Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) - Financial Services

Program description - January 2023

Are you a critical thinker? Do you enjoy working with people and helping them achieve their goals? Do you have strong analytical skills you would like to use in combination with your self-motivation and ambition to achieve performance goals? If yes, a career in financial services may be a good fit for you. Financial service providers cultivate strong relationships with clients by understanding their needs, evaluating the risks, and offering custom-designed solutions to meet their financial goals.The Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) – Financial Services degree program provides the opportunity to develop necessary planning competencies, professional skills, and required technical knowledge needed for a career in financial services. This four-year program, delivered at the honours level, offers a clear pathway to many successful and exciting career opportunities in banking, insurance, investment management, and estate and financial planning. You will learn through a combination of active learning approaches, which include group work, major individual case analyses, multiple projects requiring industry engagement, and meetings with industry professionals outside of the college. By the mid-point of this program, the faculty team ensures you will be ready to begin your preferred major – either in financial planning or property and casualty insurance. Whichever major you choose, you will encounter a blend of extensive technical analyses and opportunities to develop your professional ‘soft’ skills. You will apply and further refine your program-related skills and abilities through an 8-month, paid, full-time co-op work-term situated between third and fourth year. The program curriculum is aligned with the body of knowledge and course requirements (in whole or in part) for a number of professional licenses. As a successful graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) – Financial Services degree program, you will meet the pre-requisite conditions to challenge professional examinations and/or receive advanced standing into the following licenses/designations:

• Personal Financial Planner (PFP) granted by the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI)
• Qualified Associate Financial Planner (QAFP) granted by Financial Planning Canada (FP Canada)
• FP Canada’s Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP)
• Additional licenses for insurance and securities

Note:

• Advanced standing pathways are available for graduates with a finance or financial planning advanced diploma (3 years), including Conestoga’s Business Administration – Financial Planning program.
• Graduates of the Business Administration – Financial Planning program can apply directly to the third year of Conestoga College's Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) – Financial Services degree program. Graduates of this diploma program will receive two years of credit towards the BCOMM degree program if they achieve a 70% overall average.
• Graduates of related diploma and advanced diploma programs should contact the Business School at businessschool@conestogac.on.ca for further information regarding advanced standing in the degree program.
• Graduates of our Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) – Financial Services degree program will be eligible to write the CFP Exam to attain their Certified Financial Planner designation through FP Canada.