(Hong Kong – 21 September 2022) To step up efforts to cultivate trust and estate planning talents, the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong (IFPHK) and Estate Planning Practitioners (Hong Kong) Limited (EPPLHK) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) earlier this week, offering training opportunities to skilled financial planners in Hong Kong.
The Estate Planning Practitioners Limited is the body which promotes estate planning as a professional practice throughout Asia via training, seminars, conferences and exchange of ideas. The Associate Estate Planning Practitioner (AEPP®) designation is awarded by EPPL based in Singapore. It is authorized by the Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners (SWWEPP), United Kingdom. There are over 6,000 designees in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and now planning to extend its member scale to Hong Kong.
Leveraging IFPHK’s professional position in the financial planning education, together with EPPL’s extensive experience in estate planning and consultation in South East Asia, the parties collaborate on a new qualification, namely, Associate Estate Planning Practitioner (AEPP®) Certification Program, that will cultivate local talent such as financial planners, wealth managers, family office professionals for essential succession and estate/legacy planning knowledge.
Under the MOU, EPPLHK will be responsible for designing course contents to help industry practitioners with gaining first-hand experience of estate planning knowledge. As the exclusive education provider partner, IFPHK will be delivering the trainings in a structural way via e-learning platform and virtual class coordination.
At the MOU signing ceremony, Mr. Dennis Lau, CEO, IFPHK remarked, “It’s our honour to work with EPPLHK to cultivate future estate planning professionals in Hong Kong. The collaboration with EPPLHK marks a further milestone for IFPHK, allowing us to strengthen a connection with an international institution in our financial services professional network. In view of the rising demand for trust / estate planning professionals, this partnership plays a significant role in enhancing our talent pool to support the fast-growing financial services industry. We look forward to supporting more academic-business
exchange and collaborations.”
EPPLHK’s Director Ms Cindy Wong added, “As part of EPPLHK’s strategy, this partnership demonstrates our deep commitment to cultivate future estate planning talents in Hong Kong to meet the growing needs in wealth transition and succession planning. We believe that through the AEPP® certification program the financial professionals will be well equipped to engage with their clients effectively to create holistic solutions and sustainable client relationships. We emphasize putting knowledge to practice and aims to support the AEPP® designees with trust advisory services to apply what they have learned and enhance their value proposition.”
This new programme focuses on the practical application of a holistic approach in the wealth accumulation, preservation, and transition for the high-net-worth individuals. The financial professionals will find themselves well positioned to add value to the high-net-worth clients who are seeking an array of expertise to address their high-priority concern of passing down wealth.
Public registration for the first intake of Associate Estate Planning Practitioner (AEPP®) Certification Program will open in the first quarter of 2023. The course consists of a total of 12 training hours in an online mode with a hybrid format, comprising 6 hours of pre-recorded videos and 6 hours of live webinar. These videos will be accessible via FPLearning, the brand-new eLearning platform of IFPHK. Approximately one week after the viewing period, the 6-hour live webinar will be scheduled for an interactive session with the trainer.