{"id":436273,"date":"2026-01-27T10:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T10:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/436273\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T10:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T10:45:08","slug":"once-the-key-to-a-bay-street-career-whats-next-for-the-canadian-securities-course-under-new-licensing-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/436273\/","title":{"rendered":"Once the key to a Bay Street career, what\u2019s next for the Canadian Securities Course under new licensing regime?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Before Jan. 1, candidates had to complete the Canadian Securities Course to be registered as a securities advisor.Adrien Veczan\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Canadian Securities Course (CSC), for decades the foundational financial services industry credential, is no longer the entry ticket to a Bay Street career after changes that took effect at the beginning of this year. <\/p>\n

As of Jan. 1, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) moved to an exam-based proficiency regime<\/a> that doesn\u2019t require candidates to complete courses to become advisors at investment dealers. <\/p>\n

Before the change, candidates had to complete the CSC \u2013 offered by financial education firm the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) \u2013 to be registered as a securities advisor. Launched in 1964, the CSC gives students a broad understanding of financial markets, investment products and economic and financial concepts.<\/p>\n

Advisors looking to work for mutual fund dealers can still become registered by completing the CSC, but many choose the Investment Funds in Canada (IFC) course, another credentialing option. The IFC, which the CSI also offers, is less comprehensive than the CSC but also costs less than half the price.<\/p>\n

U.K.-based Fitch Learning, which bought CSI last year, says that enrolment for the CSC has ranged between 10,000\u201312,000 registrations annually in recent years, with the majority of those being financial advisor trainees or those already working at investment dealers. Fitch Learning is part of Fitch Group.<\/p>\n

Enrolment is likely to decrease as candidates move to new CIRO exam preparatory courses offered by other financial education providers, says Andreas Karaiskos, chief executive officer of Fitch Learning.<\/p>\n

As part of a deal with CIRO to design and administer its new proficiency exams announced in 2024, Fitch Learning cannot provide preparatory courses for those exams. <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the CSC will continue to play a role in the Canadian financial education marketplace, Mr. Karaiskos says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur [financial services industry] clients are saying we still want the CSC, so it is imperative for us to keep providing it, but I think it\u2019s going to change,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Finance professionals will still need to complete the CSC to obtain the chartered investment manager, personal financial planner and other CSI designations and certificates, Mr. Karaiskos says. \u201cWe don\u2019t see the need to disrupt those pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regime change<\/p>\n

CIRO published guidance on its new proficiency model in April, after the regulator completed a multi-year review of its licensing regime. CIRO\u2019s existing contract with CSI as course provider ended on Dec. 31. <\/p>\n

(Candidates who enrolled in the CSC before Dec. 31 can still become financial advisors under the previous CIRO licensing regime if they complete the course by the end of 2026 and meet other requirements.) <\/p>\n

CIRO\u2019s new proficiency regime requires candidates to complete one or more of nine exams, depending on the proficiency category, and meet baseline education or experience, dealer training, conduct training and continuing education requirements. <\/p>\n

Advisor candidates looking to trade securities need to complete the Canadian Investment Regulatory Exam (CIRE), while those looking to trade and provide advice on securities would have to complete both the CIRE and the Retail Securities Exam (RSE).<\/p>\n

The new proficiency regime gives learners more flexibility in terms of how to prepare for exams, and \u201callows us to be more agile in how we respond to industry changes and incorporate them into the proficiency model,” says Elsa Renzella, senior vice-president, member compliance and registration with CIRO. <\/p>\n

Last year, Fitch Learning announced it was acquiring Moody\u2019s Analytics Learning Solutions, a global provider of credit education, as well as CSI, which was owned by Moody\u2019s, eight months after it had reached a deal with CIRO to provide exam administration.<\/p>\n

Mr. Karaiskos says the deal for CSI was \u201cstrategically important,\u201d even though CSI can no longer provide the securities advisor licensing course. Instead, Fitch Learning will look to build out and improve CSI\u2019s designations.<\/p>\n

CSI will also examine ways to adapt and update the CSC curriculum so that it continues to serve as \u201cthe bridge\u201d to designations, Mr. Karaiskos says, and to address any educational gaps. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the bit where there\u2019s still a lot of value [in the CSC],\u201d Mr. Karaiskos says. \u201cIt provides you with the competency to reach the next level of the other designations.\u201d <\/p>\n

New exam prep<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, several financial education providers \u2013 including FP Canada and SeeWhy Learning Inc. \u2013 have launched CIRE and RSE exam preparation courses, seeking to take advantage of the opportunity in the market.<\/p>\n

Alexandra Macqueen, vice-president of learning, development and professional practice at FP Canada, says that while some candidates might be able to attempt CIRO exams on their own, she believes most will look to learn through preparatory courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimply reading [the material] isn\u2019t sufficient,\u201d Ms. Macqueen says. \u201cYou have to be able to apply it in client-facing scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cory Snyder, vice-president of operations at SeeWhy Learning, says that under CIRO\u2019s new proficiency regime, candidates will benefit from the flexibility to choose how to prepare for exams. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe learner population is large enough to support multiple [course] providers,\u201d Mr. Snyder says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Before Jan. 1, candidates had to complete the Canadian Securities Course to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1397,49,48,5266,44,2922],"class_list":["post-436273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-appwebview","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-globe-advisor","tag-news","tag-noastack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}