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Build the knowledge your practice demands.

CE-eligible modules, curated reading, decision frameworks, and a glossary built for CIRO-registered advisors and CFP professionals. No fluff. No vendor content.

Module Library Reading List Frameworks Glossary

Module Library

Structured learning paths on the topics that matter most in practice. Written for advisors, not academics. CE credit details added when FP Canada accreditation is confirmed.

Geopolitical
Understanding the Canadian yield curve for client conversations
What the yield curve is, what inversion means, and how to explain both clearly without losing a client.
~45 minCE Pending
Practice Management
CIRO suitability documentation — the complete advisor's guide
What the rules require, what regulators look for in an audit, and how to build a documentation system that protects you.
~60 minCE Pending
Tax & Wealth
Private credit and real estate debt funds — a plain-language primer
How these structures work, how they generate yield, the risks, and how to discuss them with clients.
~50 minCE Pending
Behavioural Finance
Why clients make bad decisions and how advisors can help
Key biases that drive client behaviour in volatile markets, with practical scripts for navigating each one.
~40 minCE Pending
Market
Reading a bank earnings release — what advisors need to know
PCL, NIM, CET1 ratios — what they mean, why they matter, and how to translate them for clients.
~35 minCE Pending
Estate Planning
Testamentary trusts and the modern Canadian estate
How testamentary trusts work post-2016 tax reform, where they still add value, and the right client profile.
~55 minCE Pending

Reading List

Books and papers that are actually worth your time. Curated for advisors — not for MBAs. Annotated with why it matters for practice.

The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
The best single book for understanding why clients behave the way they do with money. Every page has a practical application for client conversations. Essential reading before any behavioural finance module.
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Peter Bernstein
The intellectual history of how humans learned to quantify and manage risk. Gives advisors a language for explaining uncertainty to clients that goes beyond standard deviation.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
John Bogle
Worth reading for the client-communication skills alone — Bogle explains compounding better than anyone. Know the argument cold before you recommend any actively managed fund.

Frameworks

Decision tools built for advisor-client conversations. Each framework is a structured way to think through a common situation without starting from scratch every time.

The Rate Conversation Framework
Four questions to ask before explaining any central bank decision to a client. Works for any rate environment, any client sophistication level.
Suitability Assessment — the HDQ Checklist
A structured checklist for documenting suitability that satisfies CIRO requirements and takes less than 10 minutes per client review.
The Alternatives Conversation
How to introduce private credit or real estate debt to a client who has never owned alternatives. Three entry points depending on risk tolerance.
Portfolio Stress Test — Client Language
How to walk a client through a hypothetical drawdown without creating panic. Sequenced conversation guide calibrated by client type.

Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms that come up most often in advisor practice. Written for advisors, not academics.

Provision for Credit Losses
An amount a bank sets aside to cover loans it expects won't be repaid. Higher PCL usually signals management expects more borrowers to default.
Net Interest Margin
The difference between what a bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits. A key measure of bank profitability.
Overnight Rate
The interest rate at which major financial institutions borrow and lend one-day funds. The Bank of Canada's primary policy tool.
Yield Curve
A graph showing interest rates on bonds across different maturities. Typically slopes upward; inversion often precedes recession.
CET1 Ratio
Common Equity Tier 1 — a measure of a bank's core capital relative to its risk-weighted assets. Higher ratio = more financially stable bank.
Duration
A measure of a bond's sensitivity to interest rate changes. Longer duration means greater price impact from rate moves in either direction.
Suitability
The regulatory obligation to ensure investment recommendations are appropriate for a client's financial situation, risk tolerance, and objectives.
Basis Point
One hundredth of one percentage point (0.01%). Used to describe small changes in interest rates or spreads. 25bps = 0.25%.
PCL (Performing)
Provisions against loans currently performing but statistically expected to generate future losses based on economic models.