability based on your situation.